section there were sixty-one deaths of children under five years of age. There are other parts of the district in but little better condition. There is a large territory south of Dover street, in which the cellars are frequently flooded and kept foul, damp and exceedingly unhealthy much of the time, by sewage and surface water, and the consequent decaying of floors and other material. In some instances the owners have filled up the basements and yards of their houses to a higher grade, but while adjoining estates remain in the same condition as before, the remedy is but partial. The only sure relief from the difficulty is either to fill up the whole territory to a higher grade, at an immense expense, or to provide for a free and continuous flow of sewage outward, which we feel confident the plan of the commissioners will effect.

It has been said that "it is to the neglect of local drains and house fixtures that most of the complaints have arisen, which have provoked the discussion of this subject; and with sickness traceable to such causes, and continual discomfort prevailing, the parties most interested still wait for the city to carry out costly measures, thinking thus to abate their private nuisance."

But is it possible that the gentleman who said this did not know of the constant complaints that come to us of the Stony-brook sewer, of the Muddy-brook sewer, of the Back-bay flats, of the South-bay flats, of the Charles-river flats, of the sewers that pour their filth into that river, of the sewer at Roxbury canal, of the sewer at Federal-street bridge, of the sewer at Hittinger's wharf in the Charlestown District, and of the balance of the eighty-seven sewers, whose mouths encircle the city, from which the foul gases escape, poisoning the air, and finding their way through the windows and doors of our dwellings, waking thousands of unsuspecting people from sound sleep, and starting them from their beds to close their windows against this foul enemy? Did he not know of the complaints of the flooding of cellars with offensive and unhealthy sewage; of the frequent opening of sewers to clean the catch-basins, and the carting of their contents through the streets? And have these, or any one of these, any concern with "local drains and house-fixtures "?

The complaints of bad odors from sewage made at this office are of two classes, one of which arises from causes within, and the other from causes without our dwellings. The one is of a private, and the other of a public character. The one is amenable to local, and the other to general treatment. Defects in the one are soon discovered and remedied, while the defects in the other must be remedied, if at all, by the public. No one, knowingly, will allow his own life or the lives of his family to be endangered, if in his power to prevent it. Therefore, local causes of disease are remedied; but when exposed to general causes, the individual is powerless.

"The drainage of tenement houses and of houses of the poorer class is under the constant inspection of this Board. Defects are frequently found, and measures at once taken to remedy them. That bad odors from defective sewers exist to a large extent, to the discomfort and disadvantage of a large portion of our citizens, affecting both their health and property, is a well-accepted fact which no one of ordinary intelligence will be bold enough to deny. House drains, when perfected to the last degree of our present knowledge of traps, will avail but little against the force of sewer gases, subjected, as they are, to the additional force of wind and tide. When our sewage has a quick and uninterrupted flow from its origin to a point at a safe distance from the city before putrefaction can take place, then only can we safely ventilate our sewers, through frequent openings in the streets, as should be done. Then only can we render the traps and other fixtures of our houses of any avail. Then, and only then, may we expect relief from the constantly increasing evils of our present system of sewerage.

DRAINAGE OF SOIL.

Scarcely any more important subject can engage the attention of sanitarians than that of soil drainage. It may be second only to a proper system of sewerage. No piece of land can be said to be fit for a dwelling until it has been provided with natural or artificial means by which its surface can be kept dry. The bottom of the cellar should be at least three feet above the level of the soil water. In Boston only a small portion of the territory is so situated as to drain its soil to a proper sanitary level. The rest contains water at different levels up to the very surface, and in many places water stands on the top of the ground much of the year.

There are acres upon acres densely covered with tenement and other dwelling houses, whose cellars and basements are wet throughout the year, and whose yards are seldom dry.

Consumption in Boston for the last twelve months caused the death of 1,361 persons. This and many others of the prominent diseases are largely and unfavorably influenced by wet soil and the dampness of houses arising therefrom.

