London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of London 1916
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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VEGETABLES.
| Fresh— | Tons. | Cwts. | Qrs. | Lbs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrots—4 barrels, 1 bag | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Onions—5 barrels, 51 bags and quantity loose | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Potatoes—69 boxes | 2 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| Dried— | ||||
| Peas—784 bags | 70 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Beans—1,511 bags | 75 | 12 | 1 | 21 |
| Tinned— | ||||
| Spinach—144 tins | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Pickles—11 casks | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Total weight | 153 | 13 | 1 | 1 |
NUTS.
Under this heading are included chestnuts, shelled walnuts and desiccated
cocoanut, weighing 25 tons 12 cwts. Most of the goods were utilised, under suitable
guarantees, for oil extraction and cattle food.
ACAJOU ("Cashew") NUTS.
Large quantities of these nuts are imported from the East and elsewhere for
various purposes in relation to human food.
A consignment of 350 cases was stopped, being in part unsound. On sorting,
80 cases were passed as fit for human food, the remainder were subsequently passed for
oil extraction and cattle food.
The goods were obviously infested with some kind of destructive insect, and a
sample was submitted to Lieut.-Col. Alcock, I.M.S., of the London School of Tropical
Medicine, who reported as follows :—
" The insects found in the sample of damaged cashew-nut are beetles of
three species and the larva of a moth (dead).
The beetles are :—
(1) Tribolium Ferrugineum (Fabr.). This is a very common pest of
flour, meal and many kinds of grain, and has been carried in cargoes all over
the world. It does a great deal of damage.
This species has been kept under observation here in the School Laboratory
for some years ; its breeds freely and is not affected by the cold of winter.
(2) Silvanus Surinamensis (Linn.). This is as common as tribolium, or
even commoner. It is omnivorous and extremely destructive to provisions and
grain of every kind. It is known to live through the winter.