SANITARY SURVEY 
of the City of - 
KEENE 
N E iV HAMPSHIRE 
by 
ROSCOE W. MYERS 
X \ \ 
June 1924 INTRODUCTION 
1 
Ke ene was originally called ''Upper Ashuelot" . 
It was set off as a town July 3, 1732 by the 
legislature of Massachusetts. It was later named 
''Keene" after Sir Benjamin Keene, the oldest son 
of the first mayor of King's Lynn. It was settled 
by English immigrants. In 1747 the 
settlement was abandoned and burned by 
the Indians, but was rebuilt two years 
later. In 1753 a charter of township was 
granted by the royal governor of New Hampshire. 
Eleven years later a schoolhouse was erected. In 
1776 an epidemic of smallpox occurred, and made 
necessary a hospital. In 1790 there were 1300 
people in the town, and a post office was es- 
tablished. In 1796 the first attempt at a public 
water supply was made; Deacon Wilder brought water 
from Beaver Brook into the village. 
During the nineteenth century the town grew 
quite steadily* March 10, 1874 Keene adopted city 
government. At that time the population was about 
six thousand. The water-works were completed in 
1870, and from time to time after that 
were improved. During this period all 
the buildings were of wood. Lumber 
yards and saw mills were numerous. Wood- 
working was and still is the chief industry. 
Early 
History 
Nineteenth 
Century 2 
Many of the factories made articles of wood as chairs, 
wooden pails, and even wooden heels are made in Keene. 
Naturally, fires have been numerous and disastrous. 
Improvements in the water supply have always been 
in response to the need for better fire protection, 
and hygiene has been an incidental consideration. 
Besides the wood-working industry there were shoe 
factories and other industries of less importance in 
the town. A sewage system was constructed in 1883. 
During the present century a number of things 
of sanitary interest have occurred in Keene. There 
have been two epidemics: one of scarlet fever with 
twenty-two deaths in 1901, the other the influenza 
epidemic in 1920. 
The year following the influenza epidemic a 
change was made in the organization of the board 
of health. A board is elected to serve without 
pay, and they appoint a health officer 
whose salary is $1600 a year. Before 
this time the responsibility was vested 
in a board rather than in one person, 
and whenever an epidemic occurred or any health 
emergency arose the board would resign. 
In 1906 the sewage system was extended to in- 
clude West Keene. In 1914 and 1915 the meter system 
Board of 
Health 3 
for measuring water was installed. In 1916 the 
incinerator was built. In 1922 the water system 
was surveyed from the point of view of fire pro- 
tection, and recommendations were made. 
In 1920 the population was 11,210. The people 
are chiefly of English and Irish descent, there 
having "been relatively little immigration to 
alter the purity of the ''old Stock". 
There is however a small "foreign 
quarter" in the southern part of the 
city, in which there are Italians and other 
southern Europeans. 
Although a city in name, Keene appears decided- 
ly rural to the visitor from Boston. The main 
street has a double row of trees along its middle, 
extending nearly up to the square where 
the stores are. There are very few tene- 
ment houses, nearly all the people having 
their own homes; and this adds to the 
rural atmosphere. There are no larger cities near 
Keene, and Keene is the county center; so it cer- 
tainly could not be called "suburban". 
Keene is in the southern part of New Hampshire. 
It lies in a valley about ten miles east of the 
Population 
Rural 
Features 4 
Connecticut river. The center of the town is 483 
feet above sea level; but owing to the high hills 
which surround the town, and their abundant water 
shed, the town is relatively low and damp. The 
land on which the town is situated has however 
been getting dryer and dryer. In 1732 there was 
a great flood which inundated the town- 
ship (then called Upper Ashuelot). 
Until about fifty years ago there used 
to be a lake where the center of the 
city now is. A man of sixty-two tells of fishing 
at a body of water where the largest hotel in the 
city now stands. Many of the buildings are erected 
on spiling in what was once a swamp. At present 
however there are relatively few places about the 
town which could really be called swampy. 
The soil all through this part of New 
Hampshire is sandy and not very fertile. As 
this is in the region which was covered by the 
glaciers during the ice age, there are 
many loose boulders and the ground is in 
places very stony. New Hampshire is well- 
known as the ''Granite State" . Most of the rocks 
and the boulders and the stone walls in Keene are 
Geographic 
Position 
Geology 5 
of granite, "but there is nowhere near as much granite 
in Keene as there is farther north in the state. The 
stoniness of the soil does not prevent the growth of 
trees. All the hi 13s about Keene, and some of them 
are quite high, are well covered with timber. Within 
the city limits there are four hills that are over a 
thousand feet above sea level; there are many lesser 
elevations. 
The rainfall is fairly constant throughout the 
year, there usually being a period of relative drouth 
in the midsummer. Owing to the well-timbered hills 
the amount of water in the streams remains 
fairly constant throughout the year, except 
for the freshets in the spring when the snow 
melts. Even the small streams keep flowing throughout 
the summer. 
The weather in Keene is like that elsewhere in 
New England. As Mark Twain said, "God made every- 
thing in New England but the weather." There are 
frequent, sudden changes in temperature and humidity. 
The humidity is generally fairly high, over 50%. The 
ground in the winter is generally covered with snow 
which melts and freezes, so that one day there will 
be slush and the next day ice. 
Climate 6 
The temperature varies from perhaps ICO on the 
hottest day of summer down to below zero in winter. 
The lowest temperature recorded in Keene is 42 de- 
grees below zero on January 2, 1899. The nights 
are generally cold, while the days are fairly warm. 
The difference between the temperature at night 
and that during the daytime is much greater in Keene 
than in cities which lie on more level ground. 
Through the western part of the town runs the 
Ashuelot river. This is a small, rather slow- 
flowing stream, very muddy and dirty. It takes the 
sewage of Keene at various points along its course. 
Some factories are located along its shores, and 
one obtains water power from it. This factory also 
pipes the river water for use in case of fire. 
Since they also use the city water for the same 
purpose, this constitutes a health menace which 
will be discussed in more detail later. 
The Ashuelot river is not used for 
drinking water anywhere along its 
course. It flows through the towns of Swanzey, 
Winchester, and Hinsdale, emptying into the 
Connecticut river at Hinsdale. The course of the 
river from Keene to the place in Hinsdale where it 
Topography 
* See map in kick of book 7 
empties into the Connecticut is about eighteen miles 
long. This is probably sufficient to protect towns 
using the Connecticut river as a water supply from 
infection by Keene's sewage; at least no complaints 
have ever been made to Keene. 
About three miles north of the city is Sylvan 
Lake. This is nested among high hills and has an 
elevation of 640 feet. It is used as a reservoir. 
The overflow drains into the Ashuelot river by a 
small swift-flowing brook. 
On the eastern side of the city and roughly 
parallel to the Ashuelot river runs a small swift- 
flowing stream in which lurk many wary trout. This 
is Beaver Brook. In the city proper the stream 
loses its cleanliness and beauty, and runs through 
backyards and under side streets; it contains numer- 
ous tin cans and other rubbish. It then unites with 
the Branch, a larger trout stream; this empties into 
the Ashuelot. 
In Swanzey, just south of Keene, is Wilson pond, 
a body of water about as large as Sylvan Lake. 
Wilson pond is a pleasure resort for Swanzey and 
Keene. There is dancing, a small theatre, bathing 
in summer, and skating in winter. The lake is also 
used as a source of hydroelectric power. 8 
The city is in a strong financial position, 
and can well afford any necessary sanitary im- 
provements. The total bonded debt as of December 
1, 1923 was $73,000. The total assets were 
$216,196.24, and total liabilities $163,743,85. 
The balance of assets over liabilities 
on December 1923 was enough to pay off 
most of the bonded indebtedness. These 
assets include only items which the city 
expects to realize on soon. Keene has a valuation 
of $16,023,656.00. The public works are valued at 
$1,000,000. The tax rate is $22.50. Owing to the 
wide variety of industries in Keene, there has 
never been a business depression. 
There is ample opportunity for growth. At 
present there are forty manufacturing plants in 
the city, making twenty-five different lines of 
goods. The main industry is chair manufacture; 
there are eight such factories, freight facili- 
ties are excellent; there are three railroads 
running from the city. Traffic problems are re- 
duced to a minimum by having an unusually wide 
street in the center of the town. (See first 
picture.) This is the widest paved street in 
Financial 
Si tuation 9 
the world. Along its two sides and around the tri- 
angle which marks its northern limit all the business 
of Keene is concentrated. 
The city has plenty of room, however. There are 
very few tenements. Houses are not crowded together. 
Kvery one lives in a cottage or a farm house. There 
is ample room for the children to play without getting 
into the streets. This means fewer accidents, fewer 
crippled children, and less rickets. 
The twenty-three hundred dwellings surround the 
business district and are in turn surrounded by farms 
and public parks, of which the city boasts 220 acres. 
The total area of Keene is thirty-seven square miles. Main Street Jrom the HR. Crossing North 
Nearly all the Stores are Located along here 
Sylvan Lake, Reservoir 
See 10 10 
WATER 
The waterworks of Keene were established on 
July 3, 1861. Water was let into the city on 
November 1869. At that time there were about 
eight miles of main pipe. The cost of the original 
system was $82,000. The water system is now valued 
at $600,000, a rd is an occasion of some civic pride. 
They now have about fifty miles of main pipe. 
Sylvan Lake (see pictures) was the first 
reservoir built. It is well-named, as it sets in a 
hollow in the hills and there is nothing in sight 
all about it except trees. There is one house on 
its watershed, and that is kept track of rather 
closely by t 1b health officer. This house makes 
use of a septic tank for sewage disposal. 
The nature of such a tank will be discussed 
later under the heading of "Sewage". Sylvan 
Lake, when full, holds about 180,500,000 
gallons. It has an area of fifty-one acres, and the 
area of the watershed is over 1500 acres. When full 
it is about 155 feet above Central Square and is 
three miles from it. The main dam is of earth 
with a central wall or core of stone and cement 
eighteen inches thick, extending up to about 
SyIvan 
lake 11 
the height intended for the water in the pond. On 
the southeast side there is a small earthen dam. 
With considerable difficulty I succeeded in 
surveying the watershed of this lake at first hand. 
As mentioned before, the edges of the lake are very 
heavily wooded. There are many brier patches 
and other difficulties in the way of inspecting 
this reservoir. There was plenty of evidence of 
wild life in the wood about it. In many places 
along its shores there are boulders forming 
diminutive peninsulas out into the water. Around 
these there were numerous bait cans and forked 
sticks. I am indeed sorry for the fishing in- 
spector if he seriously attempt to patrol this 
reservoir. There is some overflow from the 
reservoir on the southeast side, where the 
earthen dam was built, and it is rather swampy. 
I could not be quite sure whether this swampy 
land drained into the reservoir or went the other 
way. The main overflow from the reservoir is by 
a small stream on the west side. The west side 
of the reservoir is the one most easily approached 
from the city. It would be quite easy to patrol 
this side, as there is a path and the going is 
fairly smooth. 12 
There is a small reservoir in a ravine on Beech 
Hill. It has a capacity of fifteen million gallons 
and a water area of 7-| acres. It is 110 feet above 
Central Square. The reservoir was made in 1872 by 
blocking the ravine with an earthen dam. It is no 
longer used as a water supply, but might be in an 
emergency. It is within city limits, and there are 
houses rather close to it on the east side. These 
houses are, however, all connected to 
the sewers. On the eastern side of the 
reservoir is a park called Robin Hood 
Forest; this makes a most excellent 
drainage area for the reservoir, as the forest is 
fairly well kept and the park is very little used 
by people. As in the case of Sylvan Lake, evidence 
of fishing was found. The water in this reservoir 
is very turbid and would not be desirable for 
drinking purposes. I ran across a group of boys 
who had pulled out of the water three mud turtles 
and a number of small hornpout; it is not the kind 
of water out of which you would expect to pull a 
perch. 
