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which the workers are expected to be on their guard. In no respect are there more striking
differences in individual establishments than in the matter of precautions as to the cleanliness of
bottles. In the large factories careful attention is given to the question. The preliminary cleansing
is effectually carried out and, after the final rinse with clean water, the condition of the bottle leaves little
to be desired. It may be that still better results might be obtained if the process of cleansing were
supplemented by a further soaking in clean water and a second final rinse with a water jet; this
second cleansing being carried out quite independently of the first. There would be advantage in
conducting the preliminary cleansing upon some other part of the premises than that in which the
bottling is done. In the case of the final cleansing, it is desirable that some attention should be given
to the personal cleanliness of the workers engaged. The same principle should hold good, too, as
regards bottlers, etc. This would, of course, necessitate provision of lavatory accommodation for the use
of workers.
In some instances, while the general arrangements are well designed, there appears to be a
tendency to err on the side of economy in the use of fresh water and clean brushes. In many of the
smaller places the water in the tanks was found to be very dirty, and was only renewed at intervals
of many hours, the racks on which the bottles were placed to drain were not kept clean, the brushes
were in need of being renewed, having obviously done their work and not infrequently there was no
special provision made for a final rinsing of the bottle with clean water.
Dr. Chas. Slater, Lecturer on Bacteriology. St. George's Hospital, in a paper to be presently
more particularly referred to, has drawn attention to the fact that bottles intended to contain water
which has been boiled, distilled, or otherwise purified, are sometimes finally "bottled with an admixture
of ordinary tap water," inasmuch as "the spray with which the final rinsing is done is usually
obtained from the mains of the company in whose district the factory lies, this supply being the most
convenient on account of the available pressure." He says, "the use of main water for rinsing by the
manufacturer whose aerated water is made from the same supply, is logical enough, but those makers
who work on the assumption that purification processes are necessary, to secure the safety of the
waters, should avoid stultifying their efforts. An examination of bottles has shown, as was to be
expected, that they are far from sterile. They are used almost directly as they come from the spray,
that is while still very wet, or after standing inverted for a day or two to drain. It was found by
experiment, however, that in the great majority of inverted bottles, 48 hours after rinsing, there was
a considerable quantity of unevaporated water, which gave rise to copious growths in nutrient
bouillon." In the large majority of cases, it may be pointed out, the water has not been boiled,
distilled, or otherwise purified, and here all that can be reasonably claimed, is that after the final
rinsing with tap water, the bottle shall contain no impurity other than foreign matter derived from
the tap water itself. This standard of cleanliness is certainly not in many instances attained in
London at the present time.
(vi.) Corks—In the case of corked bottles the question of cleansing the corks has to be considered.
No attempt is made, as a rule, to effectually disinfect the corks after the manner usually
recommended, for example, in the case of infants' feeding-bottles. The rubber rings are generally
speaking not removed (and the same remark holds good with regard to the rubber rings of the ballstoppered
or "Codd's bottles") unless they are defective, and I was informed by one maker of
aerated water that his stoppers would not stand immersion in hot water. The water used in several
instances which came under my notice was merely lukewarm. Hence, as a rule, reliance is merely
placed on a prolonged soaking of the stoppers in warm water, and on the final administration of a
rinse with clean tap water. Syphons are not it appears systematically cleansed at each refilling, but
from time to time it is necessary to take them to pieces, and then the opportunity is taken of cleansing
them.
The final test to which bottles are subjected is that of passing the "sighter." To this functionary,
usually a girl, the bottles are passed after "filling" (and subsequent "wiring" in cases in which ordinary
corks are used); she holds up two at a time, one in each hand, glances momentarily at them, and
rejects any which are found to contain particles of glass, straw or specks of dirt. The "sighter"
is subjected to some risk in the not infrequent event of the bottles exploding while she is handling
them, and under the special rules of the Home Office must be protected with gloves and a
mask. The mask is more effective if thin-meshed, and it may be (opinions seem
to differ a good deal on this point), that the meshes are apt to interfere with precise definition
of small objects held close to the mask. Whether this be the case or not, the rapidity with
which the sighter handles the bottles obviously precludes the possibility of her accomplishing more than
the discovery of foreign particles of some size, and anything like a very critical examination for suspended
matter cannot be expected. I have held up numbers of bottles to the light and examined them, more
particularly during the past few weeks, and as a rule found them free from obvious visible impurity.
It is by no means rare, however, to find suspended particles in bottles of aerated water. I have
repeatedly found this to be the case since my attention was first directed to this question two years
ago.
During my recent inspection I only found one distinctly dirty collection of bottles; they belonged
to a foreign immigrant, in Stepney, who carried on the business of bottling in quite a small yard,
about 11 feet by 12 feet, in which was situated a water-closet; tho yard was not tidily kept and the water
used was exposed to contamination by sooty particles and dust. Several of the bottles, filled three days
previously, were turbid and two of the worst of them contained many fine filaments, specks and masses
which looked like colonies of mould. One of the workers here informed me that much difficulty was
experienced with bottles, more particularly in summer and whenthey had been kept a few days. Several
times last summer bottlesfilled at these premises had been returned by customers who had complained that
they were dirty. I examined many other bottles of aerated water, manufactured by foreign immigrants in
Stepney, but did not detect suspended impurity in them. In one instance after careful examination of a
number of bottles the occupier of the premises observed "you won't find those bad for ha'penny stuff,"