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is not available except during specified hours, and only for a very short time on Sundays.
Smith's Buildings contains a population of about 140, of whom 31 are children
under five years of age. During four years 28 persons have died in the court, or 20
per cent, of the population. Of these, 18 were infants under 5 years of age, so that,
taken altogether, the children, though dying off at the rate of 58 per cent, every four
years, do not die so quickly as in Rose and Crown Court. But here we must make a
distinction : of all the 28 deaths, 18 occured in the eight houses, Nos. 1 to 5 and Nos.
23, 24 and 25, all in the first part of the court; and of these 11 were infants. Now
these eight houses, the dirtiest and loivest as respects their occupants of any in the
court, contain about 64 persons, of whom 9 are infants under five years of age. The mortality,
then, in this part of the court comes to this—that it represents a death rate of 28
per cent, in four years, and that young infants will not live there. Contrast
with this the mortality in the 10 well ventilated houses, Nos. 10 to 19. In these
during the four years there only occurred four deaths, and of these only two were
young infants. In these ten houses there was not a single death from zymotic disease of
any kind. The four years mortality at Nos. 7 and 8 in the cross portion of the court
is instructive. These are by no means dirty houses, but in their immediate rear and
close to their back door are situated six privies, formerly cesspools, and the houses
have no proper ventilation through them. In No. 8, three deaths occurred, two of
infants from disease of the zymotic class, one being from measles, and at No. 7 there
was another death from measles. The only other death from measles in the court
occurred at No. 25, which is so situated as to have two privies in its rear, the emanations
from which cannot fail to enter the house. In No. 25, three infants died of
zymotic maladies, and one from tuberculous disease.
Smith's Place, a little court of four two-roomed houses and a population of 15
persons,. which communicates by an arched passage with Smith's Buildings, presents
another remarkable and instructive contrast. Three deaths have occurred here during
the four years—ail of them, two being infants, in the two houses Nos. 1 and 2. Now
these houses are excessively dark, and each has a panned privy, but not supplied with
water, practically speaking, within the house, and there is no proper ventilation to
sweep away the effluvia which must arise from them. Two of the deaths were from
diseases of the tubercular class, one being consumption, thus bearing evidence to the
character of the dwellings. The other was a death from hooping cough. Nos. 3Jand
4, where no death occurred, are houses of the same size, but light and thoroughly
ventilated. Again, contrast these two last mentioned houses with the houses Nos. 7
and 8, Smith's Buildings, which are in their rear, a group of four privies separating
them. In the well ventilated houses no death resulted, while in the badly ventilated,
four deaths occurred, of which three were from zymotic causes. We have seen here
more than one experimentum crucis.
Swan Yard and Parsell's Court constitute one group of buildings, the houses of
one side of Parsell's Court separating this court from Swan Yard.
Swan Yard consists of a narrow passage with six houses on the South side;
with the exception of No. 6, there is no proper ventilation through any of them.
There is a privy opposite No. 3, and a group of horrible privies (partly belonging to
Parsell's Court) opposite No. 6. The population may be stated at 51 persons, of
whom 8 are under five years of age. During the two years 1862 and 1863, No. 4 is the
pnly house which escaped some mortality. Altogether 12 deaths occurred in the court,