Owing to the fact that the supply from Sylvan 
Lake and Beech Hill Reservoir was inadequate for 
fire protection, 862 acres of land were bought in 
Beech Hill 
Reservoir 13 
Roxbury and Nelson, This land includes Woodward 
Pond, which has been renamed Echo Lake. The area 
of the lake is now about 140 acres. The lake is 
seven miles from Keene and is 844 feet above 
Central Square. The water is not taken 
directly from the lake, but what is needed 
is obtained by two intercepting dams placed 
along Roaring Brook, the outlet of the 
reservoir. The capacity of the lake is 530,000,000 
gallons, but the greater part of this is necessari- 
ly wasted before collection. The upper intercept- 
ing dam on Roaring Brook is three miles from the 
lake. As there is no facility for storage at this 
point, a pipe line extends from there over the 
northern part of Beech Hill to a distributing 
reservoir which has been built in the course of 
Beaver Brook. The distributing reservoir is on a 
level with Sylvan Lake, and it connects as direct- 
ly as possible with the city mains. As the area of 
the distributing reservoir is only about half that 
of Sylvan Lake, this amount of storage seemed in- 
adequate for fire protection and another dam of 
stone and concrete was built across Roaring Brook 
two miles below the first dam. This dam is 137 
Echo 
Lake 14 
feet long and 19 feet high, and has a storage capacity 
of two million gallons. The water level here is 98 
feet above Sylvan Lake. The water from this supply 
connects with the mains at the schoolhouse on Lower 
Marlboro Street. 
There is no reason to suspect contamination 
from the watershed of Echo Lake. There is one house 
on its watershed, and this place uses a septic tank. 
From a sanitary point of view the method of collec- 
tion from Roaring Brook is probably quite satisfac- 
tory. But of course the turbidity of the water is 
considerably increased by its passage 
through Roaring Brook. The other inlet 
to the distributing reservoir to the 
northwest of Beech Hill is probably ex- 
cellent drinking water. It drains a relatively un- 
inhabited region in Gilsum and Sullivan. There is 
however a remote possibility of contamination from 
a few farmhouses along the upper part of Beaver 
Brook. Contamination of Sylvan Lake by sewage is 
very well guarded against. 
In all the reservoirs, in Roaring Brook and 
in the upper part of Beaver Brook, fishing is 
practically unchecked. It is unlawful to fish in 
the reservoirs. Fishing is tacitly permitted in 
Sources of 
Polution 15 
Beech Hill Reservoir, as that is not used as a water 
supply. This reservoir is so much neglected that if 
any occasion should arise for using its water, the 
health of the city would be very definitely jeopard- 
ized. It is shut off from the city mains by a check 
valve, and if the pressure in the mains gets down to 
forty pounds the water from Beech Hill is automati- 
cally turned on. In the spring of 1924 they were 
testing out the hydrants in Keene, and the State hap- 
pened to come round to analyze the water as obtained 
from a faucet near the point where the Beech Hill 
Reservoir pipe connects to the mains. They found 
Bacillus coli fairly abundant in this water, and the 
water was promptly condemned by the railroad. Signs 
were put up, warning passengers who transferred at 
the Union Station to avoid drinking the water. The 
city felt quite indignant about this, and had many 
analyses made to prove that the condemning analysis 
was incorrect; all the samples were reported upon 
from the various laboratories as quite satisfactory. 
The railroad has accepted the satisfactory reports 
and is again using Keene's water. It seems probable 
that in testing the hydrants in the region of the 
check valve connecting to the Beech Hill Reservoir the 
flow through the city mains could not be sufficiently 16 
rapid to maintain a pressure of over forty pounds, 
although the pressure in the pipes at any other 
time might have been far above that point. 
To add to the scare from which the city suf- 
fered this spring the doctors found that a large 
number of the people were suffering from diarrhea, 
and the water supply was blamed for this. It was 
not possible to collect any statistics on this 
epidemic, if it was an epidemic. There were no 
deaths, and no one was seriously ill. 
Another possibility for the stray finding of 
Bacillus coli is in one of the factories located 
along the Ashuelot Biver. As mentioned in the 
introduction, the Ashuelot Biver is a sewer at 
this point. As an additional means of fire pro- 
tection in this factory a private system of hydrants 
and fire pumps has been installed. This system is 
supplied with water from the Ashuelot River, also 
with water from the city mains. The water from the 
city mains is doubly checked so that the river 
water cannot go the other way. It is claimed that 
even if the valves leaked the pressure in the city 
system would be sufficient to prevent any reversal 17 
of flow, and this is probably true. It seems very 
unlikely that the water supply should be contaminated 
from this source. 
The Keene water supply is not treated in any way; 
no chemical or other means of purification is employed. 
Interpretation Of Water Analysis 
The State analysis of the water is made at ir- 
regular intervals (recently it has been made about 
once a month). Specimens are taken at random points, 
and brought to Concord for analysis. Tn addition to 
these analyses the school physician makes frequent 
tests of the water. The preceding State analysis was 
copied from the records of the superintendent of the 
water works. The red ink shows the printed form; the 
black indicates the result of this particular analysis. 
The measure of turbidity and sediment is as 
f ol lows: 
very slight 1 
slight 2 
considerable 3 
heavy 4 
Thus the turbidity is slight to considerable. One of STATE OF NEW HAMPS! 
SHIRE 
18 
Sanitary Water Analysis 
Concord 
April 23, 1924 
Prom Keene Water Works, Keene, N. K 
Serial No. 23385 
Supply: City, Court Street (faucet) 
Turbidity: 2 to 3 
Sediment: 2 
Odor: 1 
Color: 0.15 
(parts per 100,000) 
Free NHS Nitrogen 0.0010 
Alb. NH~ Nitrogen 0.0076 
Nitrate Nitrogen 0.003 
Nitrite Nitrogen none 
Chlorides 0.09 
Hardness 0.7 
Le ad 
Zinc 
Iron < 
B. coli 1 co negative 
10 cc negative (2 tubes) 
Bact. per cc at 37 C 
Alkalinity 
Residue on evaporation 19 
the causes of this turbidity lies in the fact that a 
large proportion of the water comes through P.oaring 
Brook (see paragraph entitled "Echo Lake", page 11). 
This also explains the slight sediment. 
Odor is measured according to the following 
table: 
very faint 1 
faint 2 
distinct 3 
decided 4 
very strong 5 
There is therefore a very faint odor to the water, as 
shown by this analysis. The most likely explanation 
of the odor is algae. Sylvan Lake and Echo Lake are 
not treated in any way to prevent the formation of 
algae. However I may state from personal experience 
that there is no disagreeable flavor to the water 
during the summer months. Perhaps in the spring, 
when this specimen was taken, the water was not so 
satisfactory, owing to the spring ''overturn** - the 
water being taken from Sylvan lake about three feet 
below its surface. 
The reservoirs are both surrounded by overhang- 
ing trees, and part of the margin of Sylvan Lake, at 
least, is definitely swampy. This probably accounts 20 
for the faint color noted in the analysis. 
Both the ammonia determinations show that the 
amount of organic pollution of the water is relative- 
ly low. Tn interpreting these figures, however, one 
must remember that the analysis is based on parts per 
hundred thousand rather than on parts per million; 
for instance, the albuminoid ammonia determination 
indicates 0.076 parts per million. There is reason 
to suspect that a large part of the albuminoid 
nitrogen is of vegetable origin. The low percentage 
of nitrate nitrogen also suggests that the water has 
never contained much organic matter. Kitrite 
nitrogen is absent, as it should be. The chlorides 
are low. This is about the usual figure for good 
water in this region. The hardness of the water is 
expressed in parts of calcium carbonate per hundred 
thousand. Thus it will be seen that the water of 
Keene is fairly soft water. 
The bacteriological examination on this specimen 
consisted only in a search for bacillus coli. The 
tube containing 1 cc of the water and the two tubes 
containing 10 cc each of the sample failed to ferment 
lactose broth. There being no evidence of contamina- 
tion from this test, further bacteriological study of manure 
of C.S. Kishcr* The cow barn is between the two silos. 
The large bArn to the right has rooms in the rear jor handling the milt: 
See p*g e 3 7 
Old Veil 
See page 2- 1 21 
this sample was omitted. 
Tn conclusion one may justly deduce from this 
analysis that the water was free from contamination 
and suitable for drinking purposes. 
There are no public and only a few private wells. 
There are no wells of any kind in the city proper. 
All the outlying farms are supplied with wells. The 
nearest wells to the center of the city that 
1 could find were on Pule Street, a little 
over a mile from the center of the town. 
Along the east side of this street runs a swamp, 
and on a margin of this swamp are a number of small, 
rather shabby wells. (See picture opposite page 20 ) 
Most of the houses along here are on the west 
side of this street. Nearly all of them have privies; 
a few have septic tanks. The rock formation is such 
that although the houses and privies are higher up 
than the wells there can not be any seepage from one 
to the other, except by filtration through about 
fifty to one hundred feet of soil, This would probab- 
ly be sufficient to keep back any contamination. 
As the picture shows, the well is raised up on 
stones and protected by a wooden box with a hinge 
cover. Across the cover lies a pole with a hook 
Wells 22 
lashed to its end. With this they fish for the bucket 
at the bottom of the well. This picture shows the 
worst well I could find; and taking that fact into 
consideration, one must agree that the wells around 
Keene are not bad. 
Gavage 
Tr'ivy 
Hu/e 'boulders 
open drain 
U/eU 
Ma rsh lah d 
A well of similar type, "but in neater surroundings 
is shown in the diagram above. This illustrates a 
rather common arrangement used by the cottagers. The 
privy is in one extreme corner of the lot at the back 
of the house, and the well is at the other extreme. 23 
The open drain is evidently designed to prevent seepage 
from the marsh into the well. There is no danger of 
seepage from the privy into the drain, owing to the 
contour of the land. 
Perhaps the best compliment that could be given 
to the wells around Keene is the fact that no case of 
typhoid has been contracted in Keene in twenty-five 
years. Cases of typhoid have been treated in Keene, 
as would be expected in any city supplying hospital 
facilities for a whole county, but they all have been 
contracted outside of the city. 24 
SEWAGE 
Keene is very fortunately located from the 
point of view of sewage disposal. Through the 
western part of the city runs the Ashuelot river. 
The volume and the velocity of flow of this river, 
although not great, are ample for the sewage of 
Keene. As mentioned in the introduc- 
tion, the water from this river is not 
used for drinking purposes. The near- 
est water supply that it could contam- 
inate is that of towns situated along the 
Connecticut river, more than eighteen miles from 
Keene. There are five mains and a number of small 
outlets distributed along the river between West 
Street and the junction of the Ashuelot river with 
the ''branch." Where the railroad bridges the riv- 
er there is a distinct odor of sewage due to the 
fact that the largest main empties just above this 
point. Except at this one place the dilution is 
sufficiently prompt to prevent any disagreeable 
odor. 
There are no intercepting sewers along the 
margin of the river. Perhaps Keene will find it 
Sewage 
Disposal 25 
desirable to build one at the point above mentioned, 
and carry it down stream as far as 
Winchester Street. As will be seen 
from the map, part of the water of the 
Ashuelct river is diverted by the mills 
of the Faulkner and Colony Company in such a way 
that the Ashuelct river is divided into two unequal 
parts which join about two thousand feet farther 
down stream. It is into the smaller of these two 
parts that the largest sewer main of the city emp- 
ties, and it is only here that the dilution factor 
is inadequate. An intercepting sewer running to a 
point just beyond the junction of these two parts 
of the river could carry away the sewage from the 
large main. 
The method of sewage collection used is the 
separate one, the storm water being carried in rel- 
atively large drains, at least in the central part 
of the city. In the outlying parts of the city 
there is no need of collecting the 
street wash. Houses within a hundred 
feet of the sewer pipes are required to 
connect with the system. The system is 
being constantly extended, but has by no means 
reached its growth as yet. Practically all build- 
ings within a mile of the center of the city use 
Suggested 
Improvement 
Method Of 
Collection 26 
the public sewage system. December 1, 1923 there 
were thirty-four miles of mains and laterals in use. 
The trade sewage offers no particular problems. 
Woodworking is the chief industry, and there is no 
waste from this trade that is carried off by the 
sewers. 
In Keene, and throughout Hew Hampshire for that 
matter, a large proportion of the people live in 
scattered farmhouses which it is not practicable to 
connect with the sewers. There are two main methods 
for disposing of this sewage. Those 
houses which lie beyond the reach of 
the water supply usually depend upon 
the dry disposal method, the common 
privy. The policy of the Board of Health in Keene 
is to require that any farmer or any citizen whose 
privy constitutes a sanitary nuisance shall install 
a septic tank. 
The State Board of Health in a special bulletin 
defines the septic tank as follows: "4 plain rectan- 
gular tight box, preferable made of concrete, five 
to six feet deep and with a length at least one and 
a half times the breadth, receiving only domestic 
sewage, which enters by an inlet pipe submerged about 
24 inches below the surface of the tank contents, and 
Other Methods 
Of Disposal 27 
which has a slow and regular flow to the outlet pipe 
which is also submerged about 24 inches. The efflu- 
ent from a tank in proper action is but little dis- 
colored, carries no solid matter and has scarcely 
any odor. A discharge underground, where 
there is good drainage, is to be preferred. 
