(Manchester & Keene R. R.)

From Greenfield to Keene. The stations on this line compare favorably with those found upon the connecting lines. The sanitary conditions were found to be good or fair in all the stations inspected; some of the smaller stations were not examined. It may be remarked that the company has expended a large sum of money within the year in improving the road-bed, bridges, and trestles, and the safety and comfort in passing over the road have been greatly augmented.

NORTHERN DIVISION.

(Peterborough & Hillsborough R. R.)

From Hillsborough to Peterborough. The stations at Peterborough, Hancock Junction, Antrim, and Hillsborough, are ample, and were found in good condition. Some suggestions were made in answer to the interrogatories of some of the agents in relation to the care of stations.

(Concord & Claremont R. R.)

From Concord to Claremont, with branch from Contoocook to Hillsborough. The general condition of these lines is good. At Contoocook alterations were being made in the station, but it has not been inspected since completion. At Warner the closet is not connected with the station; was in good condition. At Bradford the station is old and dilapidated, although in a fair condition. The station at Newbury has but one small waitingroom which, during the summer travel to Sunapee Lake, is much too small; the station is in a fair condition. At Sunapee the sanitary conditions were bad. The agent had not caused the privy to be cleansed during the season. At Claremont there is some trouble with the station, probably due to a damp, undrained site. It is a fine station built of brick, but there are present much of the time a dampness and an odor which are undoubtedly due to the cause mentioned above.

for.

As a whole the stations are in good condition and well cared

(Northern R. R.)

With two or three exceptions the stations on this line, although many of them are old, were found to be in good conditon. At Grafton Centre and West Canaan the privies had been neglected. At the former the waiting-rooms were also neglected and dirty. At West Lebanon the sanitary conditions were bad, and the waste water from the sink in men's room emptied upon the ground beneath the floor of the station. This should be changed for sanitary reasons as well as for the protection of the building.

WHITE MOUNTAIN DIVISION.

(B. C. & M. R. R.)

A somewhat detailed report on the sanitary condition of the stations on this line was made in our last report. There is little to be added, except that constant improvements have been made by the Boston & Lowell management. At the Fabyan considerable money was expended in improving the healthfulness of the Fabyan House and the "Cottage." Closets have been put in at the station, a much needed improvement. At Lancaster better drainage should be provided for the station.

The Laconia station is wholly inadequate to the wants of the place, and the sanitary condition is bad much of the time. In this connection it is but just to the Boston & Lowell Railroad to remark that plans for a new station have been made, but owing to the uncertainty of the court's decision respecting the leasing of this line, the company has not yet commenced building it.

In the above report defects have been pointed out, while little has been said of improvements. In general the sanitary condition of the stations and grounds of the various lines in our State, managed by the Boston & Lowell Railroad, is excellent, and the care and attention given this particular subject are commendable in the highest degree.

BOSTON & MAINE RAILROAD.

This road controls most of the lines in the eastern part of

the State, and has done much to put them in a first-class condition. In our last report we commended the policy of the road in doing so much to beautify and make healthful the stations and grounds, and are pleased that the system of rewarding those agents who keep their stations and grounds in the best condition is still continued. Too much cannot be said in commendation of such a system, and the result is most excellent.

In a report of our inspections for 1885, out of fifty stations, not including those upon the Worcester, Nashua & Rochester Railroad, only four were classed as "bad," regarding sanitary conditions. These were Newmarket Junction, Durham, Great Falls, and Rochester. Since then new stations have been built at both Great Falls and Rochester which are all that could be desired for the localities.

The condition of the station at Newmarket Junction, the responsibility for which is divided with the Concord Railroad, remains the same, and against this station we are obliged to place the classification, "decidedly bad." Improvements have been made at other points, and the general condition of the road and its leased lines is better than ever before.

The stations upon the Worcester, Nashua & Rochester Railroad, now controlled by the Boston & Maine, are models of neatness and convenience. They are better than those upon any other line in the State, so far as sanitary conditions are concerned, and this has been attained at an expense not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars a station.

Outside of the improvements that have been made at the different stations, considerable money has been expended by the Boston & Maine management at Alton Bay camp-ground, the larger portion of which is owned by this corporation. Several large latrines have been built upon the grounds, and two lines of sewers constructed which carry the waste from the grounds. This improvement has long been needed, and it has already done much to relieve some of the sanitary difficulties that existed upon these grounds. The sewers and latrines were completed early in the season, and have had the test of one season's use. They have been found to be satisfactory.

No railroad corporation in the State is doing more for the

sanitary improvement of its stations and grounds than the Boston & Maine.

CONCORD RAILROAD AND BRANCHES.

The inspection of the Concord Railroad shows that most of the stations are in excellent sanitary condition. Quite a full report of the stations upon this line was made in the last annual report of the Board. The last inspection shows improvements in some of the stations during the year. The Manchester station has been improved to quite a marked extent, but the sanitary conditions are not yet what they should be. The sewer beneath the station should be discontinued and connection made directly with the sewer in the street. Changes are now contemplated, which, if carried out, will remedy the sanitary defects that now exist there.

The other stations upon the line are well provided for and were found to be in good condition. The station at Concord is a model in respect to its sanitary appointments, and too much cannot be said in its praise.

Upon the Manchester & North Weare Railroad several improvements have been made. A new station was built at Parker's last year, and a new one is also to be built at Goffstown Centre. The stations upon this line will then be in first-class condition. Within a few years two of the stations upon this line have been rebuilt, and, although comparatively inexpensive, are ample and attractive.

In

Upon the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad most of the stations are all that is required, from a sanitary standpoint. one instance the station agent had neglected to keep his station in good order. The entire premises were filthy and dirty, and a request was made to have the station placed in a better condition.

A new station was built during the year at Canobie Lake, consisting of one waiting-room, office, and freight room, with proper sanitary appointments.

The water supply at Windham Junction is unfit for drinking purposes. The agent, however, furnishes a pailful of ice water daily.

On the Concord & Portsmouth line most of the stations are in excellent condition. That at Newmarket Junction is an exception, however, and remains in the condition described in our last annual report. The responsibility is equally divided between the Concord and the Boston & Maine railroads. Better sanitary provisions are needed at once. During the summer months the station is, as a rule, in a bad condition.

A general review of all the stations upon the Concord road and its branches shows that some improvements have been made during the year, and that as a whole the stations are ample and provided with all necessary conveniences. It is fair to assume that, under the policy adopted by the management, the existing defects will eventually be remedied.

MILK FROM A SANITARY STANDPOINT.*

The question of providing the people with a pure milk supply is one that is to-day receiving much attention from sanitarians and other scientific investigators. The subject has extended far beyond the consideration of fraudulently placing a watered or otherwise inferior milk upon the market by a few unscrupulous venders, and has become a scientific question with which the interests of the producer are inseparably connected.

The dairyman who would excel in quantity and quality of milk produced must apply, at least, all that science reveals regarding the subject, even if he does not understand or study the facts that lead to the revelation. It is not to be expected that all dairymen will become scientists, but they can, if they will, accept the results of investigations and apply them with great advantage.

The researches made within a few years into the cause and nature of certain diseases, demonstrating, as it has, very much that before was unknown in the processes of organic life, have in no other department of food production contributed so much of

Abstract of paper read before the New Hampshire Dairymen's Association, January 11, 1887.