<P> In Paris, ragpickers were regulated by law and could operate only at night . They were required to return unusually valuable items either to their owners or to the authorities . When Eugène Poubelle introduced the garbage can in 1884, he was criticised by French newspapers for meddling with the ragpickers' livelihood . </P> <P> A 1954 report in The Manchester Guardian mentions that some men could make as much as £ 25 a day collecting rags . Most used handcarts rather than a bag, and some used a pony and cart, giving out rubbing stones in exchange for the items they collected . In 1958 a Manchester Guardian reporter accompanied one rag - and - bone man, John Bibby, as he made his rounds through Chorlton and Stretford, near Manchester . For his handcart's load, which comprised rags, furs, shoes, scrap car parts, a settee and other furniture, he made about £ 2 . </P> <P> The rag - and - bone trade fell into decline though; in the 1950s Manchester and Salford had, between them, around sixty rag merchants, but this had fallen to about twelve by 1978, many having moved into the scrap metal trade . Local merchants blamed several factors, including demographic changes, for the decline of their industry . </P> <P> A newspaper report of 1965 estimates that in London, only a "few hundred" rag - and - bone men remained, possibly due to competition from more specialised trades such as corporation dustmen, and pressure from property developers to build on rag merchants' premises . </P>

Where did the name rag and bone come from