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the purchasers of the drift and to the chemist, but to the passers-by, as
I think anyone can testify who has inhaled a mouthful of it whilst passing
over London Bridge or along any crowded thoroughfare.
When water in moderate quantity is poured on either variety of dust
no chemical change important to health can occur, even in the hottest
day in summer, because the water evaporates before any fermentative
process can be set up; whilst the clouds of dust are temporarily prevented.
But it is also evident that merely watering the roads cannot
entirely prevent the annoyance when the paths, like most of those under
your control, are covered with loose fine gravel.
It was my intention to have considered this matter statistically, but
on carefully considering the whole subject I find it impossible to compare
on this one point alone, your district with the whole of London, or
even with any district which is paved with granite throughout, Thus
the number of persons to an acre, the proportions of young children and
of the aged to those in the prime of life, the condition of the inhabitants
as regards the comparative presence or absence of comforts, by which
I mean plenty of food and clothing, protection from the vicissitudes of
weather, &c. vary so greatly in the different districts, and even in the
same district at different times, that it could only lead to erroneous
results if we attempted to draw conclusions from any one element in
which they differ. I have however calculated the death rates from pulmonery
diseases af all kinds in Hackney District, per se, and in Loudon
at large, and I find that the advantage considerably preponderates
in favour of Hackney, for, whilst in all London at an average of some
years 1 person died annually from pulmonary disease in each 150
living, in Hackney the average was only about 1 in each 190 living.
There is however no doubt that the inhalation of fine hard particles,
such as stone, sand (silex), or metal is injurious to health. The
investigations which have been made by various medical men respecting
the effects of fork-grinding and other similar trades, and the
means which have been adopted for preventing injury to health sufficiently
prove this. The following testimony from the last sanitary
work published by the Board of Health, supports the position I have taken;
Mr. Simon observes in regard to the tables formed by Dr. Greenhow
that a high death-rate from pulmonary diseases "mainly depends on
the local pursuit of particular branches of industry." "Two kinds of
occupation are in this respect especially hurtful; first, those which
give rise to mechanical irritation of the air passages, by diffusing in
the air of work-places any considerable amount of metallic or earthy grit,
or even of flax dust, or cotton or woollen fluff; secondly, those in which
the operatives are exposed to abrupt changes of temperature." Towns
in which the manufacture of metals is carried on (especially the
manufacture of cutlery) are also shown to suffer a high rate of mortality
from pulmonary disease.
In addition to the above testimony I know from my own experience
that persons employed in any dusty trade, as bakers, stone cutters, &c,
suffer very considerably from pulmonary affections.