View report page

94
galvanized iron trap connected to a 2-inch pipe discharging
into a gully in the open air. Two large drying yards, one
873 square yards, the other 213 square yards in area have been
paved, and 64 square yards of forecourt have also been
paved. The covers of 20 drinking water cisterns have been
repaired. 139 rooms have been cleansed, the staircases have
been cleansed, repaired, and more freely ventilated, and 7
cases of over-crowding have been dealt with. Six large and
189 small dust receptacles have been provided in place of 16
dust shoots which have been cleansed, lime-whited, filled up and
the openings sealed with brickwork or concrete. It should be
said that these alterations, involving the expenditure of a
considerable sum of money, were readily carried out by the
Victoria Dwellings Association, who appeared to be anxious
to do whatever was necessary to improve the sanitary condition
of the dwellings.
One of the most important of the improvements effected
was the abolition of the dust shoots. Dust collection, at its
best, is not one of the most satisfactory features of London
sanitation ; but of all the defective systems now in use the most
unsatisfactory is that of casting the refuse down a dark and
evil-smelling shaft, which forms part of the dwelling, into a
still more repellent hole below. Yet this system is far from
uncommon. Each tenement in the Victoria Dwellings is now
provided with a small dust receptacle, the contents of which are
emptied every day into a larger receptacle in the courtyard, and
the contents of the latter receptacle are removed by the Council
three times a week.