View report page

124
overcrowding at night, but there was at times during the day,
when they congregated in one room and sat huddled together
drinking tea a la Russe. The gipsies had no furniture, but
were well supplied with feather mattresses. They took their
food squatting on the floor, and appeared to help themselves
from a common dish placed in their midst.
Three children— boys, aged 4 years, 11 months, and 2
years respectively— died from pleurisy and pneumonia at the
premises in Ilford Lane, and this, apart from the fact that
these coppersmiths could not obtain sufficient work to keep
them going, I believe was the principal reason for these
gipsies leaving the district so quickly.
After they had left the premises, every room in the house
occupied by them was thoroughly disinfected. All the rooms
were then swept out, the refuse removed, and then thoroughly
cleansed by the owners.
REMOVAL OF HOUSE REFUSE.
During the 52 weeks ended on the 27th December, the
number of horses and vans engaged in the collection and the
number of loads of house refuse removed were as follows:—
Horses and vans, 5,990. Loads, 13,820.
The loads represent about 18,200 tons.
Collection took place on 307 days.
Average number of horses per day, 19.51.
Average number of loads per horse per day, 2.30.
The refuse was disposed of as under :—
Deposited in St. Swithin's pit 10,883 loads.
Deposited in Brown's pit 1,782 loads.
Deposited elsewhere 1,155 loads.
The large increase in the number of horses required daily
was mainly due to the long distance which the refuse had to
be carted. It will be seen that 78.74 per cent, of the refuse
was taken to St. Swithin's.