Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 55.djvu/599

Rh Since the plague has prevailed at Bombay for nearly three years, it may be well to inquire concerning its probable continuance at that place. In making this inquiry we may learn something of the sanitary condition of the city and the habits of its inhabitants. Bombay is the metropolis of western India, and is situated on a long, narrow island running almost north and south. The city is located near the southern end of this island, with its harbor to the east and its sewage outfall to the west. Its population of about nine hundred thousand is a very mixed one, consisting of Hindoos of different castes, of Mohammedans, of Eurasians, and of Europeans. Differences in race, in religion, and in caste make it exceedingly difficult to carry out sanitary measures and to look after the sick. The mean temperature is about 79° F., and the relative humidity seventy-seven per cent. A considerable portion of the island is below high-water level, and consequently the sewage must be removed by means of pumps. The mean maximum temperature of the ground eleven feet below the surface is 84.9° F., and the mean minimum temperature is 80.9° F. It will be seen from these figures that organic matter must undergo rapid decomposition both on the surface and in the sewers. The water supply, which is said to be excellent, is so carelessly drawn upon by the natives that, although sufficiently abundant if used properly, it sometimes becomes scant. It not infrequently happens that the sewers will not carry the volume of water turned into them. For this reason, together with the tropical rains, the soil often becomes water-logged. Indeed, the surface in some sections of the city may be, not inappropriately, compared with a fermenting muck-heap. Besides the fixed population, there is a constant current of people flowing to and fro between the island and the mainland. When there is any opportunity for the employment of a large number of unskilled laborers, hundreds and thousands from the surrounding country pour into the city. These people know nothing of sanitary appliances, they lodge in the most densely crowded parts of the city, and often a dozen of them will hire a single room, not more than ten feet square, in which they eat and sleep. It is said that seventy per cent of the inhabitants of Bombay live in "chawls." These are tenement buildings of from five to seven stories high, built on the "flat" system. A narrow hall, at the end of which is a latrine, runs through each story, and from this doors open into rooms eight by twelve feet in area. In one of these houses from five hundred to eight hundred people live. These buildings are crowded together, with only narrow, dark alleys between. Into these alleys the inhabitants of the houses on both sides throw all kinds of refuse. In many parts of the city fecal matter is deposited in boxes or