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170
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1911.
Feeding.
houses. The large numbers of moulds and excess of B. subtilis made it difficult to estimate other
organisms. Exceedingly small numbers of staphylococci probably the ordinary skin S. albus epidermidis
and a diplostreptococcus, probably from saliva, were found, but no diphtheroid organisms and no B. coli
communis. These experiments take much time, and the constant routine of medical inspection hardly
allows the pursuit of other enquiries. Dr. Malcolm, however, apart from his official time, has made a
commencement by investigating the organisms in the air, and in the dust of three classrooms at various
times during the session in Christ Church, Deal-street (mechanically ventilated) and the “Davenant."
Gelatine plates were exposed for a quarter of an hour for various times in front of the classes. No
B. Coli were found even on plates exposed for three quarters of an hour. The number of organisms
in a gramme of dust that fell was wonderfully alike in the three schools. Excepting moulds and sarcin®
and a few organisms, amounting to 100 but not to 1,000 in a gram, which resembled B. Coli but were
not typical, and the spores of B. Welschii none of any interest were identified. One slide showed some
organisms with a diphtheroid appearance, but neither cultures nor stains confirmed this. From what
little has been done the dust of schools does not appear to be very dangerous, but from the pathogenic
point of view the whole bacteriology of the schoolroom requires investigation as to the mode of distribution
of recognisable organisms, their conveyance from school to home and vice versa, and as to the
reality of any possible disease dangers from this source.
Under the Education (Provision of Meals) Act, 190b, which is administered by the Board of
Education, the Board have intimated in relation to the Annual Reports for 1910 that in future annual
reports of school medical officers for areas in which the Provision of Meals Act has been put in operation
they will look for a section dealing with the working of the Act. It was necessary for this purpose to
get an idea of the actual working of the feeding centres and during the autumn of 1911 the school
doctors inspected those provided in their respective districts. The reports received were very varied.
The effect of feeding seems very indefinite. In a few cases marked improvement has been noticed.
The strictness about admitting ill-nourished children makes it difficult to compare these children with
others. They are generally very poor and compare unfavourably with those not fed at school. In a
few places the provision of meals, the ordering and superintendence appear excellent. The meals given
at the cookery centres are much better than those given anywhere else. In one-fifth of the feeding
centres the conditions required material improvement, to make the giving of these meals an educational
function, and to impress the hygiene of proper eating and cleanliness on the children.
There is need for dining accommodation at some of the secondary schools. Ill-nutrition and
deficiency of nervous energy is frequently attributable to the strain of the journey home for a hurried
meal in the dinner hour. For scholars, especially, this is of great importance as the meal obtained is
often insufficient or unsuitable and under these circumstances no pupil, however clever, can take proper
advantage of the scholarship without detriment to health. The advisability of a midday meal at school
is urged by the teachers, but too often their efforts are in vain.
Racial char
acteristics.