The cover of such a tank must be at least 
one foot above the scum which forms, and 
must be tight enough to exclude light, and so that 
the gas pressure from within will exclude the air. 
At least one opening, or manhole, should be made in 
the cover so as to give access to the inside when 
necessary, but this must be closed and no vent in 
the cover allowed." 
The Board of Health requires that these tanks 
be suitably constructed to allow of anaerobic 
digestion of the sewage without stagna- 
tion. During the year 1923 fifteen 
privies caused complaint, and the health 
officer ordered that nine of them be replaced by 
septic tanks. 
The efficiency of Keene's sewage is excellent 
for the community which it serves, but it does not 
serve as much of Keene as it should. Of course 
this feature is being constantly remedied. There 
Septic 
Tanks 
Eff iciency 28 
have been no complaints about the sewage disposal 
from towns situated along the course of the Ashuelot 
river below Keene; nor has Keene experienced any 
serious difficulties in making the system work. 
The grades can be made sufficient to prevent blocking, 
In general it may be said that Keene's system of 
public sewage disposal is a very satisfactory one 
as far as it goes. The system of dilution employed 
is quite successful, with the one exception noted 
in regard to the large outlet near the 
railroad bridge. The vigilance of the 
health officer gives assurance that the 
best possible provision will be made 
for the sewage disposal of those who cannot connect 
with the system. The use of septic tanks draining 
into the loose sand, which is so abundant in New 
Hampshire, is a very satisfactory way out of the 
problem of private sewage disposal. 
Summary And 
Criticism 29 
GARBAGE, REFUSE, AbTD ASHES 
In 1916 the Jarvis Engineering Company installed 
a destructor furnace for the disposal of waste 
materials, an incinerator plant being 
erected by the city at the city pas- 
ture at an expense of $4,200. The city 
pasture is a little over a mile to the 
south of the center of the city. 
The capacity of the incinerator is one cord an 
hour. It consists of a large brick furnace which 
has openings on one side for removing ashes. This 
furnace is set into the basement of a small building. 
The trucks carrying the rubbish can be driven into 
the building, where the rubbish is dumped onto a 
cement floor. From this point the rubbish is shov- 
eled through a large, round opening into the furnace 
below. Enough wood is included in the rubbish to 
secure a hot fire. Most of the time the hole in the 
floor is closed, but even when it is open there is 
no disagreeable odor. The fire is sufficiently hot 
to cause complete combustion. The upper picture op- 
posite page 31 shows the appearance of the incinera- 
tor room about fifteen minutes after a load of 
Disposal Of 
Garbage 
And Refuse 30 
garbage has been dumped. The boxes around the side 
of the room are put into the furnace a few at a time 
together with the less combustible material, and at 
this particular time several had accumulated. It is 
evident from the picture that the incinerator, as it 
is run here, furnishes a very satisfactory method of 
taking care of garbage. 
The one difficulty about this system at present 
lies in the method of collection. Each person from 
whom garbage is collected has to pay for the service. 
The garbage is collected twice a week by 
a private truckman. The collection of 
burnable refuse is by no means complete, 
but in a rural community of this type 
there is adequate and satisfactory means of dispos- 
ing of such rubbish on the premises. 
Ashes are left by the dwellers along the edge 
of the highway and are collected free of charge by 
the Highway Department, and used for construction 
purposes. The ashes from the incinerator are sold 
for fertilizer. 
Although the method of collection is such that 
people cannot be compelled to dispose of the rubbish 
through the incinerator, the method works out very 
Method Of 
Collection 31 
well in practice. Under the present conditions it 
seems to me that Keene has handled the problem bet- 
ter than most small cities. Of course 
in a small community of more or less 
scattered dwellings it would be sur- 
prising if the problem of garbage disposal were 
difficult to handle. 
Criticism Interior of Incinerator Plant 
See page 29 
Factories of the Norwood Catlef Company See pag-es 4? to 5 3 67S4 
State of New Hampshire 
CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH 
CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH 
Child's Name 
Date of Birth 
Place of Birth 
Sex, Color, Living, or Stillborn 
No. of child, 1st, 2d, etc 
Father's Name 
" Birthplace 
" Color Age 
" Residence 
" Occupation 
Mother's Maiden Name 
" Birthplace 
" Color Age 
" Occupation 
Reported by 
State of New Hampshire 
I hereby certify that the above birth record has been 
recorded according to law. 
Clerk of 
Date [over] 
Child's Name 
Date of Birth 
Place of Birth• • 
Sex,Color,Living or Stillborn, 
No. of Child, 1st, 2d, etc 
Father's Name 
" Birthplace, 
' ' Color, Age, 
" Residence 
" Occupation 
Mother's Maiden Name 
" Birthplace 
(C Color Age 
" Occupation 
Signature and address of Physician (or other person) 
reporting said Birth. 
Date (Over) EXTRACTS FROM THE PUBLIC STATUTES. 
Chapter 173. 
Section 1. * * * 
1. The record of a birth shall state its date and 
place of occurrence, full Christian and surname (if 
named), color and sex of child, whether living or 
stillborn, and the full Christian and surnames, color, 
occupation, residence, and birthplace of parents. 
Sect. 2. The attending physician, accoucheur, 
mid-wife, or other person in charge, who shall at- 
tend, assist, or advise at the birth of any child, 
living or stillborn, within the limits of a town or 
city in this state, shall report to the clerk of such 
town within six days thereafter all the facts re- 
quired by section one of this chapter regarding 
the birth. 
SECT. 8. The clerk of every town shall .... 
transmit the names, residences, and official stations of 
all persons who have neglected to make to him the 
returns required by law relating to the subject-matter 
of such records. 
Sect. 11. Any person who shall neglect or refuse 
to perform a duty imposed upon him by the provisions 
of this chapter, shall be fined not exceeding fifty dol- 
lars for each offense, for the use of the town in which 
the offense was committed, and it shall be the duty of 
the registrar of vital statistics to enforce this section. 
NOTE-It is expected that town and city clerks will keep 
on hand a supply of these blanks; but should any physician 
prefer, they may be obtained by addressing the Department 
of V ital Statistics, Concord, N. H., stating number required, 
etc- (Over) 
This certificate assures both child and parents 
legal proof of the age and nationality of the child 
as often becomes necessary. 
The record of a birth is required by many 
corporations before employment is given; is neces- 
sary to allow school children of a certain age to be 
employed during vacation periods; is required in 
civil service examinations, appointment to certain 
civil and military positions, to establish property, 
pension, insurance, citizenship and various other 
rights. 
If there are any omissions or errors in this cer- 
tificate, take it back to the clerk for correction. 
Be sure the child's name is correctly given in 
full. 
5621 Keene, 
Mr. 
Dear Sir: 
Please insert the name of your child, born on 
theday of , omitted by the physician 
reporting the birth, and return this slip to the city clerk, to complete the record. 
Respectfully, 
FRANK H. WHITCOMB, City Clerk. 
Name of Child in full: ttroom 
Bride 
Residence of Groom 
11 Bride , 
Age of Groom 
* Bride.. 
Color of Groom 
" Bride 
Occupation of Groom 
" Bride 
Birthplace of Groom 
" Bride 
No. of Marriage of Groom 
" Bride 
Groom Widowed or Divorced 
Bride " " " 
Intention Filed 
By whom Married * 
Residence .. 
Official Station 
Date of Marriage ... 
Place 
•Clergyman or Justice of the Peace. 
[Record continued over] 
6500 
k PERMIT FOR BURIAL. 
•-§ f''1 OFFICE of THE BOARD OF HEALTH 
wsw 
XWgF Keene, N. H.,1924. 
Permission is hereby given for the burial of the remains of 
■ i 
, ageyears,..: months, \ 
days, who died at , 1924, 
of inCemetery, 
i 
By Direction of the Board of Health, 
Tthis permit must 
accompany the body . , 
to its destination. [Record continued.] 
GROOM'S FATHER AND MOTHER. 
Father's Name 
" Residence 
" Age* Color 
" Occupation 
" Birthplace ••••• 
Mother's Name 
" Residence 
11 Age* Color 
" Occupation 
" Birthplace 
BRIDE'S FATHER AND MOTHER. 
Father's Name 
" Residence 
" Age*.... Color 
" Occupation /. 
" Birthplace 
Mother's Name 
" Residence 
" Age* Color.... 
" Occupation -. 
" Birthplace 
THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE 
I hereby certify that the above marriage record is correct 
to the best of my knowledge and'belief. 
Clerk of. 
Date - 
*If deceased, give age at death. APPLICATION for the Disinterment 
Of the body of 
now lying inCemetery 
Town ofN. H. 
Date of Death: Year,MonthDay, 
Age: YearsMonths Days 
Place of Birth, 
Date of Birth: Year,...Month,Day, 
Married, Single, 
Sex,Color, Widowed or 
Divorced. 
Occupation, 
Cause of Death, 
Place of Death, 
The body is to be removed by 
(State whether by railroad or by private conveyance.) 
ToCemetery 
Town of 
State of 
To whom shall permit be sent? 
P. O. Address 
Applicant. 
P. O. Address,. 
Date19.... 
(OVEB) INSTRUCTIONS 
This application must be sent in a long envelope (not folded), 
as it is to be preserved among the permanent records of the 
state. 
The penalty for digging up, disinterring, removing or carry- 
ing away any human body without lawful authority, is imprison- 
ment not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding two thou1 
sand dollars, or both. 
A separate application must be made for each body. 
Names of persons and places must be written so plainly that 
no mistakes can be made in the permit. 
A body deposited in a receiving tomb may be removed there- 
from for interment in any cemetery in the same, or- adjacent, 
town or city upon a permit issued by the proper local author- 
ities (the town clerk in towns, the board of health in cities), 
provided the removal is by private conveyance. 
Rule 8. Every disinterred body, dead from any disease or 
cause, shall be treated as infectious or dangerous to the public 
health, and shall not be accepted for transportation unless said 
removal has been approved by the state or provincial health au- 
thorities having jurisdiction where such body is disinterred, and 
the consent of the health authorities of the locality to which the 
corpse is consigned has first been obtained; and all such disin- 
terred remains, or the coffin or casket containing the same, must 
be wrapped in a woolen blanket thoroughly saturated with a 
1-1000 solution of corrosive sublimate and enclosed in a hermet- 
ically soldered zinc, tin, or copper-lined box. But bodies depos- 
ited in receiving vaults shall not be treated and considered the 
same as buried bodies, when originally prepared by a licensed 
embalmer as defined in Rule 2, and as directed in Rule 2 or 3 
(according to the nature of the disease causing death), provided 
shipment takes place within thirty days from the time of death. 
The shipment of bodies prepared in the manner directed by li- 
censed embalmers from receiving vaults may be made within 
thirty days from the time of death without having to obtain per- 
mission from the health authorities of the locality to which the 
body is consigned. After thirty days the casket or coffin box 
containing said body must be enclosed in a hermetically soldered 
box. 
Bodies dead of scarlet fever, diphtheria, or other dangerous 
communicable disease, must not be placed in a receiving tomb 
unless they have been previously prepared by a licensed em- 
balmer in accordance with the requirements of Rule 2 of the 
"Official Order Concerning the Transportation of the Dead." 
Bodies that have been buried must not be disinterred except 
in accordance with a permit issued by the State Board of Health, 
and also by the proper local authority. 
A.ddress * 
STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, 
2655 Concord, N. H G051 
Certificate of Death 
Name, 
Place of Death, . V 
NoP. /Street 
Ward, ../ Village, . ZtZ-Czzz'.,. . ZZ/Z 
How long a resident, . 
Previous residence, . . ,. . ZZ-r. ZZ. 
If death occurred at an institution give name of same 
How long an inmate, . . 
Where from, Z (?.. ?Z'. ZZ 
Date of Death: Year, Day,. Zr?.. 
Age: Years,. ,-F??. . . Months,. . Z/ ... . Days,. .-ZZ. . . . 
Place of Birth, 
Date of Birth: Year, Month/^uzZ^Day,. Z. . . . 
/ Divorced. ) . y 
Widowed or 
Married, Single, ) 
Occupation, . .; 
Cause of Death, . .Z?isA'k'tZcs?. . .^Z^.'ZZ'CssZ'^.J... 
Duration, 
Contribution Cause, . . 
Duration, . 
(Record continued over) Name of Father . ■ 
Maiden Name of Mother .<^ft. . r! . 
Birthplace of Father .. . . %<. &•.. . . . 
