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the dormitories of the Metropolis. Less than a generation ago
open fields constituted a considerable part of the older portion of
the Borough and in the Greenford and Northolt wards, the districts
added to the Borough in recent years, rural conditions obtained
until the last few years. Owing to this recent growth and the
fact that such a large proportion of the houses have been built to
the requirements of modern bye-laws on wide roadways there is
an almost total absence of slum areas.
The district is almost entirely residential, the factories
being small in number. The large up-to-date factories newly
erected represent industries such as the making of confectionery,
vacuum cleaners, glass bottles, wallpaper, oil lamps,
etc. Many of the employees live in new houses in the vicinity
of the factories and therefore live and work under good conditions.
In fact, the residents of the Borough are generally well-being and
appreciate of the value of health. The large attendance
of mothers at the Health Centres indicates their desire to do their
best to assist in the healthy upbringing of their families.
In the development of the Borough the Town Council have
given special attention to the provision of open spaces for public
use and altogether 574 acres have been secured for this purpose,
with a further 187 acres just over the Borough boundary owned
jointly with other neighbouring local authorities.
STATISTICS.
Population.—The provisional figures of the 1931 Census
give the population of the Borough as 117,688. This population
is 13,688 above the population estimated by the Registrar-General
for the middle of 1929, which was employed for calculating the
various rates for the year 1930. With our knowledge of the rapid
building operations going on in the Greenford ward the population
of 104,000 for 1929 was considered to be an underestimate. The
Census returns as given in the Table demonstrate that in ten years
the population of Ealing has increased from 67,755 in 1921, to
117,688 in 1931,