These bone-grubbers, as they were sometimes known, would typically spend nine or ten hours searching the streets of London for anything of value, before returning to their lodgings to sort whatever they had found. In rural areas where no rag merchants were present, rag-and-bone men often dealt directly with rag paper makers, but in London they sold rag to the local traders. White rag could fetch two to three pence per pound, depending on condition (all rag had to be dry before it could be sold). Coloured rag was worth about two pence per pound. Bones, worth about the same, could be used as knife handles, toys and ornaments, and, when treated, for chemistry. The grease extracted from them was also useful for soapmaking. Metal was more valuable; an 1836 edition of "Chambers's Edinburgh Journal" describes how "street-grubber" could be seen scraping away the dirt between the paving stones of non-macadamised roads, searching for horseshoe nails. Brass, copper and pewter were valued at about four to five pence per pound. In a typical day, a rag-and-bone man might expect to earn about sixpence.