Birthplace of Mother, t. . . . ■ 
Occupation of Father . 
Deceased was wife of . . 
. fl.4<Ttt£ . . C^77o^^A). 
' Widow of -. 
. .Mf.. '&Z. M. D. 
P. O. Address, 
Place of Interment, . 
Date of Interment, . . /. Z'/ . /. %'i?..t/. 
Name of Cemetery, . 
. f., Undertaker 
P. O. Address . . .}. . . . f/~.< nf Neui 
Report to the STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, CONCORD, 
N. H., of diseases named below in 
for week ending Saturday, 
Signed, 
- During the Week 
- -K _ ~ -3 T3 « 
Names of Diseases «g-S_x>-n -o « s S 3 
Anterior poliomyelitis 
(infantile paralysis) 
Cerebro-spinal meningitis.. 
Chancroid 
Chicken pox 
Diphtheria 
German measles 
Gonococcus infections 
Infectious diseases of the eye 
Ophthalmia neonatorum 
Trachoma 
Influenza 
Measles 
Mumps 
Pneumonia, acute, lobar 
Scarlet fever 
Septic sore throat 
Smallpox 
Syphilis 
Tuberculosis all forms 
Typhoid fever, and para- 
typhoid fever 
Whooping cough 
(over) The following diseases are also reportable and should be 
reported upon the space below: 
Actinomycosis, Acute infectious conjunctivitis, Anthrax, 
Asiatic cholera, Dengue, Dysentery (amebic), Dysentery 
(bacillary), Favus, Glanders, Hookworm disease, Leprosy, 
Malaria, Pellagra, Plague, Rabies (dog bite), Rocky Moun- 
tain Spotted Fever, Tetanus, Trichinosis, Typhus Fever, 
Yellow Fever, Continued Fever lasting seven days. 
PULMONARY CONSUMPTION, DEATHS REPORTED 
REMOVALS 
6955 TABLE No 1 
32 
Date 
To pul at i on 
Living 
Births 
Birth "Rate 
(per WOO 
estifruted 
population} 
Deaths 
under 
one 
year 
In n t 
Mortal i ty 
I? ate 
Deaths 
Death. 
"Rate 
"1880 
6,786 
1881 
6,852 
1882 
6,918 
143 
20.81 
136 
19.64 
] 883 
6,984 
107 
68 
1884 
7,050 
159 
22.63 
125 
17 .62 
1885 
7,116 
152 
21.40 
114 
15.80 
1886 
7,182 
129 
17.81 
125 
17 .22 
1837 
7,248 
131 
17.91 
132 
18.05 
1888 
7,314 
147 
20.06 
95 
12.40 
1889 
7,380 
130 
15.62 
135 
16 .29 
1890 
7,446 
158 
21.22 
156 
21.08 
1891 
7,618 
16 2 
21.35 
126 
16 .62 
1892 
7,790 
150 
19 .34 
138 
17 .81 
1893 
7,962 
151 
19.08 
159 
20.15 
1894 
8,134 
114 
13.71 
116 
14.18 
1895 
8,306 
148 
17.87 
126 
15.22 
1896 
8,478 
131 
15.19 
111 
12.81 
1897 
8,650 
144 
16 .54 
133 
16.26 
1898 
8,822 
142 
15.87 
152 
14.73 
1899 
8,994 
168 
18,83 
133 
14 .60 
1900 
9,165 
158 
17.23 
131 
14.29 
1901 
9,255 
16 2 
17 .47 
169 
18.28 
1902 
9,345 
203 
21.75 
126 
12.71 
1903 
9,435 
166 
17 .51 
132 
13.84 
1904 
9,525 
174 
18.18 
150 
15.62 
1905 
9,615 
16 5 
17.00 
168 
17 .38 
1906 
9,705 
154 
15 .60 
166 
16 .97 
1907 
9,795 
203 
20.74 
180 
18.48 
1908 
9,885 
201 
20,33 
159 
15.79 
1909 
9,975 
197 
19.69 
145 
14.13 
1910 
10,065 
204 
20.27 
22 
107.86 
178 
17 .67 
1911 
10,180 
207 
20.30 
17 
82.12 
181 
17 .81 
1912 
10,294 
248 
24.13 
26 
104.83 
187 
18.15 
1913 
10,409 
253 
24,42 
21 
83.00 
192 
18.46 
1914 
10,523 
250 
23.83 
18 
72.00 
156 
14.86 
1915 
10,638 
249 
23.48 
23 
91.96 
157 
14 .81 
1916 
10,752 
226 
20.94 
16 
70.79 
170 
15.74 
1917 
10,867 
227 
20.79 
21 
92.50 
195 
18.78 
1918 
10,981 
229 
19.91 
19 
82.53 
275 
25.00 
1919 
11,096 
185 
16.12 
12 
70.27 
170 
15.32 
1920 
11,210 
244 
21.77 
24 
98.41 
227 
20.27 
1921 
11,350 
248 
21.94 
13 
52.41 
193 
17.00 
1922 
11,500 
257 
22.50 
21 
'31771 
181 
15.73 
1923 
11,700 
255 
22.10 
13 
50.98 
171 
14 .62 33 
Analysis of Table 1 
Table 1 includes some of the vital statistics 
of Keene from the year 1880 to 1925. From 1884 on, 
each year includes from December first of the pre- 
ceding year to December first of the year indicated 
under the heading "date." The year 1883 includes 
only nine months, owing to a change in the time of 
year on which statistics were calculated. 
The population figures are taken from the 
census on the census years. The population for 
the other years was estimated by the arithmetical 
method. All rates are calculated from the estimated 
population for the year, not on the preceding census 
Only the living births are charted; the still 
births and miscarriages are not sufficiently well 
reported to be of any statistical value. A glance 
at the next column headed "birth rate" will show 
that on the whole the birth rate has been definitely 
higher since 1907. The explanation for this fact 
probably lies far more in the reporting of births 
than in any increase in the birth rate. The city 
clerk of Keene considers that the births in the 
city are rather poorly reported. There is a fine 
of from ten to fifty dollars for a failure to report 34 
a 'birth; this probably is not enforced as often as 
it should be. 
I had great difficulty in collecting statistics 
on infant mortality. I could not find any separate 
list of deaths under one year, and it was necessary 
to pore through the list of all deaths as published 
in the annual reports. I carried this back as far 
as 1910 and then stopped, feeling that the births 
before this date were too poorly reported to permit 
of any accurate statistics on infant mortality. The 
infant mortality rate is based on deaths under one 
year per thousand living births. 
Deaths are better reported than births. It 
will be noted that the largest number of deaths in 
any one year occurred in 1918, the year of the influ- 
enza epidemic. The death rate for that year is de- 
cidedly higher than that for any other year. It 
will be noted also that the death rate is decidedly 
lower than the birth rate, especially in recent 
years when the births have been more thoroughly re- 
ported. This fact indicates that a large part of 
Keene's growth in population is natural growth; that 
is, it is not due to immigration. TABLE Ng 2 
35 
Da te 
Popula. tion. 
ths 
Typhoid 
Tever 
~Tu b ere l/l os/s (at?forn,S/ 
Measles 
Teat 
hs Ta te 
Tea ths 
Ta te 
Case 
Ta ta lit? 
ths 
Ta Te 
1900 
9,165 
131 
0 
14 
152.75 
$1.46 
0 
11901 
9,255 
169 
2 
21.61 
17 
183.60 
■ 10.65 
0 
1902 
9,345 
126 
1 
10.70 
5 
53.50 
4.16 
1 
10.70 
1903 
9,435 
132 
0 
7 
74.19 
6.06 
0 
1904 
9,525 
150 
0 
14 
146.87 
9.33 
0 
1905 
9,615 
168 
3 
31.20 
13 ' 
125.20 
8.92 
2 
20.80. 
1906 
9,705 
166 
1 
10.30 
9 
92.74 
5.42 
0 
1907 
9,795 
180 
1 
10.21 
9 
91.89 
5.00 
0 
1908 
9,885 
156 
0 
7 
70.81 
4.40 
1 ' 
10.12 
1909 
9,975 
145 
0 
12 
120.20 
8.27 
0 
1910 
10,065 
178 
3 
27.12 
9 
64.27 
5.05 
0 
1911 
10,180 
181 
g 
19.02 
5 
49.05 
2.76 
0 
1912 
10,290 
187 
2 
19.44 
9 
87.48 
4.81 
1 
9.72 
1913 
10,409 
192 
4 
38.20 
7 
66.85 
3.64 
0 
1914 
10,523 
156 
1 
9.50 
12 
114.00 
7.69 
0 
1915 
10,638 
157 
1. 
9.40 
9 
21.60 
5.73 
0 
1916 
10,752 
170 
1 
9.30 
7 
65.10 
4.11 
0 
1917 
10,867 
195 
2 
18.40 
8 
73.60 
4.10 
2 
18.40 
1918 
10,981 
275 
1 
X 
9.10 
5 
45.50 
2.18 
0 
1919 
11,096 
170 
0 
2 
18.02 
1.17 
0 
1920 
11,210 
227 
0 
8 
71.26 
3.52 
0 
1921 
11,350 
193 
0 
11 
96.91 
5.7.3 
0 
1922 
11,500 
181 
0 
8 
69.56 
4.42 
0 
1923 
11,700 
171 
1 
8.54 
7 
59.78 
4.09 
0 36 
Analysis of Table 2 
The specific mortality rate for typhoid, tuber- 
culosis and measles are included under "Table 2," 
along with the statistics from which these rates 
were calculated. As in the other table, the popula- 
tion is estimated by the arithmetical method, except 
for the census years. It will be noticed that there 
are a number of deaths from typhoid. All of these 
cases are explained by the fact that Keene has the 
only hospital in the county, the Eliott City Hospital. 
A few of these cases occurred in residents of Keene 
who had contracted the disease outside. As stated on 
page 23, no cases of typhoid have been contracted in 
Keene for twenty-five years. 
It will be seen at a glance that tuberculosis is 
a far more frequent cause of death in Keene than are 
both typhoid and measles put together. It is diffi- 
cult to drawn any conclusion from the fluctuations in 
the specific mortality rate of tuberculosis, but it 
does seem that the rates have averaged somewhat lower 
in the last ten years than in the preceding ten years 
Measles is not very frequently a cause of death, 
as the long row of ciphers indicates. Since 1900 
there have been only seven deaths from measles in Keene. CITY OF KEENE 
APPLICATION FOR MILK LICENSE 
ALL LICENSES EXPIRE ON THE THIRTY-FIRST DAY OF MAY OF EACH YEAR 
Application No License No 
Application made by 
Street and Number 
Application received192... 
License issued192... 
Number of cows under local test 
Number of cows under Federal test 
Date of last test 
Number of reactors in last test 
Daily production of milk 
Amount of milk sold to dealers 
Amount of milk sold to retail trade 
Complete list of dealers from whom milk is purchased for purposes of sale 
NAMES ADDRESSES 
Complete list of dealers to whom milk is sold 
NAMES ADDRESSES 
Place at or from which milk is to be sold 
RawPasteurized 
Does applicant desire to sell as principal or agent 
If as agent, give name of principal 
Signature of Applicant 
Date 
A certificate signed by a registered veterinary showing the result of the tuberculin test on 
any cow, the milk from which is to be sold in Keene, must be filed with the Board of Health. 
A certificate signed by a registered veterinary showing the result of the tuberculin test on 
any cow, the milk from which is to be brought into Keene from any source to be sold in Keene, 
must be filed with the Board of Health. 
Such certificate shall, in all cases, include a chart showing in full detail the reaction of each 
cow subjected to the tuberculin test. 
Each cow tuberculin tested and found free from disease shall be marked with a numbered ear 
tag, furnished by the Board of Health, and a list of the numbers on such tags shall be filed with 
the Board of Health. 
BOARD OF HEALTH 
Per FRED C. NIMS, Health Officer. MMl city or kh:m 
| MILK LICENSE 
Board of Health Keene, N. H. 
: Application No Date 
Ws> Orttfiea tfjat 
Address 
: License No. 
x 
E is hereby licensed to engage in the business of selling and distributing milk and cream (raw or pasteurized) in the City of Keene from store or 
: wagons for a period of one year from the date hereof, unless this license shall sooner be revoked. 
■ This license is issued upon condition that it may at any time be revoked at the pleasure of the Board of Health and upon the further condition that 
E the licensee personally, or by his agents, servants or employees, shall in all respects comply with the ordinances and regulations now in force, or 
• which may hereafter be adopted, and that he will comply with all the orders which may from time to time be made by the Board of Health 
E pertaining to such business. 
