to absorb the putrid gases evolved. The slightest inspection shows that they are not thoroughly absorbed by the soil lying over the bodies. I know several church-yards from which most fœtid smells are evolved, and gases with similar odors are emitted from the sides of sewers passing in the vicinity of cemeteries, although they may not be more than thirty feet from them."

The first result of the smell from a grave-yard is generally headache. A military officer said that when his men occupied as a barrack a building which opened over a crowded burial-ground in Liverpool, the smell from the ground was at times exceedingly offensive, and that he and his men suffered from dysentery. A gentleman who had resided near that ground said that he was convinced that his own health and that of his children suffered from it, and that he had removed to avoid further injury.

the

The following testimony of a lady at Manchester is added as an example of how air may be contaminated by sewers near grave-yards and cemeteries: "You resided formerly in the house contiguous to the burying-ground of chapel, did you not? Yes, I did, but was obliged to leave it. Why were you so obliged?. When the wind was west the smell was dreadful; there is a main sewer runs through the burying-ground, and the smell of the dead bodies came through this sewer, up our drain, and until we got that, trapped it was quite intolerable. Do you think the smell rose from the emanations of the sewer and not from the burying-ground? I am sure they came from the burying-ground; the smell coming from the drain was exactly same as that which reached us when the wind was west, and blew upon us from the burying-ground; the smell was very peculiar; it exactly resembled the smell which clothes have when they are removed from a dead body; my servants would not remain in the house on account of it. Did you observe any effect upon your health when the smells were bad? Yes; I am liable to headaches; and these were always bad when the smells were so also; they were often accompanied by diarrhoea in this house; before I went there, and since I left, my headaches have been trifling. Were any other of the inmates of the house affected with illness? I had often to send for the surgeon to my servants, who were liable to sore throats. And your children, were they also affected? My youngest child was very delicate, and we thought he could not have survived; since he came here he has been quite strong and healthy."

In the course of an examination of the chairman and surveyor of

the Holborn and Finsbury Division of Sewers, on the general management of sewers in London, the following passage occurs: "You do not believe that the nuisance arises in all cases from the main sewers? Mr. Roe-Not always from the main sewers. Mr. MillsConnected with this point, I would mention that where the sewers come in contact with the church-yards, the exudation is most offensive; have you noticed that in more than one case? Yes. In those cases have you had any opportunities of tracing in what manner the exudations from the grave-yard passed to the sewer? It must have been through the sides of the sewers. Then, if that be the case, the sewer itself must have given way? No; I apprehend, even if you use concrete, it is impossible but that the adjacent waters would find their way through the cement; it is the natural consequence; the wells of the houses adjacent to the sewers all get dry whenever the sewers are lowered. You are very certain that in the course of time exudations very often do, to a certain extent, pass through the brickwork? Yes; it is impossible to prevent it. Have you ever noticed whether there was putrid matter in all cases where the sewer passed through a burial-ground? The last church-yard I passed by, in the parish of St. Pancreas, when the sewer was constructing, I observed that the exudation from it into the sewer was peculiarly offensive, and was known to arise from the decomposition of bodies. At what distance was the sewer from the church-yard? Thirty feet."

That these emanations do act injuriously on the health of the people resident in the immediate neighborhood of the places from which they issue, appears to us, by the evidence that has been adduced, to be indubitably established.

SUFFICIENCY OF SPACE.

On sanitary grounds, it is requisite that each corpse shall be surrounded and covered by a mass of earth sufficient to deodorize and destroy the putrid emanations proceeding from it, and also that the total amount of space shall be so great that it may not be necessary to re-open any grave until the body previously interred therein shall be completely decomposed. With regard to the amount of land necessary for a cemetery, Dr. Parsons calculates that about a quarter of an acre of land for every thousand of the population of the community to whom the cemetery belongs, is the usually estimated minimum, but this is far too small a proportion even for a cemetery possessing every advantage, and he further states the desirability of

