merits great praise. This is a station of considerable importance, especially during the summer, and the excellent sanitary conditions which it possesses are a great credit to the station agent as well as to the road, and are fully appreciated by the traveling public.

Out of the fifty stations examined, only four were classed as "bad" regarding sanitary conditions. These were Newmarket Junction (the responsibility of which is equally divided with the the Concord Railroad), Durham, Great Falls, and Rochester. At Great Falls and Rochester improvements were being considered.

The condition of four stations was classed as "fair," and the remaining forty-two as "good." This, as a whole, shows a careful consideration of the question of railroad sanitation by the management of this road and its leased lines. Twenty-two stations are supplied with water, fifteen from wells and the others from springs and public supplies. Families reside in only eight

out of the fifty stations examined.

The stations are provided with water-closets or privies, with five exceptions only, and these are small and unimportant flag stations. Thirteen stations have one privy each; twenty-two have two each; one has four, and one six. Seven have waterclosets, and one (Salmon Falls) a latrine. Urinals were found in fifteen stations, and as a rule were in good condition, although such cannot obtain without a great deal of care.

Nine stations were found with good sewers, about the same number with cesspools, usually unobjectionably located, and the remainder with surface drainage only.

Twenty-six agents use disinfectants of some kind whenever needed about the station. Disinfectants are furnished free of expense by the company. A close inquiry as to whether complaints had ever been made of bad sanitary conditions at the station elicited only three answers in the affirmative.

The latrine at Salmon Falls above mentioned is in many respects superior to vaults or modern water-closets. It has, in the place of the vault, a tank of water which can be flushed out into a sewer daily, or as often as circumstances demand. The tank is, of course, connected with a water supply, so that it immediately refills. This system is in use in two or three other railroad sta

tions in the state, as well as at the state house, and in some of our public school buildings. It possesses the great advantage of being odorless and not requiring the constant supervision of some one to keep it in good order, as is the case with water-closets.

Viewing the sanitary appointments of this road from a general standpoint, we will say that they are to be commended for their general excellence.

The suggestions which were given agents and superintendents, looking toward further improvements, were received with a cordial expression of gratitude and an evident willingness to carry them into effect.

WORCESTER, NASHUA & ROCHESTER RAILROAD.

(Leased to the Boston & Maine Railroad.)

All the stations of this road in the state were inspected in May. Much praise may be given in a general way for the neatness and convenience of these stations, and they might be looked upon as models of their kind for other roads. Nearly all have two waiting rooms, with the appointments of each well arranged and in good condition.

Of the fourteen stations on this line, nine are supplied with water,―six from wells and three from other sources. With two exceptions the supply was found to be good. At Windham Junction the water was wholly unfit for drinking purposes, and a new source should be obtained. At Lee, the well is in danger of pollution from the cesspool, which is not over thirty feet from it. The well is only twelve feet deep, and on a line of drainage from the cesspool. This matter should receive the attention of the company.

Five stations are supplied with modern water closets, which were found in excellent condition. At Nashua a latrine had been substituted for the old water-closet and was found to be very satisfactory, except that it was not sufficiently ventilated. The agent was instructed on this point and exhibited a desire to remedy the defect immediately. The remaining stations have privies, most of which were found in good order. That at Hubbard's (a small flag station) was in a bad condition. All the

stations having water-closets were sewered to cesspools averaging, probably, a hundred feet distant, and were well cared for. The few defects found were mentioned to the agents and a reform promised.

The plumbing was unusually good for small railway stations. Set washbowls exist in several instances, a luxury seldom found in small stations. The general conditions are most com

mendable.

CONCORD RAILROAD.

An inspection of the stations of this road was made by the president and secretary of the board. In keeping stations in a proper condition more depends, as a general rule, upon the agent than upon the company. At some stations the sanitary conditions were most excellent, while at others, having facilities almost precisely the same, a lax state of affairs existed. Such instances show the difference in the oversight and attention to detail manifested by different agents. In cases where the company has neglected to make adequate provision for a given requirement, the agent is not to be blamed, and the criticism should fall where it belongs.

