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lent, being by means of large windows of casement type, made to open.
The floors are of wood and are very clean. The rooms are heated by
steam radiators and the London County Council regulations as to escape
from fire, fire buckets, etc., are strictly observed. The female sanitary
accommodation on this floor consists of 5 w.c.'s for 4 women. Each
w.c. is of pedestal type in a separate enclosure, with permanent ventilation;
they are very clean. Four excellent sinks of glazed earthenware
are provided, with soap and towels. The whole sanitation is excellent.
The accommodation for the 36 males employed consists of 10 w.c.'s,
4 lavatory basins and 4 white glazed stall urinals, these being situated
on the ground floor. The available accommodation seems large, and
there is room for great extension of staff. Three w.c.'s and two sinks
are kept on the first floor for the office staff and foreman.
5. A Skin Cleaning Company.
This building stands well back from the street—some 80 to 100 yards.
It is built of brick and consists of very spacious ground and first floors
and boiler house. The process consists in the de-greasing of skins, which
latter are obtained from various skin mills and works in different parts
of London and the country. These are really special skins, deprived,
of course, of their hair, and are prepared here for use in the upholstery
trade, for ornamental leather, such as bags, fancy shoes, etc. The skins
arrive from the skin works and are taken to the first floor where they
are placed in large square iron containers, the covers of the containers
then being screwed down. Steam is then admitted to the containers
until the temperature reaches 190° F. At this stage liquid petrol is
admitted to the containers, which vaporises and absorbs the grease in
the skins. This goes on for some four hours. The steam is then shut
off and the container allowed to cool. The condensed steam in the
container passes down with the condensed petrol through pipes to the
floor below where the petrol is distilled off from the water by a special
distillation plant. The petrol can then be used again. The grease
extracted from the skins remains on top of the water and runs to waste.
When the skins are taken from the containers at the end of four hours
they are hung on rails in a large specially constructed drying room, the
floor of which is of a slotted pattern. A strong current of air is drawn
up through the floor and passes over the hides, thus not only removing
the petrol vapour, but also thoroughly drying them. The hides are