This and other countries are not without repeated instances where good soil drainage has been carried out, and a marked decrease of miasmatic and other diseases followed.

The sewers of Boston are not adapted by their depth or character to drain the soil by percolation, and in many instances they are not deep enough to drain the surface of land which is at city grade.

The remedy for this evil has been found only by digging deep trenches (in unoccupied land), or by laying deep porous pipes of sufficient size and number to receive and carry off the surplus water. The water level should be at least ten feet below the surface of the ground, where cellars are to be made, and three to four feet if no cellar is to be used.

As a sanitary measure we respectfully urge its consideration by the City Council.

BREWERIES.

Complaints having been made by those living in the immediate vicinity of some of the many breweries, situated in the outlying districts of the city, we determined early in the spring to have the subject investigated, and one of the medical inspectors was requested to examine into the causes of the alleged nuisance. He accordingly visited most of the breweries within the city limits, including all those against which complaints had been received. Among others inspected were those of G. F. Burkhardt, H. & J. Pfaff, J. Roessle, Reuter & Alley (Highland Spring Brewery), and the Burton

Brewery. In all these establishments the business was found to be carried on in a systematic and proper manner.

The only possible cause of complaint which could be noticed was the arrangements made for the reception and preservation of what are known as the brewers' grains, a name given to the refuse matter from which the soluble elements which enter into the composition of the beer have been extracted. These "grains" in warm weather undergo a very rapid decomposition, and the smell which then arises from them is extremely disagreeable. Arrangements are made at all the large breweries to see that these "grains" are never allowed to accumulate upon the premises, the design being to have each day's refuse removed within the following twenty-four hours. If these arrangements are carried out, there would then be no farther cause of complaint.

SLAUGHTERING ESTABLISHMENTS.

The efforts made in years past by the State Board of Health, and by this Board, to regulate the business of slaughtering, have, until recently, been attended with but partial success. Some of the slaughterers were irresponsible, and others unprincipled men, who were not easily controlled, one of whom even setting at defiance an injunction from the Supreme Judicial Court. Diseased cattle and immature calves, which were unfit for human food, have been killed, and others that died from disease or injuries have been dressed and offered for sale in the city, or manufactured into Bologna sausages, to be eaten by the unsuspecting. Several lots of this meat have been seized, and the owners prosecuted; convicted and fined for violation of law. The orders of the Board were evaded by a simple change of locality, or an exchange of places, the one with another, or by change of ownership. Finding it difficult to deal with them singly, the Board, acting under the provisions of Sect. 5, Chap. 26 of the General Statutes, issued the following order:

OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH,

BOSTON, November 8, 1875. Notice to Slaughterers and Renderers. By virtue of the authority given by chapter 26 of the General Statutes, the Board of Health of the City of Boston makes the following regulation: That on and after Nov. 30, 1875, the trade or employment of slaughtering cattle, calves, sheep or swine, or of rendering tallow or other refuse animal matter, shall not be carried on within the limits of the City of Boston, except on the islands of the harbor, at the Abattoir in the Brighton District, or at such other place or places as may hereafter be assigned by the Board of Health. Attest: WILLIAM L. HICKS, Clerk pro tem. WILLIAM L. HICKS, Clerk pro tem.

A true copy. Attest:

At the present time no slaughtering is done outside of the Abattoir, to the knowledge of the Board, except at two small places in the West Roxbury District, near the Dedham line. As these were remote from the thickly settled portions of the city, and no complaints of them had been made to the Board, it concluded to let them remain for the present. The Abattoir, which has hitherto been under the supervision of the State Board of Health was, at the last session of the Legislature, transferred to the charge of this Board by the following act:

[CHAP. 144.]

AN ACT to amend an Act to incorporate the Butchers' Slaughtering and Melting Association in Brighton.

