View report page

75
Preservation of Bodies of Unknown Dead.—The De Rechter apparatus for the preservation
of the dead, installed at the City Mortuary, in March, 1909, was fully described in the
Annual Report of that year. It has proved of considerable assistance in connection with
the identification of persons found drowned in the River Thames. During 1938 five bodies
were placed in the apparatus, all of which were subsequently identified.
disinfectants.
The disinfectants and other chemicals in use in the Public Health Department and in
other branches of the Corporation's service have, as in the past, been supplied under a contract
prepared by your Medical Officer of Health.
They are used for deodorising and denaturising unsound meat, disinfecting public
conveniences, street gulleys, premises after infectious diseases, etc.
Special attention was given to the thoroughfares in the vicinity of the Billingsgate and
Smithfield Markets, the former of which presents certain difficulties in the matter of deodorisation
in the summer months.
Very few complaints were, however, received of offensive odours necessarily associated
with the fish trade.
In the interests of economy the practice of using a disinfectant fluid in conjunction with
general street watering has been discontinued.
RAT REPRESSION.
Inspections under the Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919, have been carried out
by Mr. G. A. Webber, one of the Sanitary Inspectors specially appointed to act as Rat Officer.
It is not possible to give any indication of the number of rats caught in the City during
any given period, although it may be said that, during the course of a year, the number
would run into many thousands.
The Black Rat type continues to provide the major problem in this area. Instances
of Brown Sewer Rat infestation are comparatively rare. The majority of buildings in the
City provide ample harbourage for the Black Rat type, and the enormous quantity of
waste food and refuse accumulated during the course of each day, and its improper collection
and storage by many tenants of buildings, offers a continuous supply of food. In many
instances where complaint has been made to this Department, it has been found that the
complainants themselves are to blame for the severity of the rat infestation of their properties
because of their inattention to these important details.
The powers given to a local authority by the Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919,
are not sufficiently far-reaching, so far as the City is concerned. It is still the practice of
this Department to recommend the employment of skilled rat-catchers, together with the
introduction of all practicable incidental and structural rat-proofing, and although it is not
possible to demand the introduction of these measures as a matter of routine by the exercise
of our powers under the Act,, the acceptance of advice on these lines by harrassed tenants
and owners of property has resulted in the successful disinfestation of many City buildings.