president's address — SECTION I. 183 



dwelling ; the second class, those which may be allowed under 

 rigorous conditions as to methods of working in the neighborhood 

 of houses ; and the third class, those which may remain there with- 

 out inconvenience, but which require and are subject to constant 

 inspection. Full schedules of all the classes are annexed to the 

 decree of 1886, which codifies the whole of previous legislation on 

 the subject. These schedules make mention of the special incon- 

 veniences, nuisances, or dangers that may arise from each of the 

 various establishments. None are authorised withovit public 

 inquiry and until the proper technical conditions for avoiding the 

 apprehended inconveniences, nuisances, and dangers have been 

 fulfilled. 1 may mention, as examples of the classification, that 

 manure works are in the first class, tanneries in the second, and 

 sawmills in the third. To encourage the application of science to 

 diminish the evils of noxious manufactures, such as take special 

 measures to that end may be re-classed. Thus some chemical 

 works, where no absorption of noxious vapor is effected, are in the 

 first class, others of the same nature that apply proper processes to- 

 absorb the noxious fumes are put in the second class. 



Smnke prevention is in many places of great importance. The 

 not undertaking of it by a local board of health, on the ground 

 that the prevention of smoke interferes with trade, is basing in- 

 action on a very futile plea, as the law in regard to it is most 

 vigorously carried out in cities like Birmingham and Manchester, 

 where large manufacturing interests are concerned, and least 

 vigorously in places like Hobart, where only small interests are 

 concerned. Naturally the evils arising from smoke are greater in 

 damp climates than in our drier ones. The observations being 

 carried out in London and at Manchester are specially interesting, 

 particularly with regard to the connection of smoke with town 

 fogs. 



Of even more importance than the cleansing of the public streets 

 is that of house-yards and courts, and the condition of these places 

 is the crucial test of the effectiveness of the sanitary administration 

 of a town. They are the niside of the cup and platter, of which 

 the streets are the outside. The back doors and back windows of 

 houses are their chief means of ventilation, and the quality of the 

 air that enters by them depends upon the condition of the yard. 

 Where a yard belongs to one householder, proper inspection by the 

 health authorities may secure its cleanliness ; but where its use is- 

 common to several houses, the only effectual way to secure its, 

 cleanliness is to make its cleansing part of the regular scavenging 

 work of the town. This is done with the best results in Edin- 

 burgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, and other large cties; 

 and leaving it to be done by owners or occupiers is marked by 

 correspondingly bad results in other p'aces I could name. The 

 character of the surface of the yards is the most important factor 

 in the ease or difficulty of keeping them clean. The paving of 



