Trees and tall crops.

All the lower branches of trees in crowded areas should be pruned; these are useless or superfluous for shade, and only impede the free circulation of air. This should be done by sawing off any branch flush with the main trunk, or with its main branch. In no case should a ragged stump be left, and, if possible, the wound should be smeared with tar. Lopping must be done with a handsaw and in no case with an axe; the best season for doing this is at the end of the cold weather, but it can also be done at the end of the rains. The final form of a tree should be a straight stem up to 15 or 18 feet, without a bough, and above that height its natural shape whatever that may be. This will allow of free ventilation of the roads and streets. For the same reason no tall crops, such as Genera, or Indian corn, should be allowed near houses, and jungle should be kept cleared as far as possible.

Householders should not be allowed to excavate small tanks in their compounds to procure earth from for the plinths of their houses, as these become in time mere cesspools, where the inmates bathe, wash their clothes, and often drink the water. Further, these become suitable breeding-places for mosquitoes. Plots of ground should be set aside by Municipalities, where, for proper reasons, earth can be taken. These common excavations will in time become large tanks, which can be properly conserved and utilized. For the same reason earth for roads and railways should not be removed from isolated pits, but should be taken so that the resultant excavation forms one continuous channel running parallel with the road, or should be taken in shallow layers so as to avoid the formation of a pit or hollow, the existence of which is especially objectionable in the light of recent research as mosquitoes breed and generate in them, and so spread malarial fever. Where such hollows exist, the growth of fish should be encouraged, as they feed on the mosquito larvÆ when present.

From the experience of troops on service, it is found that camping near recently turned-up soil is usually followed by fever. Ploughing up of land for agricultural purposes should, if possible, be prevented within municipal urban limits. In most municipalities there is a suburban area which is pretty well all cultivated, but cultivation in densely populated areas, as often occurs, should be discouraged.

Dhobies should not be allowed to wash clothes in stagnant tanks, as it has been proved that the spread of parasitic eczema, or dhobies’ itch, is thereby facilitated. Where a water-supply exists a small washing platform with taps should be provided free of charge by the Municipality. Where not, they should be made to wash in running water, or in tanks specially passed by the medical officer. It is most important that all dhobies be registered, licensed and told off to the different ghats; it may be free of cost to them in the first instance, but after the system has been successfully introduced, well-to-do employees can easily be induced to pay a small annual fee for superior accommodation. This will eventually fully cover the cost of the necessary supervising establishment and incidental expenditure.

The importance of the regular inspection and control of markets, through which the food-supply of a large proportion of the inhabitants passes, can hardly be over-estimated. In these, special accommodation and water-supply suitable for the articles for sale, e.g., fish, vegetables, meat, and livestock should be provided, and a staff employed to see that the existing laws are duly enforced, and that the quality of the food-stuff exhibited for sale is such as should be permitted. Public slaughterhouses for animals, the inspection of meat, and the disposal of offal should also be systematically regulated and inspected. The cost of erecting suitable market accommodation will soon be repaid and the investment become a source of income to a Municipality if the scheme is properly worked. The great point is the provision of good ventilation, drainage, and of a water-supply for flushing purposes. A design of an inexpensive market of 40 stalls for the Muzaffarpur Municipality constructed in 1902, at a cost of Rs. 4,786, is given in Fig. 25, page 55. This for the past three years gave an average income of Rs. 253. A loan of Rs. 4,800 at 4 per cent., repayable in 30 years, would entail an annual expenditure of say Rs. 278 (see Table of calculations of repayment of loans by equal instalments, Appendix E, page 68), so the results there are not satisfactory from a financial point of view.

The scarcity of timber generally prevailing, and its consequent expense, makes the process of cremation among the poorer Hindus frequently a farce, the corpse being generally merely charred, and then thrown into the nearest river, which thereby may be contaminated by the germs of disease; often the professional cremator does nothing more than throw the body into the water. It is time that rich Hindus came forward and constructed proper crematoria in the towns on the banks of the Ganges for the suitable disposal of their dead. Coal should be used and the burning ghÂts be looked after by Brahmins, as at Kalighat in Calcutta. In Muzaffarpur, a new burning ghÂt on the banks of the river, down stream of the town, was opened under the control of the Municipality. A waiting-room to shelter the persons accompanying the corpse will be constructed at the cost of a leading zemindar; and the sale of fuel was regulated. For the cremation of an adult corpse this is supplied for about Rs. 2 and for child Re. 1, varying with the seasons, but private supply was allowed, provided it be sufficient for perfect combustion of the body. At least 9 maunds of mango wood is required to burn an adult corpse properly, the rate for this being about 5 maunds for a rupee.

Mahommedan burial-grounds should not be allowed near crowded areas, or the sources of water-supply. In most towns these will be found to be overcrowded; new ones should be opened under municipal control, as provided for in sections 254 to 260A, Part VI of the Bengal Municipal Act. An area of half an acre for every 1,000 Mahommedan inhabitants is desirable if land is available, but may be reduced to quarter of an acre where such is very expensive. This allows of the graves being undisturbed for a period of seven years.

Where a house has been dismantled, or is in ruins, the owner should be made either to repair it or remove the materials; the remains of walls serve as a cover for the committal of nuisances and the deposit of refuse.

Building Regulations should be adopted in all Municipalities. Those framed for Patna City under section 241, Part VI, of the Bengal Municipal Act, are given in Appendix D, page 63. The rule that no building in any street shall be higher than the distance from its base to the opposite side of the street is a very essential one to observe. In the Bombay Improvement Trust the angle of 63½ from the opposite side of any street or lane, regulates the height permissible in any building.