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recurrence of the ravages of the rinderpest, recommended that the number
of cows in each cow-shed should be limited to the amount of cubic space
therein; and I have advised the Board to oppose the renewal of any license,
where provision is not made for affording to each cow a breathing* space of
1000 cubic feet. This minimum space for each cow has been determined
by competent authority, and it is now generally enforced throughout the
whole metropolis. Unless this regulation, which has been proposed, not only
for the benefit of the public, but also of the cow-keeper himself, be rigidly
adhered to, it is to be hoped that, on the next application, the license will
be refused. In the Appendix to this Report I have given the measurement
of all the cow-sheds in the district. In some of the cow-sheds, pumps are
used for the purpose of cleanliness, and also for the dilution of the milk.
The use of these pumps ought to be discontinued, and the supply of water
should be obtained from the Water Company. The water in all the superficial
wells in London is more or less contaminated, and in the cow-houses,
the water is in constant danger of being still further polluted by the soaking
into the wells of the fluid filth of the premises. Milk diluted with the
impure water from these pumps is unwholesome, and may, at times, be
poisonous.
Since my last quarterly report was issued, four additional water waste
preventers have been erected for the use of the inhabitants of the following
places, viz.: Jones' Buildings, Montague Court, Inkhorn Court, and Angel
Alley. Twenty-one of these machines are now in use in this district, and
they continue to give great satisfaction, not only to the poor, but to the
Water Companies. There are two or three Courts in this district that have
been supplied with water, for some years past, from cisterns placed underneath
the pavement, from which water is drawn by means of a pump. This
plan has recently been advocated by Mr. Quick, the engineer for the Yauxhall
Water Company. It is, however,. objectionable, for the cistern cannot
be cleansed without a great deal of trouble and some expense, and consequently
it is seldom or never cleansed. The best plan of supplying water
to the poor, is by means of a pipe in direct communication with the main,
without the intervention of any receptacle. The pipe could be furnished
with an ordinary tap, so that pure water may at all times be obtained by
the poor without labour and loss of time. This plan, as mentioned in my
last report, has been carried out with success in one of the Courts in this
district, in which there are 18 houses.
The following return shows the amount of work done by the Inspectors
during the quarter:—