closet, forming part of its roof, as so frequently obtains amongst a majority of the small houses in Hackney and elsewhere. The arrangement is also most objectionable, as the cistern cannot be readily cleaned out, is exposed to frost, and if there be not a water-closet service-box or flushingcistern, the water may be contaminated by effluvia from the pan, which is often very dirty. Many persons will not believe that air passes into the cistern when the handle of the closet is raised, but I have seen this happen on many occasions, and met with two severe cases of diphtheria in a large house where none of the other sanitary arrangements were defective.

The flushing-box is often by no means of a satisfactory make or properly fixed, being usually of too thin a material, whilst from its shape it is likely to crack when the contained water freezes, and is also often fixed in so slight a manner as to be readily pulled down. I have often seen it placed so low, to avoid the cost of a couple of feet of down pipe, that children climbed on the seat and interfered with its working. The ball-tap often ceases to shut off the water in consequence of the arm connecting the ball with the tap becoming straightened from use, so that the poor will often put a stick under it to keep the ball up and shut off the water. I have under such circumstances known the pipe to be knocked together, and the closet kept without water for a lengthened period rather than inform the owner. A little grit getting on the leather or india-rubber in the old ball-tap and in the kind of draw-off tap commonly used at present, causes a leak, and consequent loss of water, which might be easily prevented by a more frequent inspection of the water apparatus by the company's officers. I also feel persuaded that if the water companies' officers would take out the defective leathers from the taps, and put in new ones, much waste of water would be prevented. I shall not suggest any make or pattern of flushing-box, as perhaps Mr. Turner will refer to these, but I think I am not going out of the way to mention that a flushing-box fitted with a syphon is a most efficient kind, as it admits of the whole

flush being delivered after children or others have used the closet, and have not kept the handle up for a sufficiently long time. This box, if fitted with a down-pipe having an internal diameter of an inch and a quarter, will give a sufficient flush provided at least two gallons are discharged at once. The down-pipe in the poorer class of houses is usually too small, and the handle is not held up long enough for the pan and drain to be sufficiently flushed. This is one of the causes of the drains in poor houses getting blocked up, but as a rule choked pans and drains occur either from neglect, or too often from stones, tins, sticks, and other things being put into the pan by children. To remove these obstructions it was by no means uncommon for the poker or a stout stick to be taken and the fancied obstruction rammed at until the trap was broken. This is one of the instances in which a little less energy and a little more knowledge would be useful.

There has been a great discussion, which I think has now nearly terminated, as to the relative merits of hand (pail) flushing and a supply of water from a proper apparatus. When poor persons did not generally understand the use of a water-closet (which, by-the-bye, seems but little known to immigrants from rural districts), there might have been some ground upon which those who recommend pail-flushing could stand, but now there seems to be no reason why every water-closet should not have a proper supply of water laid on. There is no doubt that as a rule the closets which have a water supply are rarely so filthy as those that are cleansed by hand-flushing; and that the proportion of dirty pans is much larger amongst hand-flushed than closets provided with a proper apparatus.

When an intermittent is changed to a constant supply, the size of the ferule in the main, which is usually very small, should be increased so as to admit of a pailful of water being obtained from the draw-off tap as quickly as could be done under the old system from the cistern. This is a matter of considerable importance, as in many cases the owners request the water company's

officials to put in a smaller sized ferule than that provided by the bye-laws. This is quite regular provided the owner obtains the occupier's consent in writing, but is probably often done without that formality. The chief object of this is to lessen the strain on the fittings and diminish the cost of keeping the apparatus, especially the draw-taps, in proper order, so as to prevent the waste of water. Numerous complaints were made to me, when the constant service was introduced, of the "dribble" instead of a full stream of water that flowed from the draw-taps. On the other hand, weak pipes and taps will not stand the pressure attending the use of a full-sized ferule, and much waste consequently results. I find that an eighth-of-an-inch ferule, if the pressure at the waterworks be good, and the house be not on an elevated part of the district, affords as good a supply as is ordinarily required, except perhaps by washerwomen. Water-waste preventers, which discharge a pailful of water each time, are extensively used in the poorer courts of Whitechapel and some other parishes instead of cisterns. The plan answers well in most cases, and as the water is obtained direct from the main, there is no fear of contamination, but they are objectionable in consequence of the time occupied in filling the receiver after each discharge.

