View report page

7
As cow-sheds in crowded neighbourhoods are more or less a nuisance
and injurious to the health of the public, all ought to be prohibited
which are within 50 feet of a dwelling-house. This regulation has been
adopted by the Vestry of Paddington, and the Magistrates gave notice
that at the next licensing day the license would be refused for cow-sheds
and slaughter-houses within the above-mentioned distance from inhabited
houses.
In the Parish of St. James, Westminster, cow-sheds are not allowed
to exist.
It is truly lamentable to find the indifference which is manifested by
the majority of the cow-keepers, towards the comfort of the surrounding
neighbourhood, by their paying insufficient attention to the sanitary conditions
of their premises, as regards cleanliness, the prompt removal of dung,
and the number of cows. The cow-keepers appear to be under the impression
that, having once obtained their license, which they expect to do
as a matter of course, the proceedings before the Magistrates being a mere
formality, they can conduct their business in whatever manner they please;
but this conduct on their part, if persevered in, will probably lead to the
passing of an Act to prohibit the keeping of cows in the Metropolis.
The following remarks, contained in a note, at the foot of page viii,
in the Third Beport of the Commissioners, appointed to inquire into the
origin, &c., of the cattle plague, are important: ''Although the evidence
which has been placed before us, shows that the condition of the London
cow-houses has been very much improved of late years, chiefly by the
exertions of the Metropolitan Officers of Health, it is yet certain that a
better system of licensing ought to be adopted. Sanitary regulations are
not uniform, are sometimes irregularly enforced, and can only be carried
out by threatening opposition to the renewal of the license. In all parts
of the Metropolis, the keeper of a cow-shed should be subjected to the
same rules, and he should be called upon to show, before he obtains his
license, that he is prepared to fulfil the rules. There is still much needed
to be done in the way of securing a larger cubic space, more thorough ventilation
and drainage, earlier removal of manure, and better supply of
pure water."
In the minutes of evidence, taken before the Cattle Plague Commissioners,
Mr. G. Tegg, a member of the Veterinary College, and Inspector
of the Metropolitan Market, stated that, in his opinion, the cows which
were kept in close, ill-ventilated places, were most prone to the disease.
Before the same Commission, Dr. Ballard stated that, the attacks of the
disease bore relation to the cubical space allotted to a cow in the cow-sheds
in Islington. In answer to the question of the Counsel, who had been retained
in the interest of the cow-keepers, in St. Giles's District, "Do you
mean to say that a cow-house and yard is more detrimental to the health
of a neighbourhood, than if the same space were covered with poor houses ?"
Dit. Buchanan, the Medical Officer of Health, answered "Yes, it positively
is so."
In concluding this portion of my Report, I avail myself of the opinion
of Dr. Letheby, respecting the ventilation of cow-sheds. Dr. Letiieby
thinks that 1,000 cubic feet to be a proper space for a cow, not merely for
the healthy respiration of the animal, but also for its comfort and cleanliness.
The facts, however, which should guide us in this matter, the
Doctor says, are these;