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Date: | Sat, 23 May 1998 01:34:29 +1000 |
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Hi Histarchers,
Just a quick word on the privies. I have seen several a long-drop privy
(stone lined) as part of a kitchen wing (1830s and 1840s).
Two privies that I excavated had lenses of lime at intervals from the
1840s. Another privy, a hospital privy of the 1840s, was saturated with
lime at every level.
to ask the elders of a very isolated conservative community about the
long-drop earth privies - they said that the pits never seemed to fill
despite being used by a large family for over sixty years and the walls of
the privy being of stone.
Yes I was game enough to ask them what they used for toilet paper in 'those
days' (before newspaper was available) - they said the leaves of the
'bacca' bush (Solanum mauritianum - 'Wild Tobacco'). I was advised not to
use the wrong side of the leaf if I was ever tempted to try it. The leaves
were neatly stacked in the toilet - the lazy ones would just hang up a
branch of leaves.
Have noticed that modern toilet paper doesn't break down very well in long
drops - hence the necessity to move an outdoors privy from time to time in
recent modern times. Also noticed that old privies filled up because of the
rubbish that was thrown in - but it still took decades to fill up.
Because it does have relevance to the rate of privy filling, any other
accounts of pre-newspaper 'substitutes' for toilet paper?
Cheers,
Robert
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