USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1915-1916 > Part 26
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In the town of Plymouth one hundred and forty-six stables were inspected and we found 431 head of cows, 125 young cattle, 131 sheep, 20 bulls, 8 oxen, 290 swine.
The following questions were asked and answered in regards to each stable.
1. Do cattle appear healthy ?
2. Are they kept clean ?
3. Do other animals appear healthy ?
4. Is stable on ground floor, over cellar, or in basement?
5. Has it proper space for stabling the above number of cattle ?
6. Has it proper drainage ?
7. Has it sufficient ventilation ?
8. Has it sufficient light?
9. Is stable clean, unclean or filthy ?
10. Where is manure kept?
11. Is quality of drinking water good or bad?
12. Do cattle have separate feed troughs or one general trough ?
13. Has tuberculosis been located in this stable since the last yearly inspection ?
14. If so, has stall been properly disinfected ?
15. Have any improvements been made since the last yearly inspection ?
16. If so, of what nature?
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During the year 1916 ten cows have been condemned and killed as suffering from tuberculosis.
The conditions of most stables have shown an improvement in many respects the past few years, but there are still some where much improvement would be appreciated.
FREDERICK H. BRADLEY,
Inspector.
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REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF SLAUGHTERING
During the past year the following number of animals were slaughtered and examined for food in the town of Plymouth :
Pigs
Cattle
Calves
Lambs
January,
88
4
4
February,
33
4
8
1
March,
33
3
8
April,
27
1
18
May,
13
5
3
June,
17
6
19
4
July,
10
2
5
4
August,
9
2
4
1
September,
22
3
1
2
October,
47
4
5
1
November,
116
9
4
December,
84
4
3
6
Totals,
499
42
81
29
There have been two head of cattle condemned as unfit for use, also two pigs were condemned and disposed of according to law.
We have appointed the following days for slaughtering the past year.
Mondays and Thursdays,
In centre of the town
Tuesdays,
At Manomet
Fridays, At Long Pond and Outlying districts
Saturdays, At the North part of the town
The Town is still in need of a slaughter house in the centre
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of the town, where good sanitary arrangements could exist, and have all the slaughtering done there for the town; there also should be a small place for slaughtering at Manomet, and all from that section use it.
At the present time, the slaughtering is conducted here in places far from suitable in any way for the business, and in many instances pigs, etc., are killed under trees and in barns.
It would be much better to have two central points and have slaughtering done there, it could be done quicker, much easier, much more cleanly than at present, and much more pleasant for everybody connected with the slaughering.
FREDERICK H. BRADLEY,
Inspector of Slaughtering.
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REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF MILK
To the Honorable Board of Health :
I respectfully submit my report as Inspector of Milk for the year ending December 31, 1916.
No Inspector of Milk having been previously appointed, the work of milk inspection had been under the charge of the Board of Health. At the time of my appointment there were fifty- two known producers of milk, who had been granted permits under the law, Chapter 216, Acts of 1907, as follows :
"It shall be unlawful for any producer of milk or dealer in milk to sell or deliver for sale in any city or town in the Com- monwealth any milk produced or dealt in by him without first obtaining from the board of health of such city or town a permit authorizing such sale or delivery. Said boards of health are hereby authorized to issue such permits after an inspection, satisfactory to them, of the place in which, and of the circumstances under which such milk is produced, has been made by them or by their authorized agent."
My first work was to inspect and score these dairies accord- ing to dairy inspection score-card of the United States De- partment of Agriculture. Conditions were found for the most part good, but in many cases faulty methods of handling the milk appeared, and suggestions were made to the producers as to means of improvement.
During this first work of inspection new applications were continually received from small producers who had been ignor- ant of the law, and there are now under inspection one hun- dred and two stables in Plymouth and vicinity. In a number of cases the recommendation for a permit was withheld until
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a thorough cleaning up had been made. One application was refused because of the impossibility of making clean milk on the premises inspected.
Out of the total number of stables furnishing Plymouth's milk supply, seven are in Kingston, nine in Plympton, two at Island Creek and one at Green Harbor. The inspection for these out of town dairies is of special importance, as the milk is generally collected in cans under conditions which greatly serve to increase the risk of contamination, and careful atten- tion should be given to milk from these sources.
