Year: 1867

High School, one OF the Councillors.
MrDDLETowN.-The Selecmen of the
town of Middletown having had their
attention called to the cheese manufac.
tory in that town, in reference to the
waste that is carried Of as atflicting the
health OF the inhabitants, called upon
DR.. Middleton Goldsmith to investigate
the subject and make report. On
Saturday last DR.. Goldsmith visited the
factory and made the following report
which we are requested to publish


To the Ssleetnen of the T0,on of AfsaazstOwn::


GENTLEMEN - In accordance with
your request l have made careful ex-
animation Of the Cheese Factory and its
belongings, situated in the village of Mid
dletown, and find the following facts:


Eirst-The refuse OF the factory, con-
sisting chiefly of whey, Is carried for the
most part through wooden trough,
made in sections and movable, and de-
posted in the wooden tanks about
twenty yards distant. From the tanks
the whey is distributed along the GEN.
tral portion OF long building and emp
tied into troughs on either side of GEN.
tral passage and standing in pens con-
tanning hogs. The floors of these pens
| incline from the centre to the outside of
this long hog house. These floors are
so loose that the liquid parts Of the re-
fuse whey and of the excrements of the
hogs can drip through the floor upon the
ground beneath the building. The
ground upon which the building stands
inclines slightly from the East to the
West, while the building stands nearly
North and South. That portion of the
excrements of the hogs kept on the north
side of the house and which does not
drip through the floor runs out over the
ends of the floor planks and thence under
the building from the East to the West
side. On the West side of this building
the garbage collected underneath flows
through irregular, narrow and sluggish
streams into marshy pond hole few
feet from the building, and somewhat
between it and the cheese house. The
garbage under the house is semi-fluid,
like great sea OF porrldge.


From the factory and from the joints
of the wooden pipe smaller amount Of
whey is washed, that from the house
through holes in the floor on to the
ground beneath the building, and that
from the pipes falls upon the ground be-
meath and flows thence into the pond
hole mentioned above.


There is no way provided for the re-
moval of any part of the filth. 1t all re-
mains on the premises, in part soaking
into the ground under the factory, in
large quantity, collected and stagnant
under the hog house, and in still larger
quantity into the pond hole between the
hog house and the cheese room.


The air In the factory and in all the
adjoining ground is simply intolerable.
So intolerable that it is a wonder to me
that any operative can be had to work
and live in such an atmosphere. The
stencil of this factory can be smelt at
great distance in certain states of the
atmosphere, and must at all times be ex.
tremely oppressive in all the neighbor-
ing buildings.


What amount of sickness has been
produced in those buildings by this
tainted atmosphere / did not enquire.
The diseases which it must necessarily
induce express themselves in those suf-
fering from them In a general feeling Of |
lasstude, loss Of appetite, in diarrhoas |
4ut in occasion al dysenteries. That these |
diseases will prevail, If they have not |
already prevailed, you may rest assured. !


There can, therefore, be but one opin-
ion in regard to the matter, viz: that
the decomposing o1al of this cheese
factory is nuisance so intolerable to the
comfort OF the inhabitants OF your viii
lage and such>a standing nuisance to Its
health that it should be abated, and that
without delay.


In order to obviate the evils OF this
factory one thing is indispensable. That
is, that no refuse OF the factory, no ex-
crements Of the hog should be allowed
to fall upon the ground, or to accumu-