Quote:



By pure chance I recently bought a little book: 'The vulgar Tongue.'
(subtitel :Buckish Slang and Pickpocket Eloquence) by Francis Grose, published 1785.




Looks like an interesting book BranShea and thank you for the welcome.


Quote:

*snip* Dogs'-dung is called ‘Pure’, from its cleansing and purifying properties. Ibid., The name of ‘Pure-finders’..has been applied to the men engaged in collecting dogs'-dung from the..streets. Ibid.,...



That about covers it. The book I was reading indicated that people were employed to take care of dog droppings. The place was Lambeth Marsh in London. Pure-Finders in my neighborhood tend to be the owners these days.


N.O


p.s (edit) - owner? now that got me thinking (can you smell the burning). who would be the owner of a dog turd, the dog or it's master?