During the eight months covered by this report, there have been made a total of one hundred fifty-five inspections. Thirty-seven stables have been inspected twice, six three times, and one four times. As a result of these inspections there has been a marked improvement of equipment and methods. Besides the general cleaning up, two stables have been entirely reconstructed, and four others have been remodelled. In one case an open pig-pen in the stable, less than five feet from the milker, has been removed to a distance of sixty feet, and in two other cases where pig-pens were close by, the stable has been screened to prevent contamination of the milk by flies from that source. In another case, a privy has been moved from a position near the stable to a safer place some forty feet away. The milk producers have in nearly every instance shown the heartiest cooperation in making things better. The present condition of stables and surroundings is fairly good. and will continue to improve.
A tabulation of the scores shows that eighty producers score between 50 and 60%, fourteen between 60 and 70%, six be- tween 70 and 80%, and two between 80 and 90%. In explana- tion it should be said that, except in large dairies where con- struction is of very modern type, a score of 70% is considered exceptional, and from 60 to 70% is thought very satisfactory. The Plymouth regulations require a minimum of 50%, and it is thought that safe milk can be made by careful producers in stables reaching this score.
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The State Law, Acts of 1909, Chapter 443, requires that no person, partnership or corporation, except a producer selling milk to other than consumers, or not to exceed twenty quarts per day to consumers, shall deliver, exchange, expose for sale or sell or have in his custody or possession with the intent to deliver, exchange, expose for sale, or sell any milk, skimmed milk or cream in any city or town in which an inspector of milk is appointed, without obtaining from the inspector of milk of such city or town a license. "Under this law there have been issued forty-eight licenses, out of which thirty-one are to producers, and seventeen to stores or markets. Under the board of health regulations, eleven restaurants and hotels have been licensed to sell milk. All of these licenses are sub- ject to inspection as to methods and conditions of storage and sale.
Under the Revised Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 56, Sec- tion 40, six dealers in oleomargarine have been registered.
Thus far the chief work of milk inspection has been in the improvement of conditions under which milk is produced and distributed. I believe that it is now time to go further and give regular and careful attention to the milk itself. Milk is practically the only important food that is consumed in a raw state. If bacteria exist in an ordinary food, they are killed by the process of cooking. A large proportion of the milk used is uncooked, and so it is imperative to keep bacterial con- tamination as small as possible. To do this requires frequent tests of the milk, and constant suggestion to producer and consumer. Chapter 228 of the Acts of 1916 requires that in addition to the inspection of dairies, there shall also be an inspection of the milk produced in these dairies before a pro- ducer's permit is granted. If this statute is to be adequately fulfilled, there is required a certain amount of bacteriological apparatus and supplies. I have had an estimate prepared by a leading dealer in such material, and after eliminating any apparatus that is unnecessary for present needs, and selecting
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the most inexpensive type that is of practical value, I believe that a sum of five hundred dollars will be sufficient to equip and maintain for a year a small laboratory for simple bacterio- logical examination of milk. I recommend that this sum be appropriated.
Respectfully submitted, WALTON E. BRIGGS, Inspector of Milk.
Plymouth, Mass., January 19, 1917.
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REPORT OF PLANNING BOARD.
In compliance with the requirements of the act providing for the establishment of local planning boards by cities and towns (Chapter 494, Acts of 1913), the Planning Board sub- mits its report to the annual Town Meeting.
The attention of the Board has been directed during the year particularly to two matters.
1. Under the provisions of the act it was made its duty to make plans for the development of the municipality, with special reference to the proper housing of its people.
The Board has caused to be made under the direction of the Town Engineer a large plan covering the section of the Town between the Kingston line and Jabez corner, showing all the existing street lines, and by reference to the other town plans, in the office of the Town Engineer, it is possible to determine readily what territory within that limit is now available for building purposes.
An examination of those plans shows that the largest un- occupied tract within the limits of that section of the town, available to the street railway and with possibilities of water and sewerage, is the tract of land lying westerly of Sandwich street, and between the Obery road and Mt. Pleasant street.
