HH62/2/STIRLI/19

Transcription

[Page] 18

Haggs and its neighbourhood, and Banton are in a bad position.
In Whins of Milton, also, the matter requires, and is receiving,
attention. In Western Stirlingshire the places where the question
is most urgent are Milton and Torrance of Campsie, the District
being otherwise very fairly provided drinking water.
Drainage. - This is treated of in the District Reports. But
I may note here that throughout the county the drainage is
principally of slop and surface water, there being comparatively few
water-closets. Hence the sewage, objectionable as it is in many
cases, is yet not nearly so much of a nuisance as if wet methods of
excrement removal prevailed. As I state in the District Reports,
the sewage does not undergo in any of the villages any systematic
purification before finding its way into streams. In a great many
cases, either of single houses or small villages, a simple and inex-
pensive method of treatment, if properly attended to, would go far
to prevent pollution of streams. The treatment would consist of (1)
precipitation and (2) filtration. The precipitation would take place
in a small catchpit, and would depend either on mere subsidence of
the solids, or partly also on the presence of some such agent as
ferozone or sulphate of alumina. In either case the water would
pass from the catchpit into a small filter of sand and gravel, or
polarite, &c. Both the catchpit and the filter would have man-
holes above to permit of regular emptying and cleansing. There
is, of course, nothing original in such a proposal, and I mention
the matter merely to indicate that the difficulties of sewage puri-
fication on a small scale are not so great as is apt to be supposed.

Sale of Food and Drugs Act. - An analyst has not yet been
appointed, so that no action has been taken under the Act.
Bye-laws. - Rules and regulations have been adopted re-
garding the following matters by all three District Committees:-
(1) Dairies, Cow-sheds, and Milkshops, under the Con-
tagious Diseases (Animals) Acts and relative Orders. The
regulations, while following the same general lines, are not
uniform for the three Districts. Regarding cubic space per cow,
in existing byres, the minimum is fixed in the Central District at
450 cubic feet, and in the Eastern at 600, while in the Western
the amount has not been defined. It is under consideration
whether the minimum in the Eastern District should not be

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reduced to 500 cubic feet. There are also certain differences
in regard to inspection, paving of byres, structure of dung-
steads, &c.
(2) Slaughter-House Regulations, under Section 30 of
the Public Health Act. - These regulations are based on the
Model Bye-laws of the Local Government Board of England, and
are practically the same for each of the three Districts. The
first twelve have to do with structure, and the remainder with
maintenance. They provide for slaughter-houses being at least
100 feet from dwelling-houses, for water supply, for ventilation, for
paving floors with asphalte or concrete, and for covering walls to a
sufficient height with concrete or some other such material; for
keeping the ventilation, water supply, and drainage in good order,
and for general cleanliness.
(3) Regulations for Houses let in Lodgings, under
Section 44 of the Public Health Act. - These are, almost with-
out alteration, the regulations suggested by the Board of Super-
vision. They apply only to "populous places" with not less than
1000 inhabitants at the last census. The most important relates
to air space, which is fixed at a minimum of 400 cubic feet
per adult.
(4) Common Lodging-Houses under Section 62 of the
Public Health Act. - Here also the amount of air space is fixed
at 400 cubic feet per adult. In addition to ordinary regulations
as to cleanliness and the separation of the sexes, an apartment is
to be provided for lodgers working at night, and the duty is laid
on the keeper of ascertaining from a medical man whether any
illness among the lodgers is of an infectious nature.
The above sets of regulations have only recently been adopted,
and no complete inspection of the places to which they refer has
yet been undertaken, or has indeed been possible by the Sanitary
Inspectors. And in regard to dairies and cow-sheds, the regula-
tions are not to be enforced for some months yet, so as to allow
reasonable time to have the premises brought into conformity with
the bye-laws.
Refuse Disposal. - As has just been stated, there are through-
out the country comparatively few water-closets. Privies and
ashpits are the general rule, and they vary in degree from almost
the best to the very worst.