Report by the Central Board of Health of Jamaica / presented to the legislature under the provisions of the 14th Vic. chap. 60, and printed by order of the Assembly.

  • Jamaica. Central Board of Health
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report by the Central Board of Health of Jamaica / presented to the legislature under the provisions of the 14th Vic. chap. 60, and printed by order of the Assembly. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

    115/594 (page 101)
    le last ei)idemic, a. dung' heap in a yard was no nnsual siij;ht; at present even sonietlmii:; ot tlie same ind niav'^be witnessed. Among- the poorer classes igsties often exist, bnilt immediately below the wni- ow ; poultry and pigeons, and goats, perhaps a po- ev, or an ass or two, complete the small menagerie, overing the unpaved surface with a coat of moist of- ?nsive rilth, extending to the very threshliold. Tiie ays of the sun extricate the moisture, or the rains rom Heaven sweep it bodily away, otherwise it re- lains, with perhaps a brick or two thrown into it, as tepping stones, or an old board laid across it. On tiie out skirts of the town, and in the villages, he fences of yards are often composed of the penguin, Bromelia penguin;) these are objectionable, as they ake up much room, prevent the Iree ventilation of ir, and harbour vermin ; the best fence, most lasting ,nd most economical, for such ])urposes, appears to >e the common stockado. A highly improper prac- ice was formerly very common of interring the dead and remains as yet unprohibitedby law^) in these con- fined yards. V^ery few houses are furnished with water closets, md in these, the sup[)ly of water is often defective. Usually, in the bettei houses, two privies exist, one or tlie family, and the other for the servants ; for the nost part they are under one roof, and built over one :ess-pool or pit; iisually, these privies are crammed nto a corner, off the stables, without any attempt at ventilation. The cess-pools are unpaved at the bot- Lom ; during the seasons or heavy rains, they often ^et full or partially so, and in this way they become, after a time, partially emptied. Rarely is this effected m any other manner. Many of the houses or sheds j( the poor have no such accommodation, in fact, [hey have no out othces at all, except perhaps some- thing in the shape of a kitchen, serviceable, however, only during fine weather. Jn these cases, the calls of nature are performed by them in the open air, or if decency so far forbids, the utensil used, is soon