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27
The number of articles disinfected during the year was
less than for some years past, viz., 2,812, of which 172
consisted of beds, 104 of mattrasses, 88 of paliasses, 119 of
bolsters, 258 of pillows, 332 of blankets, 148 of sheets, 69
of quilts, and 1,022 of other articles. The outlay for the
disinfection was as follows:—For wages of the men, £114 8s. 0d.;
for disinfectants, £62 9s. 3d.; for coals and coke, £3 12s. 7d.;
for a hand truck, £5 5s. 0d.; and for various other expenses,
£12 13s. 9d.—making a total of £198 8s. 7d. The whole
of this amount is strictly not chargeable to the disinfection of
premises, as the whole of the disinfectants used for the gullies
and for disinfecting offensive matters moved from the gullies is
charged to this account. The sum received from persons able
to pay was unusually small, as most of the houses in which
infectious diseases occurred in 1882 were occupied by the
poorer classes.
The removal of dust during the year has been very
satisfactorily performed, as the contractors have made no
difficulty about supplying the number of carts, horses and men
required, and the dust inspector has carefully superintended all
the men employed, and seen that they went into the different
streets on the assigned days, so that only 1,240 requests to
remove dust have been received here during the year. Now
considering the very large number of houses in the district this
is a very small number, especially when we consider that no
less than 22,250 loads of dust were removed at a total cost of
£2,860 10s. 0d., or for 2/7¼ for each load of 60 cubic feet.
The weather during the year was somewhat remarkable,
having been, almost without exception, unusually warm during
the first five months; mostly cold and unseasonable during
June, July, August and September; and very variable during
the remainder of the year. The month of January was mild,
having a mean temperature of 40.4, which is more than two
degrees above the average of the preceding 41 years, with less
rain than usual, and a comparative absence of north and northeast
winds. February resembled January very closely, and was