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Cowsheds.—The number of these is yearly diminishing. In
1894 the Inspectors inspected 68 sheds, and these were visited by
the View Committee. In 14 of these sheds cows were not kept.
Notices of intention to apply to the London County Council for
yearly licence was received from 36 owners only, being a diminution
of 10 on the previous year. These inspections revealed a few minor
defects, but on the whole showed that the conditions under which
cows are now kept in Hackney are fairly good.
Smoke Nuisance.—The number of observations made by the
Smoke Inspector during the year was 1,879. Intimation notices
were served in 29 cases, statutory notices in nine instances, and
legal proceedings instituted in one case only. The last failed, with
costs against the Vestry, as the notice served by the Inspector was
considered by the Magistrate faulty.
The general result of the year's work is a diminution of the
smoke nuisance, but much more requires to be done, and I believe
better results might be obtained if Mr. Daly, the smoke inspector,
was retained for this work only.
Bake-houses.—During the year I made a personal inspection
of the whole of the bake-houses of the district. The total number
was 125. The general state of these bake-houses I considered
very bad. Out of the 125 I found 42 structurally bad, being
partly or wholly underground; in 44 drain inlets were found in
the bake-house; soil-pipes were found passing through 8; 15 required
more ventilation; and 36 required cleaning.
Besides these, a large number of defects were present in
connection with the dwelling-house to which the bake-house was
attached. Notices to remedy these defects were served upon the
owners, and were attended to. With respect to those bakehouses
constructed underground, it is found that both lighting
and ventilation are imperfect, and must necessarily be so in
such ill-constructed work-places. The effect upon the health of
the workers employed there is consequently bad. These defects
also encourage a want of cleanliness, both of bake-house and person,
with corresponding carelessness in the preparation of articles of