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3. Wherever there is accumulation, stink, or soakage of house refuse,
or of other decaying animal or vegetable matter, the nuisance should,
as promptly as possible, be abated, and precaution should be taken not
to let it recur. Especially examination should be made as to the
efficient working of sewers and drains, and any defect therein, and any
nuisance therefrom, or from any foul ditches or ponds should be got rid
of without delay. The ventilation of sewers, the ventilation and trapping
of house drains, and the disconnection of cistern overflows and
sink pipes from drains should be carefully seen to. The scavenging of
the district, the cleanliness of the surface of the ground, and the state
of receptacles for excrement and of ash-pits or dust-bins, will require
close attention. In slaughter-houses, and wherever animals are kept,
strict cleanliness should be enforced.
4. In the removal of filth during periods of epidemic disease, it is
commonly necessary to employ chemical agents—green copperas,
or chlorinated lime—for reducing or removing the offence and harm
which may be involved in the disturbance of the filth. In the
removal of privy contents these agents are more particularly wanted
if the disease in question be Cholera or Enteric Fever. The chemical
agent should be used liberally over all exposed surfaces from which
tilth has been removed. Unpaved earth close to dwellings, if it be
sodden with slops or filth, ought to be treated in the same way.
5. Sources of water-supply should be well examined. Water from
sources which can be in any way tainted by animal or vegetable refuse,
especially those into which there may be any leakage from sewers,
drains, cesspools, or foul ditches ought no longer to be drunk. Above
all, where the disease is Cholera, Diarrhoea, or Enteric Fever, it is
essential that no impure water be drunk.
The liability of leaky water-pipes to act as land drains and
to receive foul matters as well as land drainage through
their leaks is not to be overlooked. And such leaky
pipes, running full of water with considerable velocity
are liable to receive, by lateral insuction at their points