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unnecessary; and a still more hopeful enterprise is their
sinking of a well in the chalk at Streatham, the water of
which is pronounced by Dr. Frankland as "of unsurpassed
quality for dietetic purposes."
Sanitary operations in the district.—A glance at Table
VI. in the Appendix will give some conception of the
amount of steady and laborious work accomplished by
the Sanitary Inspectors of the various sub-districts during
the past year. It by no means however gives a complete
view of the work, much of which cannot be tabulated. The
detailed sanitary work of the district is largely dependent
on the efficiency and tact of its Sanitary Inspectors, and
there is every reason to think it is being carried ont with
increasing cordiality in the relations of officials and
householders, and with enhanced thoroughness and
detail.
The number of house-inspections amounted to
27,700, and the number of notices served was 3,872, as
compared with 3,342 in the previous year.
358 houses were disinfected after the occurrence of
infectious disease. As disinfection has been chiefly confined
to the four diseases,—Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, Small
Pox, and Fever, and there were 157 fatal cases of these
diseases (implying probably 10 times as many non-fatal
cases), it follows that owing to defective information
only a small proportion were dealt with by the sanitary
authority. In the absence of any compulsory registration
of infectious diseases the remarks in the Wandsworth
Local Report (page 92), on the exclusion from school of
children convalescent from infectious disease, and all other
children in the same house, are worthy of most careful
and favourable consideration by the Board. It is curious
that the regulations, the enforcement of which is urged