Dated at Keene, N. H., this day of 192 
BOARD OF HEALTH 
Per 
■ Health Officer BOARD OF HEALTH 
SANITARY INSPECTION OF DAIRY FARMS. 
SCORE CARD. 
Indorsed by the Official Dairy Instructors' Association. 
Owner or lessee of farm 
P. 0. addressEstate 
Total number of cowsNumber milking 
Gallons of milk produced daily 
Product is sold by producer in families, hotels, restaurants,, store/ 
dealer. 
For milk supply of2Z.t...//t. 
Permit No£.4?.Date of inspection /...^....t 19*<?Z 
Remarks : Z/ <? 
Cc 
t 
( Signed) 
Inspector. 
Hobbs a Warren publishers boston Form 440-2 EQUIPMENT. 
SCORE. 
METHODS. 
SCORE. 
Perfect, 
Allowed, 
Perfect. 
Allowed. 
COWS. 
/ 
cows. 
Health 
Apparently in good health.... 1 
6 
.£... 
Clean 
(Free from visible dirt, 6.) 
8 
If tested with tuberculin with- 
in a year and no tubercu- 
STABLES. 
losis is found, or if tested 
within six months and all 
Cleanliness of stables 
6 
reacting animals removed ... 5 
Floor iz 2 
(If tested within a year and re- 
Walls 1 
acting animals are found and 
Ceiling and ledges 1 
removed, 3.) 
z 
Mangers and partitions .'/.a 1 
Food (clean and wholesome) 
1 
Windows 1 
✓ 
Water (clean and fresh) 
1 
/ 
Stable air at milking time 
Freedom from dust .r) 3 
5 
STABLES. 
Freedom from odors K 2 
;.;;A 
Location of stable 
Well drained K. 1 
Free from contaminating sur-x 
2 
*?. 
> / 
Cleanliness of bedding 
Barnyard 
Clean 1 
Well drained 1 
1 
2 
roundings 
Construction of stable 
4 
Removal of manure daily to 5£) 
feet from stable. 
2 
z 
Tight, sound floor and proper 
gutter .< 2 
MILK ROOM OR MILK HOUSE. 
Smooth, tight walls and ceiling' 1 
Proper stall, tie and manger...fl- 
provision for light: Four sq. ft. 
U 
Cleanliness of milk room 
3 
X.. 
of glass per 
4 
1- 
UTENSILS AND MILKING. 
(Three sq. ft., 3; 2 sq. ft., 2; 
1 sq. ft., 1. Deduct for uneven 
distribution.) 
Care and cleanliness of utensils..r. 
8 
Thoroughly washed K2 
Bedding 
Sterilized in steam for 15 min- 
Ventilation 
Provision for fresh air, con- 
trollable flue system (.f.. 3 
7 
*4" 
utes 3 
(Placed over steam jet, orscalded 
with boiling water, 2.) 
(Winslows hinged at bot- 
tom/1.5; sliding windows, 
Protected from 
3)1 
Cleanliness of milking , 
9 
1; other openings, 0.5.) 
Clean, dry hands rf. 3 
Cubic feet of space per cow. 
Udders washed and wiped.6 
(Udders cleaned with moist 
500 ft < 3 
(Less than 500 ft., 2; less 
than 400 ft., 1; less than 
cloth, 4; cleaned with dry cloth or 
brush at least fifteen minutes be- 
300 ft., 0.) 
Provision for controlling tern- 
fore milking, 1.) 
perature Q... 1 
HANDLING THE MILK. 
UTENSILS. 
Cleanliness of attendants in milk 
z 
Construction and condition of 
utensils 
Water for 
(Clean, convenient, and abund- 
1 
1 
. / . 
z 
room 
Milk removed immediately from 
stable without pouring from pail 
Cooled immediately after milking 
2 
2 
ant.) r 
each cow 
2 
Small-top milking 
Milk cooler 
Clean milking suits 
5 
1 
1 
Cooled below 50° F 
(51° to 55°, 4; 56° to 60°, 2.) 
Stored below 50° F 
(51cto 55°, 2; 56° to 60°, 1.) 
Transportation below 50° F 
(51° to 55°, 1.5; 56° to 60°, 1.) 
(If delivered twice a day. allow 
5 
3 
3... 
MILK ROOM OR MILK HOUSE. 
2 
Location: Free from contamina- 
ting surroundings 
1 
perfect score for storage and trans- 
yjr 
Construction of milk room 
2 
portation.) 
Floor, walls, and ceiling 1 
Light, ventilation, screens.... 1 
Separate rooms for washing uten- 
sils and handling milk 
1 
Facilities for steam 
(Hot water, 0.5.) 
1 
/•••• 
b 
Total 
40 
Total 
60 
Equipment + Methods XZ = Final Score. 
Note 1.-If any exceptionally filthy condition is found, particularly dirty utensils, the total score may 
be further limited. 
Note 2.-If the water is exposed to dangerous contamination, or there is evidence of the presence of a 
dangerous disease in animals or attendants, the score shall be 0. BOARD OF HEALTH 
SANITARY INSPECTION OF DAIRY FARMS. 
SCORE CARD. 
Indorsed by the Official Dairy Instructors' Association. 
r> r < r 7 fti 
Owner or lessee of farmki.-....s..- 
P. 0. address. State 
Total number of cowsNumber milking. 
Gallons of milk produced daily 
Product is sold by producer in families, hotels, restaurants, stores, 
todealer. 
For milk supply ofAjCZ, , 
Permit No. Date of inspection , 19 
Remarks : .Zz.... A c^x.zZ<« y.... 
' 
... is2. ..> 
~t£< 
.. <* >»r.«?:. . 
(Signed) "fa/. 
(V Inspector. 
Hobbs & Warren publishers Boston Form 440-2 EQUIPMENT. 
SCORE. 
METHODS. 
SCORE. 
Perfect. 
Allowed. 
Perfect. 
Allowed. 
COWS. 
cows. 
Health 
Apparently in good health.,.r 1 
6 
6 
Clean 
(Free from visible dirt, 6.) 
8 
(L... 
If tested with tuberculin with- 
• 
in a year and no tubercu- 
STABLES. 
losis is found, or if tested 
within six months and all 
Cleanliness of stables. a 
6 
Z 
reacting animals removed...<5 
Floor 2 
(If tested within a year and re- 
Walls 1 
acting animals are found and 
Ceiling and ledges 1 
removed, 3.) 
/ 
Mangers and 1 
Food (clean and wholesome) 
1 
Windows 1 
Water (clean and fresh) 
1 
Stable air at milking time 
Freedom from dust 3 
5 
?... 
STABLES. 
Freedom from odors Q. 2 
Cleanliness of bedding. 
1 
a... 
Location of stable 
Well drained 1 
Free from contaminating sur- 
Barnyard 
Clean ■f'. 1 
Well drained Yx. 1 
2 
roundings 1 
J 
Removal of manure -daily- to 50 
Construction of stable 
Tight, sound floor and proper 
feet from stable 
2 
gutter 2 
MILK ROOM OR MILK HOUSE. 
Smooth, tight walls and ceiling 1 
Proper stall, tie and manger.... 1 
Cleanliness of milk room.*7y- ae. .../ 
3 
Q 
Provision for light: Four sq. ft. 
!/ 
of glass per cow 
4 
UTENSILS AND MILKING. 
(Three ,sq. ft., 3; 2 sq. ft., 2; 
1 sq. ft.f 1. Deduct for uneyen 
distribution.) 4 [■! D 
Bedding 
Care and cleanliness of utensils,.... 
8 
3 
/i 
Thoroughly washed .tf. 2 
Sterilized in steam for 15 min- 
Ventilation 
Provision for fresh air, con- 
7 
utes Q... 3 
(Placed over steam jet, orscalded 
trollable flue system 3 
with boiling water, 2.)O 9 
(Windows hinged at bot- 
Protected from contamination' 3 
tom, 1.5; sliding windows, 
<zl; other openings, 0.5.) 
Cubic feet of space per cow. 
Cleanliness of milking 
Clean, dry hands 3 
9 
3 
Udders washed and wiped -6- 
500 ft , 3 
(Udders cleaned with moist 
(Less than 500 ft.,'' 2; less 
than 400 ft., 1; less than 
cloth, 4; cleaned with dry cloth or 
brush at least fifteen minutes be- 
300 ft., 0.) 
Provision for controlling tern- 
fore milking, 1.) /. 
perature D... 1 
HANDLING THE MILK. 
UTENSILS. 
Cleanliness of attendants in milk 
.......ZL 
cZ... 
J... 
Construction and condition, of 
utensils a.. 
Water for cleaning 
(Clean, convenient, and abund- 
Small-top milking 
Milk cooler 
Clean milking suits 
1 
1 
t. ' 
1 
/. 
room Q. 
Milk removeci immediately from 
stable without pouring from pail 
Cooled immediately after milking 
each cow 
Cooled below 50° F 
(51° to 55°, 4; 56° to 60°, 2.) 
Stored below 50° F 
(51° to 55°, 2; 56° to 60°, 1.) 
2 
2 
6 
3 
MILK ROOM OR MILK HOUSE. 
Transportation below 50° F 
(51° to 55°, 1.5; 56° to 60°, 1.) 
2 
/ 
Location: Free from contamina- 
ting 
0... 
(If delivered twice a day, allow 
1 
perfect score for storage and trans- 
Construction of milk room....,, 
2 
/. 
portation.) 
Floor, walls, and ceiling .'Ztf 1 
Light, ventilation, screens..kyl 
Separate rooms for washing uten- 
sils and handling milk 
1 
Facilities for steam 
1 
(Hot water, 0.5.) 
Total 
Total 
CO 
Equipment+ Methods=Final Score. 
Note 1.-If any exceptionally filthy condition is found, particularly dirty utensils, the total score may 
be further limited. 
Note 2.-If the water is exposed to dangerous contamination, or there is evidence of the presence of a 
dangerous disease in animals or attendants, the score shall be 0. 37 
MILK 
Two dairy farms supplying milk for the city of 
Keene have been inspected and scored. The score of 
the dairy run by C. C. Worcester indicated a pool* 
dairy. This man could have an excellent equipment, 
but due to carelessness or ignorance of 
sanitation his dairy scores as low as 
The other dairy is owned and 
run by an intelligent, practical dairy- 
man, C. S. Fisher. This dairy scores The 
upper picture opposite page 20 shows the windows - 
which are just barely enough for proper light 
requirement the carrier for manure - which 
should have been extended farther from the stable 
to meet the requirements of the score card and 
also the sound construction of roofs and walls 
employed on this farm. In spite of the score which 
I have given these two dairies, Keene is fairly 
well off as far as milk is concerned. The dairy of 
C. C. Worcester I inspected after inquiring of a 
number of disinterested citizens what milkman had 
the worst milk. The other dairy farm I inspected 
at the suggestion of the health officer. 
Keene does not ship out any milk, nor do they 
Daily 
Inspection (1) Any person desiring to engage in the sale or distribution of milk, skim-milk, or cream, with- 
in the City of Keene, must make application to the Board of Health. Upon blanks to be furnished 
by the board, setting forth the locality from which such persons procure the milk, skim-milk or cream, 
and also a full and complete list of the names and addresses of those from whom he purchases said 
milk, skim-milk or cream. Said application shall state the place at or from which the milk, skim- 
milk, or cream is to be sold, and shall also state whether the applicant desires to sell or distribute 
as principal or as agent, and, if as agent, give the name of his principal. It shall be signed by the 
applicant, and if granted by the Board of Health, a license shall be issued to him. 
(2) Applications for license must be filed not later than the 15th day of May of each year, pro- 
vided, however, that persons desiring to commence the business of selling milk, skim-milk, or cream, 
may make application for license at any time, but, in every case, new applications must be filed not 
later than the 15th day of May of each year. 
(3) No person licensed by the Board of Health to sell or distribute milk, skim-milk, or cream 
shall add any dairy to his source of supply without the written permission of the Board or its agent. 
Any such persons shall immediately withdraw from the city, any supply, upon notification by the 
Board or its agent that the producer of such supply has failed or refused to comply with any of the 
requirements made of milk producers. 
(4) No milk, skim-milk, or cream shall be sold, or offered for sale in the City of Keene unless 
the cow from which said milk or cream was drawn and every cow belonging to the same herd, shall 
have been, within one year, subjected to the tuberculin test by a registered veterinary and a certifi- 
cate signed by said veterinary shall have been filed with the Board of Health, stating the number of 
cows tested in each herd, the number found free from disease, and the number of reactors. Said cer- 
tificate shall include a chart showing the reaction of each individual cow. 
