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103
be found practicable. Should the paving of the sheds ever be re-constructed
in conformity with the provision of the regulations, viz., with a
"proper slope," it would be practicable, generally, to place the gullyhole
outside the shed—a desirable improvement, for now the gully is
usually in the channel within reach of the hoofs of the cows, and thus
the grating is liable to get broken, and it is often obstructed with
excrement, &c.
The drainage of the sheds, so far as your Committee could judge, appears to
be fairly satisfactory; but in many instances the gully-hole is neither
"covered with a fixed or locked grating," nor trapped by "an appropriate
trap." At several sheds new traps have been provided; nevertheless, the
practically useless "bell-trap" is still too commonly found, and an effort
should be made to secure the substitution of a syphon trap and a fixed
grating with the least possible delay.
The water cisternage at most of the sheds appears to be up to the very modest
requirements of the 8th Provision, viz., 12 gallons per cow; but this
amount is totally insufficient; and why the amount was fixed so low
it is difficult to understand, seeing that the water companies profess to
supply, for domestic consumption alone, upwards of 30 gallons per
diem for each inhabitant of the Metropolis. The supply at a few
sheds, eg., in Blechynden Mews and Archer Mews, appears to be below the
requirement, having regard to the fact that the cistern is common to the
sheds and to the occupants of inhabited rooms over the sheds.
In one instance the cistern is not of "slate, or metal, or metal-lined," and in
several the cistern is not so placed "that the bottom thereof shall be not
less than 6 feet from the floor level," as it should be in order to secure a
proper amount of pressure for cleansing the sheds by flushing.
Provision has been made generally to have the water-trough or receptacle
"supplied with water by means of a pipe communicating with a water
tank," but the observations and enquiries made by your Committee, led
them to believe that in many instances this arrangement was a mere formality,
the cows being watered with pails. The piping should be of great
use to secure the efficient cleansing of the troughs.
No alteration appears to have been made in respect of the "stalls or standing
places" for cows, and in a few sheds the superficial space is somewhat
below the requirements of provision 8, viz.: 8 feet by 4 feet for one cow,
or 8 feet by 7 feet for two cows in a double stall.
With respect to cubic or "air space," your Committee have little to report,
the question having been finally settled by the magistrates at the last
Licensing Sessions, and each shed in the parish being now licensed for a
definite number of cows, so that, in the words of the third provision of
the regulations, "there shall be an air space of 800 cubic feet in respect
of every animal kept, the height of the shed in excess of 16
feet not to be taken into account in estimating the air space."
The magistrates had for several years adopted your Vestry's 800 cubic feet
standard in respect of every shed newly licensed in Kensington, and