providing more than the bare minimum of space is obvious, and is generally recognized. It must be remembered that, as a rule, quite one-sixth of the total area of a cemetery is taken up by roads, paths and ornamental grass or beds of flowers and shrubs, the chapels, mortuaries, lodges, &c., and sufficient width should be allowed between each grave-space to permit every grave being reached without trampling on others. A standard of 110 burials per acre has sometimes been taken, but this appears to be rather a small one. It has been estimated by others that an acre of ground is capable of affording decent burial to not more than 136 bodies yearly, but in the thirtyseven burial-grounds of Liverpool, taking one with another, the number of burials to an acre is fully double that just stated. Were the calculation confined to the burial-grounds most in use, the proportion would be greatly augmented. Therefore, the whole subject of the locality of the cemetery should be regulated by authority, so that the graves of the multitudes of the dead should not be close to the habitations of the living, so that the air we breathe and the water we drink should not become contaminated with the product of decaying animal matter.

Therefore, since inhumation is the generally adopted method of disposing of the dead at the present time, and in view of all the evils that have been pointed out in the past and that may arise in the future, it is plainly apparent that no cemetery should be located or managed without due authority from some sanitary board.

In conclusion, I cannot do better than to quote from the admirable and exhaustive treatise on Sepulture, by Dr. Stephen Wickes, already alluded to. He says: "The country towns in the vicinity of our great cities have become suburban; small villages have become considerable cities. The population, as it increases, crowds upon the old and venerated burying-places, and they are enlarged to meet their increasing interments. The authorities of such towns are stimulated by their growth to add to their attractions by improvements in their drainage, by abating nuisances, and by conveniences of various sorts; but when, as has occurred in some towns, they are warned of the dangers of the grave-yards, and importuned to abate them, they let them alone, to receive their annually increasing dead, to exhale their noxious miasm, to pollute their water-supply, and to become nuisances of a daily increasing power for evil. The most of the governments of Europe have prohibited intramural interments absolutely. In our own country, the disposal of the dead has not been a subject of legis

lation by State legislators, to whom it properly belongs. The regulation of burials has been left to municipal authority, liable to be governed in its action by local influences. * ** The legislatures of our States adopt laws of quarantine to protect the people from the importation and consequent spread of contagion. The State of New Jersey, perhaps others, provides by a general law against the infection of cattle. Our law-makers do not recognize as they should the fearful dangers of the inhumation of human bodies dead from malignant diseases, with its specific germs-germs which float in the air we breathe and the water we drink; germs which neither boiling or freezing can destroy; germs which, after being buried in the earth for centuries, when brought to the surface by excavations produce a pestilence, and which, like vegetable seed germs buried for ages in the earth, when brought to the surface bring forth fruit after its kind. * * * Inhumation commends itself to the traditional sentiments of the people, and an innovation upon these is not demanded. Rural cemeteries, properly regulated, under wise control, guarded by good laws, and permanently extramural, afford all necessary protection to the public health.”

* * *

SANITARY INQUIRIES AS TO HEALTH RESORTS

AND OTHER LOCALITIES.

The examination of the various health resorts of the State was commenced about the 20th of April and continued at intervals during the year. Our object was to find the present condition, and, also, how far suggestions made in former visits had been carried out. It was gratifying to find that, with rare exceptions, great improvement was manifest, both in the diligence and intelligence of Boards of Health. At Cape May, the sewer system had been extended, and more attention given to the ventilation of the sewers, especially at the points of house connection.

It had been noticed the previous year that one large hotel was greatly needing a reconstruction of its sanitary arrangements. It was unfortunate that this was not reached more promptly, but the building has now been greatly improved in its sanitary condition. If only the management of the hotels and large boarding houses is made as good as that of matters outside of buildings we believe prevalent healthfulness will result. There must be a thorough system of house to house inspection by those competent and fearless, and a report to the Board of Health of any deficiency either in construction or

administration.

CAPE MAY POINT.

This locality has recently come into notice as a winter as well as summer resort. An examination showed that it was dependent on driven wells, which differed somewhat in the quality of the water. The drainage is not so good as it should be, but it is hoped that ere this unnecessary pond holes have been drained and filled.

The provisions of the hotels as winter resorts were incomplete, and a thorough reconstruction as to sanitary arrangements in that occupied