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cess to it for the purpose of cleaning it out. The Metropolitan
Water Board require every house supplied by
them to be provided with a storage cistern, but it is
always advisable for a house to have in addition, a tap
supplying water direct from the main, so that drinking
water, or water used in the preparation of food need not
pass through the cisterns. These cisterns should always
be so fixed as to be easily accessible for cleaning, they
should be cleaned out regularly and covered with a closefitting
dust-proof cover. Cases were noticed where a few
loose boards were placed on the top of the cistern, and
where there was a thick, dirty deposit in the cistern,
which had not been cleaned out for months.
Closet Accommodation.
In 263 houses some defect was found in respect of
closet accommodation. In the majority of cases the defect
lay in the flushing apparatus, the flushing cistern
being out of order in some cases, and in others there;
being a leaking joint between the flushing down pipe and
the pan. In still other cases the pan was cracked and
leaking, and in others again there was no flushing apparatus
at all, the closets being flushed by hand. In a certain
number of cases the building itself was in a dilapidated
condition.
Drainage.
There was some defect in the drainage in 351 houses.
In most cases the defect was of a minor character, such
as the absence of the mica flap in the fresh-air inlet pipe.
In some cases the top of the fresh-air inlet was broken off
and the pipe filled up with rubbish; in a few cases the
joints of the upcast ventilating shaft were not properly
made, allowing escape of drain air, and in others the iron
cover of the inspection chamber was broken.
In some cases the drain was choked, and sewage accumulated
in the inspection chamber and the whole of the
drains.
Ventilation.
In 326 houses there was some defect in the ventilation.
In every case this defect was in the ventilation of
the space under the ground floor. Some houses were
found to have no means of ventilating this space, while in
others the air-bricks or gratings were broken and blocked
up with earth or rubbish.