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98
cord with other observations, made in England and
elsewhere, that the green slimy deposit which forms
on the surface of the filter-beds after they have been
at work for a short time, is the most important
factor in the filtration.
SANITARY WORK, &c.
In the Appendix will be found a tabular statement
of the work of the Department during the
past year (Table VI.) and lists of the Common
Lodging Houses, Bakehouses, Slaughterhouses, &c.,
as known at the end of the year.
House-to-House Inspection.—At the time when
these inspections were made at the end of the year,
an enumeration was made of the inhabitants of each
tenement therein contained. The results of the work
have not yet been tabulated, but a large number of
improvements have been effected. The streets taken
were those in the neighbourhood of the Lock Bridge,
whence an unduly large number of cases of infectious
sickness were being returned.
House Sanitation.—A considerable amount of
friction between owners and the Sanitary Authority
would be avoided if a complete series of bye-laws
dealing with this subject were in existence. Certain
of the Local Authorities of the Metropolis have
special regulations, which, however, have not the
status of bye-laws, and, inasmuch as such a system of