View report page

12
by an eruption, which has been compared with that of
chicken-pox. Having made its appearance on October 11th,
among some cows kept in a shed in Elizabeth-street,
Mr. Smith, the Vestry Clerk, sent my report to Mr Dexter,
the Inspector of Cattle, who kindly informed me of the
progress and decline of the disease. The symptoms, as
usual, were mild, not proving fatal in this Parish. It
affected the animals in several other sheds, but no complaint
reached me of any injurious results arising from drinking
the milk.
The Serpentine.
The important work of emptying and cleansing this
river commenced in September. It is roughly estimated
that the Serpentine occupies a space of 40 acres, and that
it contained about 180,000 cubic yards of mud. Several
years ago large quantities of lime were thrown, on two
occasions, into the river, with the view of purifying the
mud, and which, no doubt, had the effect of neutralising
much of its poisonous qualities. But of late years the
stench, especially on very fine and hot days, when the
public naturally flocked to its vicinity in greater numbers
than usual, became intolerable,—not only neutralising the
pleasure which would otherwise be desired from a stroll
along its banks, but actually endangering the public health.
A great outcry was made when the operations for emptying
the lake first commenced, during a few unexpected warm
days, but no increase of fever took place in my District,
although situate in its immediate neighbourhood. The mud
has caused the deaths of many persons by their sinking
into it and by preventing others from making an effort to save
them by diving, lest they should be similarly imbedded,
but, when the present operations are finished, a man may
plunge into the water in order to rescue a fellow-creature's
life with much greater security, and it is to be hoped that