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In addition to those disinfected—66 beds, 70 palliasses, 20 bolsters, 61 pillows.
6 sofa squabs, and a piece of carpet were destroyed and re-placed with new ones.
Nearly half of these articles were destroyed during the small-pox outbreak and
when the oven was being built.
The number of premises and articles disinfected would have been larger had
not during the last quarter the state of the hospitals prevented the usual proportion
of cases being removed to them, so that a number of premises will fall to be
disinfected in the first quarter of 1893, when the patients are better.
DISINFECTANTS.
I reported to the General Purposes Committee in the Spring of 1892, that
many of the so-called disinfecting powders and liquids in the market were of little
or no use for purposes of destroying infection, on the one hand because some of
them did not contain substances capable of doing so, and on the other, that those
that had the power were used in too dilute a condition, so that the only service
which many of them rendered was simply to overpower effluvia. The end to be
sought after is rather to destroy than to mask foul odours, and to prevent or arrest
decomposition of organic substances until they can be removed from the vicinity of
dwellings. It had been the custom to distribute freely during the summer months
packets of carbolic powder to all who liked to apply, and I recommended that as
greater attention was now paid to the cleansing of the streets and the removal of
house refuse, powder should only be distributed where there was some need for it.
1¼ tons of Sanitas Powder were given away during 1892, at cost of £15 12s.
to 5,616 applicants, as against 3½ tons of Carbolic Powder to 7,298 applicants, at
a cost of £52 10s., in the previous year. An enquiry was made in each case as to
the use for which it was intended to be put, and one of the inspectors subsequently
inspected the premises if the reason alleged for its use was some insanitary
condition. In this way a number of long-standing defects were remedied, and
the use of the powder rendered unnecessary.
Frequent complaints have been made to the Health Department of the
offensive smells which proceed from the ventilating openings into the sewers ;
solutions of corrosive sublimate, chloride of lime, and other substances, have from
time to time been put down the openings, but disinfectants cannot be used in
sufficient quantity or strength to be of much use. The defect lies in the faulty
condition of the sewer, leading to the accumulations of decomposing filth, so that
instead of acting as a means by which offensive matters can be removed from our
midst as quickly as possible, it is merely an elongated cesspool. Unfortunately
many of the sewers in the parish are in this abominable condition, they are old
brick sewers without proper fall and of improper shape and construction, so that it