324 PREVENTIVE AND REMEDIAL MEASURES 



Newsholmo states " Infant mortality is highest in those counties 

 where, under urban conditions of life, filthy privies are permitted, 

 where streets and yards are to a large extent not ' made up ' or 

 paved." In his recommendations he says " Sanitary authorities 

 in compactly populated districts should decide to remove all dry 

 closets if a water-carriage system is practicable." 



For the dry closet to be maintained in a sanitary condition 

 great care and attention is recjuii-ed. It cannot be rendered fiy- 

 proof, however, owing to the ability of flies to emerge through the 

 soil after having developed from eggs deposited on the faeces 

 before they were covered. 



Destruction of Refuse. 



It is a remarkable fact that in many of our towns and cities, 

 professedly progressive in sanitary measures, public " dumps," 

 " tips " and garbage heaps are maintained. Frequently, they are 

 located on a vacant piece of land surrounded by thickly populated 

 districts in which there is almost invariably a plague of flies 

 during the summer months. On many occasions during my 

 investigations I have examined such accumulations of organic 

 and other rubbish and have found flies breeding in vast numbers. 

 While such heaps contain a large proportion of mineral matter, 

 such as clinkers, cinders and ashes, etc., they invariably include 

 cart-loads of organic rubbish of various kinds, especially domestic 

 refuse, in which flies can breed (see p. 94). Not only do they 

 breed but they also infect themselves with putrefactive and some- 

 times pathogenic bacteria. The greatest danger of such heaps, 

 however, lies in their fly-productive rather than infective character. 

 Cities and towns can no longer afford to permit these methods of 

 disposing of organic refuse. Its prompt destruction by means of 

 an incinerator is the only measure which will prevent its being a 

 public nuisance and a serious breeding ground for ffies. Further, 

 the storage of the domestic organic refuse by the householder in 

 fly-proof receptacles frequently and regularly emptied or removed 

 by the civic authorities must necessarily form an integral part of 

 any sanitary system of refuse disposal. 