The foregoing requirements shall also apply to all cattle stabled or pastured with the milk pro- 
ducing herd, except those which, in the judgment of the attending veterinary, should not be subjected 
to the tuberculin test. 
Any of the above mentioned animals, reacting to the tuberculin test shall be removed from the 
premises at once if the sale of milk is to continue, provided, however, that registered pure bred cat- 
tle, reacting to the tuberculin test but showing no marked physical indication of tuberculosis may be 
retained on the premises, but such cattle shall be strictly separated from the milk producing herd, 
and their milk shall not be sold or offered for sale. 
If any animal, to which the foregoing applies, shall, when subjected to the tuberculin test, give a 
doubtful reaction, and a retest is recommended by the attending veterinary, said animal shall not be 
tagged, but shall be retested at the expiration of sixty days. If said animal is then found to be free 
from tuberculosis it shall be tagged in the required manner, and if it reacts, it shall be removed from 
the premises, except as above provided. 
The State standard quality for milk is fixed at 11.85% solids and 3.35% fat, and not to contain more than 500.000 
bacteria per cubic centimeter, at the time it is delivered to the consumer. In order to legally sell pasteurized milk, skim- 
milk, or cream, in this State at retail the dealer must label each bottle or container (pasteurized milk, skim-milk or cream) 
and this information must go to the final purchaser in every instance. 
Regulations Adopted by the Board of Health January 13, 1922, in Addition to Chapter 
Thirty -seven of the City Ordinances, Pertaining to the Production, 
Care and Sale of Milk in the City of Keene. 38 
take in milk from outside. No pasteurized milk is 
sold in the city; the only pasteurizing that is 
done is by Tait Bros, for their ice cream. The 
milk supply of Keene is such that every man, woman 
and child can have o.7 of a pint. All the milk is 
obtained from tuberculin tested cows; some of them 
State tested, others local tested. 
Bottles of milk are taken from the distributing 
teams of the various dealers every month and tested. 
As the dealer does not know what day a bottle will 
be taken or what bottle in his cart is likely to be 
taken, he will attempt to keep them all good. 
There is no milk store or separate distributing 
agency. All the milk sold at stores is in bottles; 
there is no bulk milk. 
Before a dealer can sell milk his dairy must 
have been inspected, all his cows must have been 
tuberculin tested and all re-acting animals removed, 
and he must have taken out a milk license. The li- 
cense, as will be noted by reading it over, puts the 
dealer at the mercy of the Board of Health. To ob- 
tain the license the appended application must be 
filled out. 39 
There is one certified milk plant in Keene. 
This was personally inspected, and when scored ac- 
cording to the outline used for the other dairies 
it was found to deserve about 99$. One point was 
taken off for not having provision for 
controlling temperature. Except for 
this one point the dairy scored per- 
fectly. The total output of this 
dairy varies considerably. They can put out 
forty-five gallons a day, but at the time I was 
there the output averaged about thirty gallons a 
day. 
Certified 
Milk 40 
SANITARY NUISANCES 
One must hunt long and patiently to find any 
nuisances in Keene. All nuisances, or nearly all, 
seemed to be complained of quite promptly, and the 
health officer seems to be efficient in remedying 
the conditions causing the complaint. 
Trade odors do not have to be contended with, 
except in one case, the gas works. The odor about 
the gasometer is as bad as one usually finds about 
such structures. However there are few people liv- 
ing near it. There is a baseball field 
about four or five hundred feet from the 
gasometer, and T imagine the people find 
the odor somewhat disagreeable when they 
ore here to watch the games. This is, of course, 
of no real sanitary importance; for even if there 
were a considerable leak from the gasometer, the 
dilution would be so great that poisoning from 
carbon monoxide would be practically impossible. 
The main sources of odors which are complained 
of to the health officer are improper disposal of 
garbage, unsanitary privies, dead animals, improper 
disposal of manure, and pig pens. The last mentioned 
is the least frequently complained of. 
Sources 
Of Odors 41 
From the standpoint of health the improper 
disposal of garbage is quite important. Trouble 
from this source has been materially lessened 
since the present system of collecting garbage 
has been established: that is, the hiring of a 
private truckman to carry the garbage from the 
homes to the incinerator. The system was not 
run efficiently until 1923. 
Unsanitary privies causing nuisance are dealt 
with i-n three ways. If it is impracticable to get 
sufficient water supply, the health officer orders 
that the privy be put in a sanitary condition. If 
sufficient water supply is available, a septic 
tank may be ordered installed. In 1922 three sep- 
tic tanks were ordered installed; in 1923 nine 
were ordered installed; many others were installed 
without crder from the health officer. If practi- 
cable, those having privies causing nuisance are 
required to connect with the public sewer. No 
privies are allowed within one hundred feet of a 
sewer. 
Improper manure disposal and the leaving of 
dead animals where they will cause a disagreeable 
odor are complained of chiefly for aesthetic 
reasons. The people of Keene like to have their 42 
premises neat and sweet-smelling. 
No piggeries are allowed in the city proper. 
The chief source of dust is from the roads. 
The only other important source is the dust from 
a mica factory. Ordinarily this causes no nui- 
sance, "because of their efficient "blower 
system; "but, at the time I happened to "be 
there, one of the pipes had sprung a leak 
and the evidence of this dusty factory was plainly 
visible over all objects within about a hundred 
feet of the building. 
Sawdust is never any nuisance. The various 
woodworking factories find it advisable for econom- 
ic reasons to protect by blower systems all their 
woodworking machinery. 
The method of treating the street dust, which 
is -- as has been previously stated -- the main 
problem, is to oil as many streets as possible and 
to use street sprinklers. They have one electric 
street sprinkler, which is of course limited to the 
three streets on which there are car tracks: 
Marlboro Street, Main Street, and West Street. 
They also have two wagon sprinklers, which cover 
the streets of the more thickly settled residential 
districts. In general the dust problem is fairly 
well handled. 
Dust 43 
Keene is really a very clean city. Along near 
the railroad there are some junk piles and rubbish 
heaps, but none of them seem to be located near 
enough to buildings to be especially inviting to 
rats or other vermin. One building, however, ap- 
pears to be rather favorable for the 
breeding of vermin. Sometime ago a fire 
partly destroyed the structure; and the 
holes into the cellar, left by the fire, 
were loosely boarded over to keep out prowlers 
and tramps. This would make an excellent refuge 
for rats. It is probable, however, that this is 
only a temporary arrangement, and that the build- 
ing will soon be repaired. 
Of course there are a great many empty lots, 
but these offer no sanitary problem except when 
they are situated on rather low land and form 
marshy patches. Dumps such as one 
finds in a large city are not to be 
found in Keene. There seems to be a 
tendency on the part of the people, 
however, to consider all open drains as dumps. 
The lower part of Beaver Brook really constitutes 
a large open drain in which are numerous tin cans 
Rats And 
Vermin 
General 
Cleanliness 44 
and other such rubbish. In the picture on the next 
page is shown a stagnant open drain. At this point 
there is not enough slope to give any real drainage. 
During the suroner when rains are infrequent 
such a place is a prolific mother of mosquitoes. 
Half-filled tin cans lying in the water, old kegs, 
bottles, sticks, and old tires furnish 
many quiet nooks where the larvae of 
the mosquito can develop undisturbed. 
Hone of these drains are oiled; in fact 
no effort at all is made to check the mosquitoes. 
Plies are not so abundant, there being relatively 
little putrefying material exposed for the maggots 
to develop in, 
The mosquito problem at Keene, however, should 
receive some attention. Mosquitoes are very numer- 
ous at night, and drive the people into the houses 
early in the evening throughout the summer. The 
many marshy places and the many stagnant open drains 
are probably the chief causes for the prevalence of 
mosquitoes. An energetic mosquito campaign would 
be decidedly worth while; perhaps it would even 
benefit the hotels to do this work at their own 
expense, because dodging the mosquito is one of 
the problems of the summer tourist. 
Flies And 
Mosquitoes 45 
There are a number of nuisances which Keene is 
practically free from: such as smoke, unnecessary 
noises, rats end vermin. In the city proper, at 
least, piggeries, stables, and manure are rarely 
causes of complaint. There is no legal definition 
of nuisance; the health officer has authority to 
define in the specific case whether or not a cer- 
tain condition complained of constitutes a nuisance. 46 
INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE 
As was mentioned in the introduction, wood- 
working always has been the chief industry of Keene. 
The woodworking industry at present includes many 
branches: wooden heels, wooden pails, and chairs 
are perhaps the most important branches of the 
industry in Keene. 
Chair manufacture in particular is important. 
It is really the city's industry, a larger propor- 
tion of the people being employed in this work than 
in any one other trade. 
Chair manufacturing extends outside the fac- 
tory, some of the work being done at home. In 
wandering about the outskirts of the city I saw a 
number of places where cane seats and backs were 
being woven onto the framework of chairs. This 
outside work is not very profitable. Of course 
the pay for weaving the seats or backs depends upon 
the size and upon the ease with which the factories 
can find people to do this work. The rates average 
about eighteen cents for a seat and a trifle more 
for a back. It would not be possible to earn a 
living at this work. Those taking it to do are 
usually small farmers and their families, who make 47 
this a slight additional source of revenue "by spend- 
ing their spare time on it. 
For further information about this industry T 
have visited Norwood Calef & Co. chair manufacturers. 
Most of their factory is given over to the manufac- 
ture of porch chairs, but they also do some work on 
the mere expensive chairs. Very little upholstering 
is done, however. 
The minimum wage for doing the work is eighteen 
dollars a week. It is difficult to estimate the 
wage on any piece work, as some of the men will 
come in the afternoon and work two or three hours 
and call it a ''day". The regular number of hours 
for day work is fifty a week. No women or children 
are employed except in the office, and their hours 
are short. 
The raw wood, chiefly birch, consists of slabs 
two inches thick, with the bark left cn usually. 
The slabs are ten to fourteen feet long. These are 
stacked in the lumber yard. From here 
the slabs are gradually removed and 
sawn by a circular saw into convenient 
lengths for handling in the factory. 
These lengths depend on the work for which the 
slabs are intended. For chairs and backs the slabs 
Ma nuf a c t u ri ng 
Processes 48 
would be a little ever three feet long, for rounds 
they would he eighteen inches long, and so forth. 
Then the slabs are passed through a machine 
which saws them into slats or square rods as the 
case ray require. The square rods are dumped into 
large wheeled baskets and carried to the second 
floor of the building to he turned. Special 
Ist ies are used for turning. The chisel has over 
three feet of cutting edge, and in one single op- 
eration, taking about a minute and a half, the 
square rod is converted into one of the main braces 
of the back of the chair. Since there has been no 
sorting out of defective rods as yet, the sorting 
must be done here. If, when the rod comes out of 
the turning mill, all the bark has not been turned 
off, it is discarded. 
The suitable turned rods are then shipped 
downstairs again and packed in the steam presses. 
These huge affairs stand about six feet high, and 
are so located as to guard, the entrance to the 
factory and very effectively scare away any curious 
boys. The hissing steam appears quite dangerous, 
but there is no trouble from burns on account of it; 
and the presses are much mere harmless than they 
appear. 49 
'"hen the rod cones out of the press it is of 
suitable shape for the back of the chair. It then 
goes to a drilling machine which simultaneously 
makes all the holes necessary in that particular 
piece of the chair. These include the slats that 
go across the back, the rungs that brace the bottom, 
the arm, the seat, and the rungs that form the seat. 
This operation takes about two minutes. Then the 
end of this piece of wood is thrust into another 
machine, which tapers it down to fit the drilled 
hole in the rocker. Then this piece of wood is 
shipped to another part of the factory where the 
rough spots are finished off on emery belts. 
Other parts of the chair go through similar 
but less complicated processes, and all the 
pieces collect in the assembling room. Here the 
backs and seats are knocked together and sent out 
to be caned. When these come back the assembling 
of the chair is completed with the aid of glue, 
hammers, and a few special little devices for 
holding the parts. 
Finally the chair goes to the shellacker's 
department. In this particular factory the shellac 
is put cn with a brush. It takes considerable 50 
skill to do this work rapidly and well. After the 
shellac has dried, all that is left to do is to 
crate the chair and ship it. 
The large pieces of waste wood that have ac- 
cumulated during the process of manufacture of this 
and other chairs ere dumped into a bin on the sec- 
ond floor, from the bottom of this bin extends a 
chute which emerges from the side of the building 
over a roadway. There is usually a very well 
trained horse hitched to a cart under the bin. 
This horse usually knows enough not to run away 
when the clatter of wood comes down into the cart. 
These scraps are sold for kindling wood. 
Health Hazards and How They Are Met 
It is apparent that the greatest hazard in 
such a factory is cuts. The workers are all the 
time having little cuts. Very little 
attention is paid tc this. The danger 
of infection in these cuts is smaller 
than it would be in nest industries. 
It is therefore ignored . T'irst aid kits are 
available in the buildings, but would not be used 
except in cases of rather extensive laceration 
Cuts And 
Accidents 51 
probably. The factory is not large enough to afford 
a physician. The machinery is as well protected as 
one would expect to find, all cutting edges being 
shielded wherever possible. Belts, however, are not 
so well shielded. Geers are protected to keep out 
wood dust. 
Wood dust is not a health hazard. All lathes, 
planes, finishing mills, and saws are well hooded 
and connected to the efficient "blower system." 
Brills are not attached to the "blower system" di- 
rectly, the drillings being swept up from the floor 
and taken care of by special blower attachments in 
the corners of the rooms. 
There are several elevators in the buildings, 
and the manager took particular pride in stating 
that they passed the accident insurance inspection 
one hundred percent. As an elevator leaves one 
floor, the elevator pit is automatically floored 
over and fenced off. 
Fire is the bugaboo of the wood manufactories. 
There is abundant fire protection here. They have 
a sprinkler system, a special hose house, and 
an abundance of chemical extinguishers hang- 
ing on the walls. There are no fire escapes 
however. The top of the building is used for 
Fire 52 
storage, and most of the workmen are on the first 
and second floors, so the need for fire escapes is 
not as great as it might be. The stairways are 
narrow and all of wood. If a fire once got a good 
start, there would be nothing left of the building 
except a few bricks and junk machinery. 
In the woodworking part of the factory the 
ventilation is excellent. The windows are kept 
wide open in summer, and in the winter adequate 
ventilation is maintained indirectly by the 
"blower system." The painting and shellacking 
rooms, however, have no blowej? connec- 
tions; and here, where the ventilation 
is of the most importance, no provi- 
sion has been made for it. In the summer of course 
there are windows which can be opened; but they are 
not opened any more than absolutely necessary, be- 
cause it interferes with the work,-- it causes the 
shellac to be stringy and to dry on the brush. 
The shellac used on the chairs is made from 
denatured alcohol and gum shellac. The denatured 
alcohol contains a variable percentage 
of wood alcohol. As previously stated, 
the job of shellacking requires a cer- 
tain amount of skill in order that it be done 
Ventilati on 
Poi soning 53 
rapidly and well. Therefore one man who acquires a 
knack at it keeps at this Job all the time. I talked 
to one man who had been doing it for several years, 
fortunately they do not get enough shellacking to do 
to keep them busy all the time. Frequently it hap- 
pens that a new man, when being broken in, will get 
sick and stop. The worker who gave me this informa- 
tion did not believe there was any poisoning, but 
merely that the man did not like the work. It is 
doubtful whether serious poisoning could occur from 
the fumes of what little wood alcohol there is in the 
shellac. In addition to being shellacked, some cf 
the clairs are painted. There has been no trouble 
in the painting department, although it is as poorly 
ventilated as the shellacking department. The expla- 
nation of this probably lies in the fact that very 
little painting is done. 
In general the chair making industry does not 
seem to offer any serious health problems. Cuts 
are frequent but not serious. The lower 
picture following page 31 shows the largest 
building of the factory; two of the blowers 
may be seen; in the foreground are the piles of 
birch slabs. The other seven chair manufacturing 
companies are quite similar. 
Summary 54 
HOUSING 
There are twenty-three hundred dwellings in 
Keene, and very few tenements. The largest tene- 
ment building I could find was on Marlboro Street; 
I visited this because it had the reputation of 
being the worst one. The lower picture 
on the following page shows the back- 
yard and the general layout of the 
building. The building was divided into ten apart- 
ments: five on the upper story, and five on the 
lower story. The backyards were not at all neat; 
but there was plenty of room, sunshine, and fresh 
air. 
The tenants were mostly Italians, and their 
being very suspicious of me interfered to a large 
extent with the inspection of the building. The 
rooms were between ten and fifteen feet square; 
and in four rooms on the upper story (in the nearer 
end of the building, as it appears in the picture) 
lived three adults and three children. Below these 
rooms was a kitchen, and in front of this a small 
store selling ice cream, groceries, and soft drinks. 
The rooms were dirty, and -- as the picture shows -- 
there was nothing neat about the place. The 
Tenements VenliJator oq Colonial Theatre- 
See page 55 
Back yard oj the worst Tenement in Keene See page 55 
plumbing at the time I inspected the building was 
in a fairly satisfactory condition. 
The upper picture on the preceding page was 
taken from the roof of the Colonial theater. This 
building contains some apartments, but the main 
reason for my inspecting it was the very interesting 
system of ventilation employed. The 
cupola, shown in the picture, houses a 
five horsepower motor which drives a 
double fan; the fan blows the air out through the 
shutters shown in the picture and through similar 
shutters on the other side of the cupola. The con- 
struction of the building will be briefly referred to. 
There is a hallway leading from the street to the 
auditorium, and in it stands the ticket office. The 
auditorium has a cement floor, and forms the lowest 
part of the building. Around the edges of the room 
are brass gratings; on the upper part of the walls 
near the stage are more brass gratings; in the ceil- 
ing are six ventilators (E,E); back of the stage are 
a few apartments. The whole building is four stories 
high. 
The system of ventilation for the auditorium 
is shown in the diagrams. There are two different 
ways of running this ventilation: one for summer 
Ventilation 56 
Ventilation of the Colonial Theatre 
How the Apartments are 
ventilated 
Plan 
Ventilation ofthe auditorium 57 
and one for winter. In the summer the removable 
window (A) is taken out, and the outdoor air is 
drawn by two big fans into a chamber where it can 
be cooled, if necessary, by water running in pipes. 
It is then blown out into the auditorium through 
the upper gratings. The dead air leaves the audi- 
torium through the gratings in the ceiling and 
through the lower gratings along the walls. That 
which leaves through the lower gratings along the 
walls is pumped back through the auditorium again. 
The amount of air which is thus kept in and cir- 
culating can be controlled by the shutter (B). The 
amount of air that goes out through the ceiling is 
controlled by the speed of the five horsepower 
motor which works the fans (B,D). 
In the winter the system of ventilation is 
combined with the heating apparatus, at least for 
the auditorium. The window at A is closed, or 
nearly closed. The chamber in which the air was 
cooled in summer now serves to heat the air. Steam 
pipes controlled by three valves form a huge 
"radiator" inside this chamber. Openings in the 
chamber allow air to enter from various parts of 
the building that connect with this false partition 
containing the chamber. The two suction fans blow 58 
the air from the chamber into the auditorium through 
the upper gratings along the walls. The air then 
circulates about the room, and most of it passes 
through the gratings near the floor (B) and passes 
up again through the false partition to the heating 
chamber, from which it is sent again into the audi- 
torium. The air can be changed as often as neces- 
sary by allowing the escape of the heated air 
through the gratings in the ceiling (E,E), and by 
allowing new air to enter the system at A. 
This theater is designed for moving pictures 
only. The projection room is entirely fire proof, 
and has a separate blower to blow air out onto the 
roof. Air from the auditorium is used to supply 
the projection room. 
The apartments in the back of the building 
have the old-fashioned but excellent window and 
chimney system of ventilation. In addition to 
this they have a system similar to that used in 
the projection room (see diagram), but without 
any blower. 59 
INFECTIOUS DISEASES 
The following diseases are reportable to the State 
Board of Health, Concord, New Hampshire: 
Anterior poliomyelitis (Infantile Paralysis) 
Cerebro-spinal meningitis 
Chancroid 
Chicken pox 
Diphtheria 
German measles 
Gonococcus infections 
Infectious diseases of the eye 
Ophthalmia neonatorum 
Trachoma 
Influenza 
Measles 
Mumps 
Pneumonia, acute, lobar 
Scarlet fever 
Septic sore throat 
Smallpox 
Syphilis 
Tuberculosis all forms 
Typhoid fever, and paratyphoid fever 
Whooping cough 60 
The following less frequently occurring diseases 
are also reportable to the State Board of Health: 
Actinomycosis 
Acute infectious conjunctivitis 
Anthrax 
Asiatic cholera 
Dengue 
Dysentery (amebic) 
Dysentery (bacillary) 
Favus 
Glanders 
Hookworm disease 
Leprosy 
Malaria 
Pellagra 
Plague 
Rabies (dog bite) 
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever 
Tetanus 
Trichinosis 
Typhus Fever 
Yellow Fever 
Continued Fever lasting seven days 61 
In the matter of quarantine the health officer 
at Keene merely follows the rules laid down by the 
State Board of Health. The special 
bulletin of the State Board of Health 
entitled "What To Do Y/hen Diphtheria, 
Scarlet Fever, Measles, Whooping Cough, 
Smallpox and Bad Colds Occur In Schools" indicates 
the general principles along which the health of- 
ficer works. 
The following diseases are quarantined: scarlet 
fever, diphtheria, measles, chicken pox, German 
measles, mumps, typhoid fever, smallpox, cerebro- 
spinal meningitis, other meningitis, influenza, 
and syphilis in the first and second stages. The 
period of quarantine for scarlet fever is four 
weeks from the appearance of the rash and until the 
"cessation of all peeling and discharge from ears, 
eyes and nose." Diphtheria is quarantinable for 
ten days and thereafter until negative bacteriologi- 
cal cultures are obtained. Measles is quarantined 
until two weeks from the appearance of the rash and 
"until all discharge from eyes, ears and nose has 
ceased." Smallpox is quarantined "until the whole 
of the skin is free from pustules and from the 
Quarantine 
Regulations Whooping Cough 
General information for those who have to deal 
with Whooping Cough cases or contacts 
Issued by the New Hampshire State Board of Health, and when 
presented by the Health Officer shall constitute 
a part of his instructions. 
Everyone Should Know 
That Whooping Cough is a dangerous disease, particu- 
larly for young children. 
That there were more deaths in 1921 from Whooping 
Cough than from any other disease of childhood except 
Diphtheria. Whooping Cough caused one third more 
deaths than did Scarlet Fever, and more than four times 
as many as did measles in New Hampshire during 1921. 
That a child with Whooping Cough should have the 
best of care and attention to avoid getting Pneumonia 
or other serious complications. 
That the parents of children suffering with Whooping 
Cough should make every effort to prevent ill children 
from coming in contact with well children. 
That failure to keep a child sick with Whooping 
Cough separated from well children may make one re- 
sponsible for a death in the family or in the family of a 
friend. 
That the safest course to pursue when a child is 
thought to have Whooping Cough is to consult the doc- 
tor and health officer. Symptoms of Whooping Cough 
Whooping Cough usually starts with a slight cold, 
hacking cough, and with a little fever. The catarrhal 
symptoms and cough gradually become more severe; 
there is a running from the nose and the eyes are red- 
dened. From seven to fourteen days after the exposure 
of the child to Whooping Cough, the cough has become 
pronounced and occurs in "spells" or paroxysms. The 
child coughs in ' ' spells, ' ' the cough getting more severe, 
and finally develops what is commonly known as the 
"whoop." The cough is so severe at times that the 
child is frantic, and when the cough ceases, it lies ex- 
hausted or vomits. The coughing spells re-occur at in- 
tervals throughout the day and night, these intervals 
lessening as the disease progresses. The severe cough- 
ing often lasts for three or four weeks. 
As a result of the strain of these paroxysms of cough- 
ing, the bronchial tubes and lungs of the child are con- 
gested, the digestive organs are upset and at times the 
eyes, heart and kidneys suffer. The most frequent com- 
plication is Pneumonia from the congestion of the lungs. 
Whooping Cough so weakens its victims that it is often 
many months before they recover their normal strength 
and during this time, Tuberculosis or other serious dis- 
ease may develop. 
Advice to Parents 
The best advice that can be given to parents is to make 
every effort to keep their children away from those ill 
with Whooping Cough. 
A vaccine is sometimes given to prevent Whooping 
Cough. It is given in three doses, and in some instances 
prevents the disease, while in others it fails to prevent, 
but does seem to make the cough much lighter and less- 
ens the likelihood to Pneumonia and other complications. 
When a child becomes infected, a doctor should be 
called early and his directions followed absolutely. 
