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13
Sanitation.— Table VI. in the Appendix contains the
items of Sanitary Work during 1879. Columns of figures
give a very inadequate idea of the amount of labour
through which your Sanitary Inspectors, aided, when
necessary, by the Medical Officers, have passed. The
number of houses, &c., inspected, exceed the total of last
year by 568. This increase is confined to the parishes
of Battersea and Streatham. The other parishes shew a
slight decrease. At the same time fewer notices required
to be served, a fact indicating an improved sanitary condition
of the inspected premises. Second notices this
year were more numerous however, and more cases had
to be brought before the magistrates, giving evidence of a
greater disposition to resist the requirements of the
Sanitary Acts. This was especially true of Clapham, and
as regards the compulsory proceedings, of Battersea. The
other items hardly call for remark in this report.
It is again necessary to call attention specially to the
subject of sewer overflow. The year 1879, from its
heavy rainfall, brought the total inadequacy of the sewers
to carry off storm and surface waters, into strong relief.
The matter urgently demands attention, as the health of
the population, will, sooner or later, seriously suffer. This
subject is specially referred to in the summary for
Putney.
Cow and Slaughter-Houses and Piggeries.—It is a matter
of satisfaction that the very necessary regulations, introduced
during the year, for the control of cow-houses, have
produced excellent results in this district. The improvements
in the dairies and cowsheds has been in some cases
radical, necessitating rebuilding of the entire premises.
We are certain that the regulations tend to improve the
quality and purity of the milk by increasing the health of
the animals, and to restore the confidence of the public in
the use of one of the most valuable of our food supplies.
A suggestion as to the inspection of the health of the
cows by Veterinary Inspectors, is thrown out in the