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still larger dose of sulphurous acid in a chamber
properly constructed for the purpose. After this,
the articles are exposed for several hours to a temperature
of about 250° Fahrenheit, in a stove heated
by gas. The beneficial effects of these operations
were most apparent during the recent epidemic of
small-pox, when nearly 3,000 articles were thus
treated, without, as far as I know, a single instance
of recurrence of the disease.
In addition to all this, the sanitary work of the
City comprises an inspection of meat, markets,
slaughter-houses, and cow-houses. At the time of
my taking office these duties were very imperfectly
performed, and in 1860 I obtained your sanction to
the appointment of two special Sanitary Officers for
this duty. I have the satisfaction to say that the
supervision of the markets and slaughter-houses of
this City, in so far as the seizure of unsound meat is
concerned, has been much facilitated by the conduct
of the wholesale butchers. Considering, indeed, the
enormously large amount of meat, poultry, &c.,
which arrives daily in the City markets, it would be
almost impossible for the inspectors to perform their
duties in an effective manner if it were not for the
assistance afforded by the carcass butchers. The
general results of this kind of work are shown in the
following table, which exhibits the quantity of unsound
meat condemned in the City markets during
each of the last thirteen years.