Of twenty-seven stations, exclusive of Manchester, Epping Junction, Newmarket Junction, and Windham Junction, which will be elsewhere considered, families resided in four.

Six stations were supplied with water from wells, three of which seemed to be in danger of pollution from the surroundings. These were Greenland, Pittsfield, and Salem. One station was supplied from a spring, one from a pond, and one from the engine supply. The majority of the stations had no water supply whatever. At many of these stations a water supply is not absolutely required; but at a station of any considerable size, or to and from which there is much travel, it is necessary. It is better, however, that no such provision should exist than to depend upon shallow wells located so near the vaults as to be polluted, as is not infrequently the case.

Water-closets were found at six stations, privies at twenty-four. Of the latter seventeen were classed as "good," five "fair," and two, Newmarket Junction and Salem, in a bad condition.

Of the twelve urinals, six were good, three fair, and three bad. At most of the stations there is a surface drainage only. At a few stations disinfectants would have greatly improved the sanitary condition. The company should furnish each agent with chloride of lime or some other good disinfectant, to be used when necessary. This rule should be adopted by all railroad companies.

At Newmarket Junction, jointly controlled by the Concord and the B. & M. R. R., the privies were in a bad state, and cannot be otherwise as now located. This is an important station, especially during the summer months, and better sanitary provisions are demanded at once. The condition was disgusting during a larger part of the season.

At Windham Junction, the water supply is wholly unfit for drinking purposes. At Epping the water-closet was in a foul state; proper care had not been given it. The water which flushes the closet has to be pumped by hand into the flushing-tank, and it was evident that the tank was not always kept supplied.

At Manchester, a filthy condition of the gents' closets and urinals was found. The drainage is inadequate, and the sewer pipes said to be broken under the station. The room has not received even ordinary care, and was foul to an inexcusable degree. Alterations are said to be contemplated that will abate the existing nuisance.

While the above criticisms are made for the purpose of securing improvements, we are not unmindful of the work that is done every year by this corporation to benefit the public, as well as to add to the valuation of its property.

A magnificent station has been erected at Concord, which is of great credit to the company and a valuable addition to the taxable property of the state. It is elegant in all its appointments and furnishes the traveling public with all the comforts that are possible in a railroad station. Its sanitary appointments are of the best in all respects.

Several new stations have been erected on the Weare branch, and others are to be built soon. Improvements and alterations are proposed in other stations.

We have no doubt that the sanitary defects mentioned will be remedied as fast as possible.

BOSTON & LOWELL RAILOAD.

The sanitary conveniences and conditions of the stations on this road have been slowly improved from year to year, but at no time has it been more marked than within the past year. The fact that a very large amount of travel goes over this road and its branches during the summer months, carrying as it does thousands of visitors and tourists to the mountains, renders it necessary that these matters should be taken into careful consideration; and the management of the road has not been unmindful of these requirements. Many of the stations in the mountain region are new, or comparatively new, and some of them are models of beauty and structure, divided into two waiting-rooms, supplied with modern toilet-rooms, and with running water from springs. While a large proportion of the stations were found to be in a very excellent condition, some require immediate improvements and alterations. The following are some of the points which may be especially mentioned as demanding the attention of the company :

At East Concord, the general condition of the station was most excellent, with a good supply of water from a spring. The vaults were in excellent condition, and a large sewer pipe for ventilating purposes enters the chimney from the vault, thus insuring excellent ventilation. The waste water from the set basin in the gentlemen's room is discharged under the building and stands upon the surface or percolates into the soil. At the present time no perceptible odor arises, but it will eventually become a nuisance, besides largely contributing to the decay of floors and timbers. This should be changed.

At Tilton, the station was found to be in a very good condition with one or two exceptions. Direct-pressure water supply is used in the closets, and it is not sufficient to flush them properly; there is a tank, and it should be used instead of this method. The sewer runs from the station to the river, but one or two lengths of pipe should be added in order to carry it beyond low-water mark. A gas machine and a steam-heater were found in the cellar, within a few feet of each other and without a brick partition between them. Query Is there any danger