History : The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
Some interesting comments on the picture:
A sad photograph, but an interesting one that shows something about history that we don't ordinarily think about much. That's what I like about this site: old photographs show us the forgotten details.
For me the most telling thing is that the kids are more interested in the camera than they are in the horse. It's not that the kids are particularly inhumane, but for them a dead horse isn't all that unusual. A camera is. And is that so bad, for children to focus on the new? I'm sad for the horse, but let's not forget the kids. They're vibrant, alive, interested in new things around them and in each other, even in the face of death and their own poverty. There's hope here.
The fate of horses worked to death, and elimination of their droppings from the street, were big reasons why automobiles were looked on as a great advancement. By comparison, automotive smoke and oil drips seem minor.
These kids had such old looking faces…this was the most depressing photo yet…interesting, but depressing!
I agree that this is a sad picture, but alas, it is real life. The horse does not look that well fed, but perhaps it is because it was ill, not starved. What I really find interesting is how many kids are just sort of running around on their own - no supervision, no shoes, and that one little guy on the sidewalk by himself looks no more than 3 or 4.
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
I'm currently doing a deep dive into some old horse manure
My password is password
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
lol, I did that on purpose.
Where are all the history buffs?!?
Where are all the history buffs?!?
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
🤣 🤣 🤣
😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.
😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
That is a LOT of 💩!
😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.
😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
😂
That pic is from the early 1900s, so everyone in the pic is like 125 years old now.
That pic is from the early 1900s, so everyone in the pic is like 125 years old now.
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
Actually, they're all dead. And I do realize you were being facetious.
😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.
😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
I was being an optimist!
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
An extreme optimist!
😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.
😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
Signs like this were posted about, though I don't think they did much good:
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
lol. On one of the sites about the manure crisis, there was a vintage ad for a "manure spreader" that farmers could buy. There are some posters who provide that service for free.
Re: The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
It must've stunk something awful in those big cities during a summer heat wave: piles of horse manure, horse urine, decaying horse carcasses……
The flip-side of all this is that farming areas outside the cities were provided with a ready supply of excellent organic fertilizer - unlike today, when everything seems to have shifted to chemical fertilizers.
The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great-Horse-Manure-Crisis-of-1894/
I'm currently doing a deep dive into some old horse manure pics to find the best ones to post.
In the meantime, here's a pic (NYC, not London) from the early 1900s, showing kids in the street next to a dead horse - I'll cover it with spoiler tags in case this is too sensitive for some readers: