(vi) Rat catching. Twenty-three members of the cleansing staff are employed during the year setting traps, bird-lime boards and rat-poison; also collecting rats from street rat-bins, private premises, etc., and taking them to the Bacteriological Institute for examination. Special campaigns in January and November were undertaken, when rat-poison was distributed throughout urban districts. The total number of rats caught was :-
Hongkong Kowloon 76,814 32,452Of these 6 were found to be plague-infected in Hongkong and 19 in Kowloon.
(vii) Mosquito prevention.—The routine work of oiling pools and inspecting dwellings for breeding places was carried out by district Inspectors. The usual cutting of undergrowth in May and October was also carried out in conjunction with the Botanical and Forestry Department and the Military Authorities (as regards Military lands).
As a result of the special survey made last year the Botanical and Forestry Department cleared during the year some 8,250,000 square feet of undergrowth as compared with 5,400,000 square feet last year in the neighbourhood of residences.
The Public Works Department trained twelve nullahs but were unable to complete the full programme of 1922. The work will, however, be pressed on in 1923.
(viii) Educational.—A small leaflet was distributed on each floor of Chinese tenement houses at the occasion of each house cleansing with a view to checking the habit of indiscriminate spitting.
WORK UNDER FOOD AND DRUGS ORDINANCE AND SECTION 83 OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND BUILDINGS ORDINANCE.
56 samples of milk were submitted for analysis under section 12 of which 50 were found to pass the standard and 6 to be below standard.
The prosecutions, under section 10 in these cases resulted as follows:
173 Des Voeux Road Central fined $25.00 112 Connaught Road Central 27 Des Voeux Road Central $50.00 318 Des Voeux Road Central $25.00 16 Cochrane Street $50.00 3 Cochrane Street $100.00 $200.00The following table shows the number and results of analysis of beer, wine and spirits submitted by this Department, which took over this duty from the Police Department on 1st January,