Be it enacted, &c., as follows:

SECTION 1. Section six of chapter three hundred and sixty-five of the Acts of the year eighteen hundred and seventy is hereby repealed; and sections two and four of said act are hereby amended by striking out the words "State Board of Health" where they occur in said sections, and substituting in place thereof, Board of Health of the City of Boston. SECT. 2. From and after the first day of June in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six, the business of slaughtering shall not be conducted within the limits of the City of Boston except upon the premises of the Butchers' Slaughtering and Melting Association in said city.

SECT. 3. The said association shall, within a reasonable time, slaughter all cattle, sheep and calves, which may be brought to their premises for that purpose by persons not occupying tenements therein, whenever the accommodations under their control on said premises will permit. They shall also prepare the meat and other products of such animals for the market. They may charge, in addition to the offal from said animal, such price per head as may be mutually agreed upon; and, in case of disagreement as to price, the same shall be fixed by the Board of Health of the City of Boston.

SECT. 4. Said Board of Health of the City of Boston is hereby authorized to appoint one or more inspectors, to see that the rules and regulations for the conduct of the business of the association for the time being are fully obeyed by said association and their tenants, and also to see that none but healthy animals are slaughtered; the salary or salaries of said inspector or inspectors to be established by the City Council of said City of Boston, The said inspector or inspectors shall at all times have access to the premises of said association, and any building thereon, and also to the premises, yards or cars of any railroad company within the City of Boston, for the purposes of examination, inspection and seizure of any meat or animals unfit for human food.

SECT. 5. Said Board of Health of the City of Boston is hereby authorized to make whatever regulations may seem to them fit in order to prevent the slaughter and sale of animals unfit for human food. [Approved April 17, 1876.]

The latest and most approved methods of slaughtering cattle, and disposing of the refuse, have been adopted at the Abattoir; experienced and skilful men have been employed in and about the works, and thus far the business has been conducted well, in the main, although not without some offence.

RENDERING ESTABLISHMENTS.

For many years past there have been serious complaints of the bone-boiling and fat-rendering establishments. Frequent and urgent appeals have been made to the Board, to prohibit the business within the limits of the city. The Board has from time to time visited these premises, and has as often found that the machinery and appliances for consuming the gases were defective and insufficient, and that all the efforts of the proprietors to render them inoffensive have thus far proved ineffectual. The refuse material which is rendered, is collected, during the day, from the markets, hotels, restaurants, and private houses. Through the warm weather this refuse becomes badly tainted before it is collected, and is oftentimes a mass of corruption extremely offensive to sight or smell. At night it is placed in kettles, or retorts, and subjected to heat, thus liberating the gases, which fill the air with their sickening odors, and which have been perceptible for a long distance from the premises. Hoping that the proprietors of these establishments might succeed in their experiments to consume these gases and render their establishments less offensive, the Board delayed definite action. until November 8, 1875, at which time the notice to slaughterers and renderers, heretofore mentioned, was issued.

After the publication of this regulation, we sent by mail printed copies thereof to every person, who, so far as we could ascertain, was carrying on either of said employments in the city, and we afterwards served the following legal notice upon every such person eighteen in all

OFFICE OF THE Board of Health,

BOSTON, Nov. 1875.

By virtue of the authority given in Chapter 26 of the General Statutes, the Board of Health of the City of Boston hereby forbids the exercise, on or after November 30, 1875, of the trade or employment of slaughtering cattle, calves, sheep, or swine, or of rendering tallow or other refuse animal matter within the limits of the City of Boston, except on the islands in the harbor, at the Abattoir in the Brighton District, or at such other place or places as may hereafter be assigned by said Board; such trade or employment being in the opinion of the Board a nuisance, hurtful to the inhabitants, the exercise of which is attended by noisome and injurious odors.

C. E. DAVIS, JR., Clerk.

Three of the parties engaged in slaughtering, on whom legal notice had been served, claimed an appeal under Chapter 26 of the General Statutes, and the appeals are now pending in the Superior Court.

The Board, in order to give the proprietors time to find some other locality remote from the city to which they might