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79
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
The thorough cleansing of the Wandle by the London County
Council is very important and should be carried out at an early date.
This cleansing would require to be carried out every six months
until the scheme for purification of the effluent of the Wandle Valley
Sewage Board has been completed.
I had previously consulted the highest authorities at the Natural
History Museum, and they were of opinion that mere spraying of
the ponds and ditches, as well as the banks of the Wandle, would
not do much to mitigate the nuisance.
Culex pipiens, the mosquito most prevalent, is not known to
produce any definite disease, although it causes a good deal of discomfort
to many persons. No other variety of mosquitoes has been
found in the Wandsworth district, although in parts of Wimbledon
Common outside the Borough other varieties have been detected.
The ponds on Wimbledon Common are quite free from larvae
and require no attention, with one exception, viz., the " Leg of
Mutton Pond," which should be cleansed, as well as some of the
ditches leading to and from this pond.
I have been informed by the Clerk to the Wimbledon and Putney
Commons Conservators that the various ponds and damp places
have already recently been sprayed with paraffin."