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operating the chipping machine during the night; also a certain
amount of work was done to the building by lining with acoustic
tiles, but owing to the fact that the machine had to be fed by
hand and working space was limited the doors had to be left
open, with the result that noise escaped by this route. Now the
timber is fed automatically to the new machine by a conveyor
and the new bnilding is lined throughout in acoustic tiles, with
the result that the noise now is almost negligible.
Although a perusal of these notes might tend to suggest that
ameliorative steps have been by methods of "trial and error"
this generally is not so; on the contrary there has been application
of various principles, each of which has by itself in some
measure contributed to noise or vibration reduction but which
together have had a far greater cumulative effect, especially in
the absence of any effective measure for the prevention or suppression
of the noise at its source. The details set out above are
bv no means exhaustive and are intended only to indicate the
types of problems which have had to be faced. The Council
are fully alive also to the necessity for close scrutiny of applications
for planning consent for establishment or extension of
industry which may be a source of potential nuisance.
9. MOSQUITOES. In the report for the previous year details
were given of two manifestations of mosquito activity, one in the
Alperton Ward and one in the Wembley Park Ward. In the
former case there was no recurrence during the year 1950; steps
were taken to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes in the disused
air raid shelters which had been found to be the breeding ground
in the previous year. Complaints were, however, received from
residents in the Wembley Park area but no evidence could be
found of breeding taking place in the Wealdstone Brook, as had
been the case previously. Larvae were found in water which had
collected in a stack of old motor tyres but specimens of these
larvae which were sent to the Malaria Research Station, at Epsom
were not identified as belonging to the species Culex Molestus;
they belonged to the species Culex Pipiens which is not known to
bite human beings. This manifestation appeared to be confined
to a brief period in July.
10. RODENT CONTROL. The Prevention of Damage by Pests
Act, 1949, which came into force on the 31st March, 1950, has
repealed the Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919, from that
date. During 1950 the Council continued to operate their Rodent
Control Service, for which a 50% financial grant is obtained from
the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, subject to the conditions
laid down by the Ministry. A free service is provided to
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