The direct connection so often found to exist between the sink-waste and the house-drain is often injurious, as when the cover of the bell-trap is left off or broken a current of sewer-gas can, and often does, pass into the room. As the room is often used for living in, as well as for cooking and washing, the entrance of sewer-gas, often in a full stream, causes much disease. This sometimes consists only of headache, loss of appetite, malaise, and a disinclination for work, but neuralgia and other ailments frequently occur which interfere very much with the usefulness and enjoyment of life. Indeed I scarcely know of a greater source of discomfort than such sink-wastes. A bell-trap in the sink and other places is often worse than useless, as the cover is usually left off; and even when on they afford no protection, except

when full of water, so that in yards and other places where they depend for the small efficiency they possess on an uncertain supply of water from rain or occasional sluicingdown of the yard, they deceive those who trust in them. In Hackney I recommend that a grating of some kind or other be fixed over the opening to the waste in the sink, and that the pipe be carried through the wall into a yardgully having an opening in it for that purpose. If the room should be so far underground that the pipe cannot be carried through the wall, it is connected with a P.- or S.-trap. This is not satisfactory, but cannot always be helped. When there is a bell-trap in the sink, and it is left off, and the attention of the occupier of the house is consequently called to it, the inspector is usually considered to be more nice than useful. The heads of the rain-water pipes are, especially in poor houses, often placed near windows, so that sewer-gas can make its way into the bed and living rooms without being suspected. In very many instances cases of severe sore throat have occurred time after time in the same room until this defect has been remedied, when it has ceased to recur. This remark applies with as much force to high-class houses as to those of the poor. Diphtheria, often fatal, also occurs apparently from the same cause, and I have met with typhoid fever in rooms where the pipes were similarly situated. I am in the habit of having rain-water pipes so placed cut off from the drains, and made to discharge the rain-water over or into a yard-gully. The latter is the best arrangement, as the top or grating of the yardgully in dry weather is apt to become blocked up with drift of various kinds or the holes filled up by children. The latter occurs so frequently, that a few words from district visitors and others to occupiers of poor houses would often be useful.

The paving and drainage of the yard in poor houses are often bad, to a great extent, however, owing to the carelessness of the inhabitants, who often chop blocks of wood on brick or concrete paving, or even on the hearth

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stones.

The difficulty in many houses of the poor in Hackney is to define absolutely what is the yard, as small houses were often built with gardens behind them, and the owners will not pave any portion of the small garden, and magistrates also object to make an order for them to do so. If all that may be called yard is covered with York or Victoria stone, or even with good concrete and bricks, the cost is comparatively so large. that rents are raised, but if they remain unpaved, they are a source of great discomfort to children, and a cause of dirt in the house. Even when hard bricks have been laid down, the house refuse or garden mould is often thrown on the paving to so great a thickness that it is necessary to scrape the surface before its structure can be seen. It is true that this only occurs amongst dirty people, or in tenement houses where anything that has to be done for the common good is neglected. Regulations made under the Sanitary Act will assist inspectors in their efforts to have yards, water-closets and other places kept clean, but if the person letting the house in tenements will have to do this and other work for the benefit of his tenants, he will increase the rent to pay himself for the time so expended. In carrying out these regulations difficulties have often arisen regarding the amount of work to be done by the owner or middleman, because whilst every thing necessary for the preservation of health must be done, yet more than that should not be asked for, as the tenant is usually made to pay for every improvement. The cost of keeping houses in a cleanly state as regards the walls and ceilings is sometimes undertaken by the occupier of the rooms or the tenant holding from the owner, who is allowed a slight reduction in the rent; it is amongst these that the greatest difficulty exists i. obtaining repairs or even whitewashing. I may say that Regulations have been in force in Hackney and carried out since 1866.

The drains of the houses occupied by the poor, especially when the houses are old, are very often structurally defective, being often made of bricks with open joints from