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by which alone cases such as these can be found out, and the
overcrowding abated. In two cases it was necessary to take out
summonses against the offenders before the overcrowding could
be removed; but in all others it was promptly abated. There
is one point worth notice, and that is, that nearly all our bad
cases of overcrowding occur in the streets and places situated
to the south of London Fields, and adjoining to Bethnal Green
Parish.
As the smallpox epidemic had very much abated by the
commencement of this year, and no other disease requiring the
free use of disinfectants had broken out, there has not been so
large a quantity of disinfectants used, nor so many houses
disinfected as in 1871. In the last-named year, there were 110
less than 928 houses disinfected, against 213 in 1872. In 1872
there were 928 articles of bedding and clothing removed to the
disinfecting chamber from 87 houses. In the other cases of
infectious diseases which came under our notice, the bed,
bedding, and clothes, etc., were disinfected in the rooms with
sulphur vapours. The cost of wages for removing the articles to
the chamber, and of coals and sulphur in disinfecting them, was
£36 17s., and the amount received was £10 1s., leaving a
balance against the board of £26 16s. This total cost has been
so small, in consequence of the men employed working on the
roads, when not engaged in the disinfecting operations.
The chief Sanitary work performed in accordance with the
Sanitary Act, consisted of the examination of the rooms, yards,
out-buildings, and cisterns or water-butts of 6126 houses, which
were either occupied by two or more families, or by persons
belonging to the poorer classes. This number is nearly the
same as for last year, when 6124 houses were thus examined.
There were 26211 rooms in the 6126 houses (excluding wash-