January 1900 Carleton Place Herald
Found by Josh Greer- and property of Lisa and Brad Occomore of Valley Granite and Tile
Eliminating waste — Depending on where one lived and his or her station in life, this necessary function was either a nasty problem to solve or a veritable goldmine.
Urine has long been used as a tanning agent for leather, and in the production of saltpeter, a component of gunpowder. People had businesses, going about collecting from wherever animals and man relieved themselves, storing it and selling it. It could be quite lucrative, although never very socially acceptable. There was good reason leather tanners were usually banished to the outskirts of town.
Night soil, however, did not have very much resale value. Meat eaters like humans don’t produce good fertilizer. So from the very beginning of civilization, there have always been those whose job it was to collect…
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