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in aerial communication with stables, water-closets, or living or sleeping rooms, or in places
exposed to sun and weather.
A proper structure or place should be provided for the purposes in question. The walls should
be constructed of brick or similar material, rendered on the inner surfaces with cement to a height
of 6 ft., and finished with a smooth trowelled surface; it would be preferable to face the walls with
glazed bricks. The inner woodwork and fitttings should be covered to a height of 6 ft. with smooth
sheet non-corrosive metal. The floor should be laid with a smooth jointless impervious paving and
sloped to an external gulley. The gutting bench or table should be constructed of smooth and
impervious material—e.g. slate, marble, or glazed earthenware. Glazed lights should be provided
equal to 1/10th of the floor space, also permanent ventilation openings equal to 1/25th of the floor
space should be fixed in the sides, ends, and roof.
A sufficient number of offal vessels or receptacles should be provided. They should be
constructed of galvanised iron of not less than 16 gauge, or of some equally suitable non-absorbent
material, and provided with strong, close-fitting, air-tight covers. Such vessels or receptacles, when
not in actual process of removal, should be kept inside the cleansing place.
The maintenance of cleanliness in the cleansing place and shop itself is a matter of great
importance. So far as the shop and cleansing place are concerned, it may be pointed out that:—
All parts of the furnace, hood, pans, and utensils should be cleansed daily and kept in a good
state of repair.
The walls, floor, ceiling, partitions, counter, fittings, and appliances should at all times be kept
in a clean condition and in good state of repair.
The floor, cemented walls, metal work, gutting bench, potato machine, and all other fittings,
utensils, offal receptacles, and appliances should be thoroughly cleansed with hot water
either at the close or beginning of every working day. All parts of the structure, fittings,
and appliances should be kept at all times in a thorough state of repair.
The walls above the cement rendering, ceiling or under-side of roof, should be thoroughly limewashed
with hot limewash four times in every year—that is to say, between the first and
tenth days of the months of March, June, September, and December.
The methods of dealing with offal, &c., demand to be carefully seen to. Empty fish
boxes, barrels, baskets, or packages should be removed from the premises within
forty-eight hours of their arrival, and while on the premises should not be stored in any open
yard or space, so as to cause a nuisance. Gut, skins, offal, garbage, filth, or other refuse products
should be immediately placed in the refuse receptacles, and such receptacles, whilst containing
such refuse, should be kept closely covered. All refuse should be removed from the premises at
least once in every twenty-four hours.
Finally, the yard paving and external surfaces should be kept in a cleanly condition, and in
a good state of repair. The drains, water-closets, and all sanitary conveniences should be kept at
all times in proper order, and in a cleanly condition, and a proper and sufficient water supply should
be provided to the premises. No animal should be kept in any place in which gutting, cleansing
or frying of fish, preparing potatoes, &c., is carried on.
The investigations made by the Council's Inspectors show that at the present time the
conditions under which fish is cleansed and stored are, as a rule, most unsatisfactory, both as
regards the unsuitability of the structure of the premises used, and the manner of conducting the
business processes in question. Numerous instances were found in which floors and walls were
fouled with decomposing fish slime and excremental matter, and the portion of the wall adjoining
the bench on which cleansing and gutting of the fish was effected was that commonly found to be
at fault. Frying and cleansing were carried on in basements, badly lighted, ill-ventilated, and in a
filthy condition. Refuse was stored in leaky and uncovered receptacles (e.g. old fish boxes and
tubs), and kept until putrid and offensive in yards which were unpaved or in which the paving
was defective, and in which stagnant and offensive pools of water were observed. There were
accumulations of house refuse on the floors of the cleansing rooms or in the yards in which
gutting and cleansing was being carried on. The use of dark and ill-ventilated basements and
want of regard for ordinary precautions as to cleanliness may be mentioned as evils which were
especially met with, and which most urgently call for remedy.
Recommendations.—Various suggestions may be made as to the methods to be adopted
for remedying the conditions under which the frying of fish is at present carried on in London,
it has been suggested that the Council might obtain the assent of the Local Government Board
to the addition of this trade to those already scheduled under Section 19 of the Public Health
(London) Act, 1891. Even if it were possible to adopt this plan, however, there would be the
difficulty that any person desirous of establishing anew the business of fish frying would be
compelled to make application to the Council for sanction and a formal hearing of the
application would then of necessity be held, as stipulated in Section 19 of the Act. This method
appears a very cumbrous one for dealing with a trade so extensively carried on in London as is
the trade in question, and, although possessing some advantages, I foresee that serious objection
might be taken to it.
Apart from this, under Section 21 of the Act, the owner of a fried fish shop can be required
by the Sanitary Authorities to adopt the best practicable means for abating any nuisance that may
arise; were the question one merely of nuisance caused by escape of offensive vapour, the
application of the provisions of this section by the Sanitary Authorities would probably be sufficient
to effect the end in view.