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131
wards, and in respect of the sale, as regards the cleanliness
of glasses, water, and cloths.*
Infectious disease.— The total weight of bedding,
etc., removed by the Contractor for disinfection was
586 cwt. 1 qr. 15 lbs., and the total cost for such
work, £881 2s. 1d. The average expenditure for
each lot of disinfection was £1 10s. Bedding and
other goods are disinfected as a matter of routine after
all the diseases notified, except erysipelas—when it is
done on request only. Disinfection is also done on
request of the medical attendant, after certain other
diseases, such as measles, phthisis, etc. In a very few
instances the work was done privately at the expense
of the owner, but it is becoming more common each
year for the Vestry to be called on to do it. All work
done by the Vestry is done free of charge.
The average annual expenditure under this head
from 1891—the first complete year after the commencement
of notification—to 1895 has been £805
1s. 5d., the largest amount in any one year being
£1,216 15s. 3d. This is a charge which may be
expected to expand as time goes on, and it is practically
certain that there will be greater demand for
disinfection after diseases which are not in the schedule
of notification. Were the work done by the Vestry
* In the matter of glass washing, it is to be feared that some hotels and
restaurants are not so careful as they ought to be. Glasses are washed at
some of these places in a small tub of water, the changing of which is by no
means sufficiently frequent. All vessels for drinking and eating ought to be
washed in running water.