Page:On the economy of machinery and manufactures - Babbage - 1846.djvu/427

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ADDITIONS.


9.) The establishments for slaughtering horses at Montfaucon, near Paris, supply another illustration of the profitable conversion of substances apparently of little value.

1. The hair is first cut off from the mane and tail. It amounts usually to about a quarter of a pound, which, at 5d. per lb. is worth 11/4d.

2. The skin is then taken off, and sold fresh to the tanners of the neighbourhood. It usually weighs about 60lb., and produces from 9s. to 12s.

3. The blood may be used either as manure, or by sugar refiners, or as food for animals. Pigeons, poultry, and especially turkeys, soon fatten upon it; but a few days before they are killed they should be fed with grain, in order to remove the disagreeable taste communicated to the flesh by the previous food. In order to use the blood for manure, it is previously