To determine the present need for the laying out of addi- tional streets, in order to secure additional building lots, the Planning Board had a conference with all the real estate agents having offices in the town. It appears from such statements as were made to the Board by the resident agents that the time had not come when it was necessary for the Town to lay out additional streets, in view of the fact that there were numerous
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lots, available for building purposes and now upon the market for sale. A private enterprise is now engaged in the opening up of lots for building purposes, and the Board is informed that in the northerly part of the town there is a single tract where streets are being laid out which will furnish approxi- mately seventy-five building lots.
2. Under the general authority of the Board to make plans of proposals for the development of the Town, the Board has considered the improvements made necessary on Sandwich street, between Lincoln street and Howes lane. As a result of the widening by the State Highway Commission of Warren avenue, there is left a jog of about nine feet on Sandwich street, on the northerly side of Howes lane. The widening, by the County Commissioners, of Sandwich street to Lincoln street, leaves a jog on the southerly side of Lincoln street of eighteen feet.
Careful treatment of the improvements which seem impera- tively necessary at those points, to remove the existing un- sightly and dangerous conditions, must involve a consideration of the subsequent widening of Sandwich street to its entire ex- tent, between Lincoln street and Howes lane.
The Planning Board have caused to be prepared by the Town Engineer a plan showing a possible widening between the above mentioned streets, which will give a substantially uniform width of fifty-seven feet through its entire extent.
The Board does not recommend at the present time that the entire work be entered upon, but have submitted their plans to the Selectmen, and suggested that they widen Sandwich street on the easterly side, from Lincoln street southerly to a point nearly opposite the Brockton & Plymouth Street Railway car barn, and from Howes lane northerly to a point near the prop- erty of Alonzo Blackmer. These two widenings are part of the general plan and if carried out in accordance with these recommendations, the entire plan, of which these two widen- ings form a part, can be completed later.
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The estimated cost of the complete widening of Sandwich street, between Lincoln street and Howes lane is $45,000, but for that portion of it which appears to be immediately necessary, namely, from Lincoln street to the Brockton & Plymouth, and from Howes lane to Alonzo Blackmer's property, the estimated cost is $13,000.00.
The Planning Board advise that the above widenings of Sandwich street, if reported by the Selectmen, be accepted by the Town. We recommend an appropriation of $100, for the ensuing year.
ARTHUR LORD, Chairman, GEORGE MABBETT, LEBARON R. BARKER, FRANK C. HOLMES, ARTHUR E. BLACKMER, Sec.
1
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REPORT OF TOWN ENGINEER
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen :
I herewith submit the first annual report of the Town En- gineer.
During the year, surveys and plans have been made as fol- lows: Strand Avenue and Circuit at Manomet were laid out by the Selectmen and accepted by the Town at the annual March meeting. There was laid on Water street extension about 2000 feet of 12 inch and 10 inch sewer for which grades have been given, and of which a profile is on file at the office. On Standish Avenue, 500 feet of 8 inch sewer was laid, and on Brookside Avenue 510 feet of 8 inch, for both of which pieces of work grades were furnished. Plans and profiles of this work show grade and line.
Another piece of work of some importance was setting stone bounds of standard type to replace in some cases old bounds without drill holes for centers and in other cases to mark corners where no bounds had ever been set.
This bound, which I call a standard bound is 4.0' long, 6" square at the top and about 9" square at the base, with the letter P on the top. There were 81 of these bounds set during the year, and at least as many more should be set in 1917.
Another piece of work that has been undertaken has been the relocation of street lines.
This work has been out in conjunction with the work done by the Assessors in making their plans for assessing purposes. The work has consisted of re-running the present street lines wherever possible, in accordance with the layouts on file with the Town Clerk, and marking all corners with stone bounds.
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The bearings of all lines which have been run, have been re- ferred to the true north, so that in all the work that has been completed. instead of having the sometimes unreliable compass bearings that were originally used, we have the absolute bear- ing referred to the true north.
If this work can be continued for a few years, we will event- ually have a set of street line plans with well marked corners on the ground, that will prove invaluable for reference in the future.
There was appropriated last year $900 for engineering, and $400 for street line work, the details for expenditures of which can be found in the report of the Town Accountant. I rec- ommend for the ensuing year the same appropriation for en- gineering and street lines, namely, $900 for engineering and $400 for street line work.
Respectfully submitted, A. E. BLACKMER,
Town Engineer.
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PLYMOUTH PUBLIC LIBRARY.
OFFICERS OF THE LIBRARY CORPORATION
President,
Francis J. Heavens
Vice-president, Clerk,
Rose S. Whiting
William Hedge
Treasurer,
Theodore P. Adams
DIRECTORS.
Theodore P. Adams
Mrs. E. E. Hobart
Anne P. Appleton
William S. Kyle
William W. Brewster
John Russell
Edward L. Burgess
Elizabeth Thurber, 2nd
Francis J. Heaven's
John B. Washburn
William Hedge
Rose S. Whiting
REPORT OF ITS DIRECTORS.
During the past year the public library has been making special effort to reorganize its work along modern lines, and to make its equipment and opportunities more nearly meet the requirements of a larger patronage. It has at all times been hindered in enlarging its opportunities because if its limited endowment, and the comparatively small amount it has received by public appropriation. Its financial needs are now especially
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pressing. The increased expense of new books and the re- pairing of old ones, the larger cost of every sort of library equipment, and particularly the imperative need of continuing expert service in conducting library work,-all this makes necessary a larger sum of money from some source. The li- brary is doing its best to serve well the community at as low a cost as necessary equipment and successful service demand, and it asks a generous support from the public.
The report of the Librarian to the Directors follows. It gives in detail some of the work the library has done during the past year, and suggests lines of work along which the modern library must work if it would meet the requirements of today.
For the Directors,
FRANCIS J. HEAVENS, President.
REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN.
To the Trustees of the Plymouth Public Library :
I herewith submit the report for the calendar year ending December 31st, 1916.
It was decided that during the past year the task of re- organizing the library should be begun. To this end extra equipment has been installed and changes have been made in our system.
It was found that the books in the reading room and on the shelves upstairs were practically inaccessible during the evening hours owing to the exceedingly poor lighting facilities. In order to remedy this defect electric lights have been placed over the shelves in the Reading room and in the Gallery and Art room upstairs.
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Extra shelving has been placed in the Stack and also in the Art room, thus making it possible to bring together in one room all books on Useful and Fine Arts. This is a much more convenient and more easily understood arrangement. The fact that the Art room is now very well lighted also makes it avail- able as a special study room.
A verticle file has been purchased for pamphlets, and a cata- log case has been ordered for the children's department.
The gate whih obstructed the entrance to the stack has been removed and the public now have free access to the stack on both sides of the delivery desk. An addition has also been made to the charging desk.
In order to help the public understand the arrangement of the books on the shelves, guides have been placed at the ends of the stacks and shelf labels have been placed on the shelves upstairs. The guides in the stack are a temporary expedient and should soon be replaced by guides of a more permanent character.
By special arrangement books for outside reading have been placed on shelves in the stack for the use of High school pupils.
In December an exhibit of children's books was held during Good-Book week. Mr. Burbank lent us the larger part of our collection, and our thanks are due him for his cordial co-opera- tion.
During the year a change has been made in the library rules. It is now possible for a member to borrow three books at one time instead of two as formerly. Special cards have been issued to teachers, on which they may borrow books. for school use for a period of six weeks.
Charging System.
Acting on the advice of the Library Commission, we changed from the Brown to the Newark charging system. This system is the one commonly used in public libraries throughout the
Plymouth fifteen
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United States. It has already proved to be a time saver on the part of the staff. Besides, it permits the assistant to give more undivided attention to the needs of the borrower as she is not obliged to stop and "slip" each book as it is received.
Re-registration.
The registration records were found to be incomplete and it was decided to commence re-registration January 1, 1916. A separate registration of those under fourteen has been kept, and the age limit has been lowered to eight years, instead of twelve as formerly.
During the past year 1,722 members have been enrolled. Of these 885 were old members re-registered. It is possible that many of the 837 which are counted as new members have pre- viously been registered, but only those have been counted as re-registered whose old memberships could be found on file.
Membership, December 31, 1916.
Adult members, (153 temporary residents) 1,406
Juvenile members, (16 temporary residents) 316
Total
1,722
Circulation Department.
The total circulation during the past year was 25,499. This is a decrease of 676. It is, however, gratifying to note that while there has been a decrease in the circulation of fiction, the circulation of Non-fiction has increased by 1,355. The decrease in the circulation of fiction is probably due to the fact that we have exceedingly few- books of fiction which are fit to circulate. Practically all the standard works of fiction have been worn out and have not been replaced. Besides, the number of new titles added during the past years has been altogether inadequate.
The percentage of fiction was 74.5 of all books lent; the per- centage in 1915 was 76.6.
The circulation per capita was 14.7.
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Reading Room.
The number of readers registered in Reading room during the past year was 21,464.
Mending and Binding.
The library was able to secure, through the Library Com- mission, the services of Miss Tillinghast, a trained book mend- er. During the week that she spent in our library Miss Till- inghast gave special instruction in mending, to the library staff.
During the year, 1,433 books were repaired, 73 were re- covered, 2,564 volumes were washed and shellacked and 1,260 were labelled. 6,659 pockets were placed in books, and 6,302 book cards were re-written.
Miss Snell was granted a leave of absence for six weeks in order to attend the Summer school in library work at Simmons College. On her return she was required to assist at the desk during the absence of Miss Pillsbury. Therefore, for more than twelve weeks, the work of the mending department was at a standstill.
Binding.
810 volumes have been rebound during the year.
Overdues.
During the year 951 overdue letters and postcards were sent and 6 messenger calls made, 3 books remain uncollected. 3 books were lost and paid for.
Cataloguing Department.
679 volumes were added to the Library during the past year, 124 by gift and 55 by purchase. 263 books were re-catalogued and 60 transferred to the juvenile department.
The Book Committee made a careful revision of the library during the year and many volumes which were worn out or otherwise past their usefulness were withdrawn or discarded.
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1973 volumes were withdrawn from the adult department, 263 from the juvenile, 1100 Government documents and pamphlets were discarded. Documents which were not accessioned are not included in this count.
Children's Department.
The work in this department has been heavily handicapped by lack of books and lack of room. There is an urgent need for a children's room and for more juvenile books.
The black covers have been removed from the books in the children's corner, and as far as possible the books have been repaired, rebound, or cleaned. With all our efforts it was impossible to retain many of the books as they were soiled beyond all possibility of repair.
We have tried to make the children's corner as attractive as possible and, in spite of our limited accommodation and short- age of books, 316 juvenile members were enrolled. The cir- culation of juvenile books amounted to 6,311, practically one- fourth of our total circulation.
The cards for the adult books were filed in the adult catalog. This made it impossible for the younger children to use the catalogue. Therefore, all juvenile cards have been removed from the adult catalog and, where the condition of the books permitted, the juvenile books were re-catalogued. A new catalog case for use of the children has been ordered.
Under the auspices of the Woman's Club a Story Hour has been held during the month of December. In all 62 ·children have attended the first three story hours, thus proving that the story hour would be appreciated.
The attendance record of children in the reading room was not begun until the month of August. From August to Decem- ber the attendance of children under 14 years of age was 3,969.
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STATISTICS.
Accessions by Class. Added by Purchase Added by Gift.
General works,
Philosophy,
6
Religion,
2
Sociology,
30
8
Language,
Science,
2
1
Useful Arts,
117
1
Fine Arts,
4
Literature,
10
17
History,
29
11
Travel,
16
Biography,
3
14
Reference,
16
1
Fiction,
135
31
Juvenile,
Non-fiction,
100
9
Fiction,
177
3
Duplicates,
6
9
Total,
679
Circulation by Class-Adult.
Periodicals
954
General works,
3
Philosophy,
137
Religion,
97
Sociology,
656
Language,
21
Science,
229
Useful Arts,
300
549
115
555
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