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greatly facilitate the cleansing of the carriage-way. The
hose could be used upon it with great effect and the street
would be cleansed by every shower of rain. It is to be hoped
that a beginning may be made this year in the paving of the
carriage-ways of certain side streets with asphalte, and that
the work of substituting tall pipes for sewer ventilators at the
road level, which has been carried out with so much success
during past years will be continued.
The influence of the Council's Infants' Milk DepÔt on
infantile mortality is dealt with in the special section of the
Report on the work of the DepÔt. The milk has undoubtedly
been of very great value, but it must not be regarded as the
only means of attacking the problem of infantile mortality.
Disease must be attacked on all sides and with many weapons.
On the 13th January, 1904, the Council decided to appoint
a lady inspector whose duties will include the instruction of
mothers in the proper methods of infant feeding and the care
of infants generally. This is a most important step in
advance. The conditions of this appointment are, at the
time of writing, being arranged with the Local Government
Board.
One of the most satisfactory features of last year's
statistics is the great diminution in the mortality due to overlying.
Only one death was recorded—that of a baby, said to
be suffocated by his siser, aged five, while the whole family
were in bed together. The following table gives the number
of deaths occurring on each day of the week in each year since
1896. The day refers to the morning on which the death
was discovered, and it will be seen that by far the greater
number of deaths were discovered on Sunday morning. This
suggests that the overlying takes place when the parents are
stupified with drink, and there are other facts which support
this view. There can be no doubt that most, if not all, of
these deaths are due indirectly to alcohol, and they should be
taken into account in estimating the mortality due to that
drug. That this form of suffocation appears at all in our
death returns is a great stain on this country, but until firmer
measures are adopted in dealing with the parents it is to be
feared that it will continue to appear.