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1450 WATER FOR THE VILLAGE.-VITAL STATISTICS WATER FOR THE VILLAGE THE accompanying sketch and plan show the village water-hodte to which Mr. J. H. Coste referred in the Chadwick lecture, reported in our issue of Dec. 9th (p. 1354). In that lecture he pointed out that a piped water-supply to individual houses cannot be available in many districts for some years to come, but in every village there ought to be a public supply if only in the form of a stand tap, well, orpump. This public supply might be placed in a water- house-or, as Mr. Coste calls it, hydrarium-with a public fountain, a lavabo for domestic washing (such as one sees on the continent) and baths. The one illustrated has outdoor and indoor sinks for domestic washing, a room in the main hall for ironing tables and mangles or wringers, and lavatory and bathing accommodation for both sexes. A central bowed projection, which may be treated ornamentally, has drinking fountains and taps for filling pails for water to take home. Water can be stored in an over- head tank, and if this is done the structure must of course be strong enough to bear its weight. To prevent freezing the flue from the boiler can be carried (in winter) under the tank. Alternatively, the tank may be underground. Mr. Coste suggests that chlorinating arrangements should be near the pump ; or access to the tank may be by a ladder to the roof or by a manhole to an underground tank. Where water is scarce, waste water may be used for flushing. A small septic tank and a clinker- bed sewage installation deals with sewage. A drying green may be arranged around or at one or more of the sides of the build- ing, which must, of course, be put near a suitable source of water. Mr. Coste’s proposals are of special interest at a time when the water-supplies of many villages have failed. Apart from the other amen- ities indicated, a single source of water, efficiently managed, would be more reliable than the shallow private wells in general use, and the arrangements for baths should be wel- come..The erection of such a water-house might well be considered by anyone who is trying to improve conditions in the country- side. INFECTIOUS DISEASE IN ENGLAND AND WALES DURING THE WEEK ENDED DEC. 9TH, 1933 Notifications.-The following cases of infectious disease were notified during the week : Small-pox, 9 (last week 3) ; scarlet fever, 3966 ; diphtheria, 1403 ; enteric fever, 29 ; acute pneumonia (primary or influ- enzal), 1143 ; puerperal fever, 28 ; puerperal pyrexia, 95 ; cerebro-spinal fever, 16 ; acute polio- myelitis, 12 ; encephalitis lethargica, 9 ; dysentery, 21 ; ophthalmia neonatorum, 56. No case of cholera, plague, or typhus fever was notified during the week. The number of cases in the Infectious Hospitals of the London County Council on Dec. 12th-13th was as follows : Small-pox, 14 under treatment (last week 11 and 2 under observation) ; scarlet fever, 3101; diphtheria, 2154; enteric fever, 6; measles, 530; whooping-cough, 187 ; puerperal fever, 12 mothers (plus 2 babies) ; encephalitis lethargica, 256 ; poliomyelitis, 6 ; " other diseases," 230. At St. Margaret’s Hospital there were 12 babies (plus 6 mothers) with ophthalmia neonatorum. Deaths.-In 118 great towns, including London, there was no death from small-pox, 1 (0) from enteric fever, 28 (4) from measles, 14 (1) from scarlet fever, 26 (5) from whooping-cough, 68 (16) from diphtheria, 41 (12) from diarrhoea and enteritis under two years, and 70 (13) from influenza. The figures in parentheses are those for London itself. Grimsby reported the only death from enteric fever. Manchester reported 5 deaths from measles, Stockton-on- Tees 4. Three fatal cases of scarlet fever were reported from Huddersfield. Of the fatal cases of diphtheria 4 occurred at Dagenham, West Ham, Leeds, Liverpool, and Merthyr Tydfil, and 3 at Birmingham. Five deaths were attributed to influenza at Stoke-on-Trent, and 3 deaths at Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, and Swansea. The number of stillbirths notified during the week was 255 (corresponding to a rate of 47 per 1000 total births), including 36 in London. FOOD POISONING AT BIRMINGHAM.-On Dec. 6th about 180 persons took supper at a Birmingham hotel, the menu being grape-fruit cocktail, soup, fish, turkey, iced pudding and coffee, sausages, potatoes, and French beans being served with the turkey. More than 100 of them suffered next day from vomiting and pyrexia of varying severity. Investigation by the public health department of articles of diet taken by various guests suggests that one particular article of food was responsible for the. digestive disturbance, but the results of bacteriological examination are not yet available. Materials derived from one patient indicated infection by a common food-poisoning micro-organism. Tha village water-house.
