View report page

20
of houses have been relieved of an excess of population.
But overcrowding occurs in other parts of
houses as well as the kitchens, and I have found
it necessary to apply a rule of space to such
dwelling-rooms, and to regard those as nuisances
injurious to health that do not allow 500 cubic
feet of space for each individual. In this way
several rooms occupied by large families have been
relieved of their tenants, and if the population of
the parish has not been diminished by this operation,
it has, at least, been more equably diffused,
and the evils of overcrowding to some extent alleviated.
One of the great evils of our large cities is the
necessity of keeping various animals in confinement,
which contribute greatly to the amount of refuse
produced and the deterioration of the purity of the
atmosphere. This is more particularly the case
with cows and horses, which, on account of their
size, require extensive accommodation. I have, in
previous Reports, referred to the large number of
cows kept in our parish, and to the nuisance they
create in the immediate neighbourhoods where they
are kept. Those who keep these animals have
shewn every disposition to mitigate the evils of
which they are the source, but every effort fails to
prevent a residence near to these establishments
free from an amount of inconvenience and annoyance,
which has a very injurious effect upon
surrounding property. In behalf of these places