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respectively, and also by a man and his 4 children, 12, 10, 7 and
4 years old. The man's wife had been certified to be insane,
and had been removed to an asylum. The woman's husband
was dead, and the two families had joined together. The baby,
6 weeks old, was fathered by the man referred to. One of the
children had phthisis, and was eventually admitted to the poor
law infirmary. Shortly after, the consolidated families removed
and were lost sight of.
10. The baby was 4 months old. The father had been out of
work a year and was alleged to be one of those who " would not
work." He said he could not work because he had "heart
disease." When visited he was smoking a cigarette, taking life
easily and minding a small rag and bone shop. For doing this,
he said that he had the " privilege " of sleeping in a small, stuffy
room leading off from the shop. He paid no rent. When asked
if his wife worked, he said "Certainly not." The mother was
out. When seen, she was fat and flourishing. The baby was
left in charge of the mother's sister. The neighbours volunteered
the information that " it was a marvel how these people got their
living."
Creches.—There are four crèches in Finsbury affording
accommodation for 140 children. With one exception they are
apparently well managed and satisfactory. The crèche referred
to is supervised by a woman with no nursing experience, and was
recently inspected. The conditions found were as follows : —
The rooms were fairly clean. The floor beds were clean and
dry. There were 13 children between the ages of 2 and 11 years
awaiting their mid-day meals. There were 3 infants lying in
perambulators, one was unwashed, and sucking milk and water
through a long unclean tube from a medicine bottle; its clothing
was dirty and smelt offensively. The woman in charge did not
know how the food was mixed, or in what proportions it was
given, but stated that the baby was fed according to its mother's
' directions and "ate anything."