MUNICIPAL HYGIENE 657 



well-ventilated central hall, where inspections can be made 

 under satisfactory conditions ; no overcrowding should be 

 permitted, and system and discipline must be maintained. 

 Electric lighting should be provided, as it is in every way 

 superior to gas. 



The floor of this building must be water-tight, and 

 if possible not slippery; it should slope towards open 

 gutters, and no other system than surface drainage should 

 be permitted within the building, both traps and gutters 

 being non-existent. 



The walls must be impervious to moisture for at least six 

 feet above the level of the floor, smooth and easily cleaned. 

 An ample water-supply should be laid on for this purpose, 

 for the most thorough cleanliness of flooring and walls is 

 an absolute necessity. 



An incinerator should form an essential part of every 

 abattoir ; it should be so constructed that diseased tissues 

 or carcases can be destroyed, also all offal or refuse which 

 cannot be utilized, even the ingesta if no sale can be had 

 for it. 



Among the essentials of a public abattoir are chambers 

 where the meat can hang and properly set, and further, 

 cold rooms where it may be kept until required. The air 

 of the setting chambers must be both fresh and dry, and in 

 consequence this part of the building should not communi- 

 cate with the slaughtering hall or the cattle lairs. 



The important question to the public is who should be 

 the Superintendent of a Public Abattoir ? This matter 

 has been settled, at any rate in most of the German states, 

 in favour of the Veterinary Surgeon, who, with the status 

 of Sanitary Veterinary Officer, has complete control over 

 most of the principal abattoirs. His duties, besides those 

 of administrator, comprise the inspection of all animals 

 alive and after death. 



In the United Kingdom two Veterinary Surgeons are 

 employed as Superintendents of Abattoirs, with the full 

 powers of Veterinary Officers of Health, viz., at Manchester 

 and Glasgow. 



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