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The Act applies to premises where filling materials, including rag
flock, hair, feathers, down, fibre, etc., etc., are used in manufacturing
bedding, toys, baby carriages and other articles of upholstery. Provisions
of the Act also refer to premises where rag flock is manufactured or stored
for distribution for use in the aforementioned manufacturing processes.
The Act unfortunately does not apply to the remaking or reconditioning
of articles of furniture, upholstery, etc.
Pigeons.
Under the provisions of Section 121 of the Public Health (London)
Act, 1936, the City Council, as a Sanitary Authority, is empowered for
the purpose of abating or mitigating any nuisance, annoyance or damage
caused by the congregation of pigeons in the City, having no owner, or
for preventing or minimising any such nuisance, annoyance or damage,
to reduce the number of such pigeons.

Starlings.
Observations and experiments have been carried out during the year
in an endeavour to find means to mitigate the nuisance caused by the
large flocks of starlings which roost on the ledges of buildings within
the City—a nuisance that is local in character but not confined to
Westminster.
As a result of questions asked in the House, the Minister of
Agriculture and Fisheries, Sir Thomas Dugdale, arranged for the problem
to be examined in consultation with the Departments and interests most
closely concerned.
Kepresentatives of the Ministries of Agriculture and Fisheries, Housing
and Local Government and Works, the Association of Municipal Corporations,
and Metropolitan Boroughs' Standing Joint Committees, Birmingham
and Westminster City Councils and the National Farmers' Union,
met on a number of occasions to exchange experiences and information.
As a result of these talks it was decided to try trapping the starlings
at the places where the nuisances occur. This, however, brings in many
practical difficulties owing to the inaccessibility of ledges, the prohibition
of the use of poisons, and primarily because the birds rarely, if ever,
feed near these dormitories on the City's buildings. A humane cage trap
was designed and a number of models made. Four of these were made
available to the City Council and four to the Ministry of Works, others
being placed in the feeding grounds in rural areas. Considerable success
was achieved with the traps placed in the rural areas, but only three
birds were caught in those traps placed on the roofs of buildings in the
Trafalgar Square area. In fact, although different baits were used—and