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7
condition; are thrown on the floor and replaced
in the baby's mouth. I believe them to be
responsible for diseases of infants of various
kinds, and totally unnecessary, as it is only of
recent years that they have been used.
I made a special inspection of the dairies and
milk farms. There is in most cases an effort
made by special apparatus on the farms to preserve
the purity of the milk supply, but the
highest standard of cleanliness was not reached
in every case, and it is impossible to guarantee
that all precautions are always used. In more
than one case I found the hands of the milkers
dirty, though they "had been washed," and the
ideas of cleanliness seemed to be primitive. It
should also be said that in more than one case
the proprietor evidently took great pains, and
did all that is possible to ensure the purity of the
milk.
I have examined 11 samples of well water
with the result that 2 were found to be unfit for
drinking purposes.
I have made 16 bacteriological examinations
for various medical men in the district in doubtful
cases of diphtheria. Such examinations have
in several cases shown that throats presenting
the appearance of diphtheria were septic sore
throats only.
I inspected 2 houses in Carterhatch Lane
and reported them as unfit for habitation; they
have since been closed by magistrates' order.
As the sewage works at Ponders End have
for a long time been in an unsatisfactory