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253 [1913
REMOVAL OF DUST.
The removal of dust or household refuse and sweepings is a very important
item in the work which is necessary to be done to assure healthy
homes for the people, and, therefore, in modern days every sanitary authority
looks upon it as of the utmost moment. Indeed, of late years very
strong opinions have been expressed by sanitarians, with whom the Medical
Officer of Health is in entire agreement, that it should not be allowed
to accumulate in a house for more than three or four days, in other words
that it should be removed twice in every week. Of course, in some houses
where the refuse, especially that made in the kitchen, is day by day destroyed,
such removal would be a work of supererogation ; but frequent and sometimes
daily removals are necessary from some places, particularly from restaurants
or places where food is prepared.
The Horse and Dep6t Department has of late years made very considerable
advances in this respect, and, on the whole, it must be said that it gets
through the work in a satisfactory manner. Indeed, this is clearly indicated
in the returns for the year wherein the Medical Officer of Health finds that the
number of applications to have dust removed from premises numbered only
32, which is the lowest record hitherto known in Islington. How different
this is to that which obtained 20 years ago when (in 1893) they numbered
4,986, and prior to that were as high as 10,138. This is truly a marvellous
change.

Dust Keceptacles Provided.—During the year 1,393 dust receptacles
were provided, while 45 were repaired.