A child with a particularly severe or persistent cough 
occurring at a time when Whooping Cough is prevalent in the community should from the first be cared for as 
Whooping Cough. This means that the child should be 
kept away from other children, particularly the baby, 
until it is known whether or not the illness is Whooping 
Cough. 
Children with Whooping Cough should be warmly 
dressed, carefully fed, and given plenty of fresh air. 
While it is not necessary for a doctor to see the ordinary 
Whooping Cough case every day, he should be consulted 
from time to time and his advice carefully followed. 
Isolation and Disinfection. 
Whooping Cough can be more easily given to other 
children during the early stages of the disease than in 
the latter. The most dangerous time and the time when 
most children are infected is before it has definitely been 
determined that a child really has Whooping Cough, that 
is, before the characteristic "whoop" appears. 
When Whooping Cough is present in a community and 
a child is ill with a cough and cold, parents should sepa- 
rate the ill child from the well children without waiting 
for the doctor to decide or for the health officer to ap- 
pear. If this course was followed by all parents, very 
few cases of Whooping Cough would occur and the toll 
of deaths would be much less. 
It is the duty of the health officer to make such regula- 
tions as will so far as possible prevent well children from 
coming in contact with those ill with Whooping Cough. 
He will endeavor to secure this result with as little in- 
convenience as possible to the family and to the patient. 
The law may require the house to be placarded and the 
acutely ill patient to be isolated therein. 
Permission for Arm Band Regulation Recommended 
by State Board of Health. 
Children suffering with Whooping Cough need fresh 
air in abundance, and to give those who are able an op- 
portunity to secure this without endangering well chil- dren, the afflicted child may be permitted by health 
officers to go upon the streets, provided he is accompa- 
nied by a responsible person, and wears upon his left 
arm a yellow band to aid in preventing contact with well 
children. Children wearing yellow bands should not be 
permitted in street cars, stores or other places where 
they are liable to come in close contact with well chil- 
dren. Violation of the rules of the health officer in the 
use of the yellow band should result in the withdrawal 
of this privilege. The health officer may and should, if 
he finds it necessary, placard or even quarantine Whoop- 
ing Cough cases. 
Children with Whooping Cough when confined to the 
home should be kept in a single room. All discharges 
from the nose and throat should be burned or thoroughly 
disinfected, and the patient through the entire course 
of the disease should have individual eating utensils. 
The younger a child is when he has Whooping Cough, 
the more liable he is to die. 
Whooping Cough is more fatal in children under five 
years of age. 
Printed by John B. Clarke Co. 6315 62 
subsequent desquamation. Special attention to be 
paid to examination of soles, palms, fingers and 
toe-nails." 
In addition to the list of quarantinable dis- 
eases given above, whooping cough is also sometimes 
quarantined. The attached yellow folder shows the 
way in which whooping cough is handled. As a rule 
quarantine for whooping cough is avoided; instead a 
special arm band regulation is used. Children ill 
with the disease are required to wear a yellow arm 
band. They must avoid contact with other children, 
and cannot go in street cars, stores, or among 
groups of people. Of course it is necessary to 
have a responsible person with any child so quaran- 
tined. The reason for this method of handling 
whooping cough lies in the fact that fresh air, 
moderate exercise and sunshine have been found 
helpful in handling the cases. 
The problem of disinfection and fumigation is 
of course not regarded as seriously nowadays as it 
used to be. The value of soap 
and hot water and sunshine is 
now uppermost in the minds of 
health officers. These two 
Disinfection And 
Fumigation 63 
excellent measures of disinfection and the use of 
formaldehyde for fumigation comprise the chief 
methods employed by the Board of Health. 
At the present time there is a very vigorous 
campaign in progress against tuberculosis in the 
State of New Hampshire. A glance at the vital 
statistics seems to show that this campaign has 
been of some benefit to Keene. Before 1900 more 
than 10# of the deaths in Keene were 
due to consumption. Since 1901 
there has not been a year in which 
10# of the deaths were due to tuberculosis. In 
1919 only 1.17# of the deaths were due to tuber- 
culosis. This is the lowest figure thus far reached. 
In the city were several posters regarding spitting. 
There was one poster of a little boy being led along 
the street by his mother; on it were the words "For 
my sake don't spit; spitting spreads disease." 
They have a county nurse for tuberculosis, and 
Cheshire county holds a tuberculosis clinic in the 
offices of the Health Department at the City Hall 
in Keene once every month. In New Hampshire any 
kind of tuberculosis can be given sanitarium treat- 
ment. This saves the doctors the embarrassment of 
Tuberculosis 64 
trying to find a little activity in one apex, the 
way they have to do in Massachusetts when they 
want a case to get sanitarium treatment. 
I asked the health officer what measures would 
he taken if some other disease were prevalent. He 
stated that in epidemics the usual method was to 
quarantine houses. This measure can he enforced 
better than any other, because breaking the quaran- 
tine regulations is a criminal offense in the State 
of New Hampshire. It is of course very inconvenient 
to the public to be quarantined. A variable sum of 
money is spent every year in the city of Keene to 
aid those people who are in quarantine. In 1923 
$495.86 was so spent. 
One occasion for this large sum was the epidemic 
of measles which occurred in the autumn of that year. 
Thus it will be seen that the system of quarantine 
in this epidemic of measles was rather expensive. 
The city was fortunate in having Dr. A. A. Pratte 
for president of the Board of Health. 
During the year there were 636 cases of 
measles with no deaths. In this epidemic 
the chief reliance was placed on quarantine. In 
releasing the houses from quarantine, the quarantined 
rooms were fumigated and cleaned, then aired and 
Measles 65 
exposed to as much sunlight as possible. 
In comparing the morbidity statistics of measles 
for the two years 1922 and 1923 it seems apparent 
that the measures taken to control the spread of the 
disease were not adequate. In 1922 nearly all the 
270 
250 
200 
150 
100 
50 
0 
Number of cases reported (morbidity) 
1921 
1922 
192* 
Dec 
Jan 
feb 
Mar 
Apr 
May 
June 
July 
Aug 
Sept 
Oct 
Mo v 
Dec 
Jan 
Feb 
Mar 
Apr 
May 
June 
July 
Aug 
Sept 
Oct 
Mov 
cases were reported during the summer months: May, 
June, July and August; there were no cases in 
September, October, November and December of that 
year. In the epidemic of 1923 the morbidity from 
measles seems to begin later, reaching the climax 66 
in July -- one month later than in the previous 
year -- then falling slightly in August and rising 
again to epidemic proportions in September; in 
other words, the epidemic seemed to come at about 
the time the school began. The second month of the 
epidemic was nearly as bad as the first month, but 
by November the morbidity had fallen considerably. 
It seems difficult to determine definitely 
whether the epidemic was really checked or whether 
it just burned itself out. One very difficult 
thing in controlling measles lies in the fact that 
the disease is contagious several days before it 
is diagnosable. Fortunately the epidemic was a 
mild one, and there were no deaths. However it 
is difficult to estimate from this fact exactly 
how great the damage was. There are no statistics 
available from which one could make any determina- 
tion of the complications that may have been 
eventually fatal. From the financial point of 
view it is evident that the epidemic cost the city 
a considerable sum of money, as aid to those in 
quarantine alone amounted to nearly $500. 
All cases of venereal diseases are supposed 67 
to be reported and are quarantinable if necessary. 
The doctors are lax about reporting 
these cases however. In 1923 two cases 
of syphilis and six cases of gonorrhea 
were reported; in 1922 five cases of 
syphilis and twenty-five cases of gonorrhea were 
reported. 
Venereal 
Di seases 68 
SCHOOLS 
The city of Keene takes considerable pride in 
its high school building. This building is valued 
at a hundred thousand dollars. It is relatively 
new, well built, and up-to-date. 
The ventilator system is combined with the 
heating system. Air is not used over. Air is 
drawn through a screen from outdoors, and passed 
through a steam heating chamber from which it goes 
up through flues to the ventilators 
in the various rooms and in the audi- 
torium. These ventilators are placed 
rather high up on the walls. They are equipped 
with shutters controlled by chains, and the tem- 
perature in the room can be controlled by varying 
the amount of heated air which is allowed to pass 
the shutters. Along the walls near the baseboard 
are gratings from which the air passes out of the 
building. The building was inspected while school 
was in progress, and I was told by the teachers 
that there was plenty of heat in the winter from 
this system. In addition to this system there are 
large windows in every room -- most of the study 
Ventilation 69 
rooms are twenty by twenty-five feet and have four 
windows. 
Upon analyzing the system of ventilation it 
seems probably that in winter, when the windows are 
closed and the doors shut, there is a very gradual 
current of air flowing from the upper part of the 
room where the air is warmer down to the lower part 
of the room where the air is cooler and wasting out 
through the lower ventilators. In hot weather the 
flue system of ventilation probably amounts to very 
little. No blowers are employed. 
For the rooms mentioned above, those about 
twenty by twenty-five feet in floor space, day- 
light is secured from four windows. 
This is inadequate on cloudy days, and 
is supplemented by four 60 watt electric 
lights suspended from the ceiling. Each of these 
lights is about 160 candle power. The assembly 
hall has thirty-six similar lights. 
As indicated in the paragraph headed "ventila- 
tion," the temperature is controlled at the upper 
ventilators along the walls of the 
rooms. These have two chains: one 
marked "cool," the other marked "warm." 
The heat is regulated by this device according to 
Lighting 
Temperature 70 
the teachers' sensations -- they tend to keep the 
temperature rather warmer than is considered desir- 
able. At the time I inspected the buildings the 
temperature averaged 72°F. on the first floor and 
73°F. on the second floor. 
The high school building sets on 73,500 square 
feet of land. Thus there is adequate space about 
this building for play. In addition to the various 
schoolhouse playgrounds -- at least 
the grammar school playgrounds 
which in general consist of a few 
swings and a teeter board, there is a playground at 
Wheelock Park. This is located in a pine grove, a 
beautiful spot for a playground. It is equipped 
with the usual playground apparatus: swings, etc. 
Medical inspection is carried out by the school 
physician and a nurse. The examining is done at 
various intervals throughout the year,- whenever 
the doctor and nurse find it convenient. 
The nurse has a list of all the students; 
the list is not arranged according to 
the rooms, and the teachers are not sup- 
plied with a copy of the list. When one student has 
been examined, that student tells the next one to go 
for examination. Such a method breaks up the 
Playgrounds 
Medical 
Inspection 71 
discipline of the class room a great deal. Students 
will claim that they have been told to go for exam- 
ination and will skip out for the whole morning. 
The doctor does not find time to carry out the ex- 
amination at all thoroughly. Sometimes the nurse 
examines alone, so that some students do not really 
get a medical examination oftener than once or 
twice during their whole high school career. Many 
mistakes are made in the listing, so that some 
children are fortunate enough to have two or 
three examinations every year. 
Children are excluded from school for all 
quarantinable disease listed on page 61 and for 
whooping cough. 72 
MISCELLANEOUS 
All markets, provision stores and soda fountains 
are inspected once a month or oftener "by the health 
officer, and are governed by the state laws of New 
Hampshire. A copy of the food and drug laws of the 
State of New Hampshire, published 
in 1923, accompanies this report. 
In 1923 there were seventy-three 
stores in the city handling food 
and food supplies, also there were 
five bakeries, nine restaurants, one lunch cart and 
five drug stores. Of these places of business one 
store was forced to go out of business because they 
were selling food products and living in the same 
room. Besides the city inspection of such places, 
the state inspector visits them regularly. 
I inspected the following provision stores: 
the Keene Fruit Company, the Central Market, and a 
store of the Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. The 
Keene Fruit Company does a wholesale and retail 
business. For such a store the place is fairly 
clean; there were, however, many flies at the time 
(June 1924). The Central Market was even worse as 
Markets 
Provision Stores 
Soda Foundtains 73 
far as flies were concerned. The odor in the market 
was not pleasant. It was not so neatly kept as the 
other stores in Keene. They sell no cold storage 
goods. The store of the Atlantic and Pacific Tea 
Company was roomy, clean and almost free from flies. 
The federal veterinary inspector inspects all 
cold storage plants in this region. In keene there 
is only one cold storage plant, the various markets 
depending upon simple refrigerators. I visited the 
cold storage plant, which is a part of the Cheshire 
Beef and Produce Company, on 
Emerald Street. Here I happened 
to meet Pr. Carnachan, the present 
federal veterinary inspector. He 
very kindly took me through the cold storage plant, 
which is quite a large one. Refrigeration is main- 
tained by the evaporation of liquid ammonia, the 
usual system employed. The pumps are driven by 
steam in this case. There are several rooms for 
storage; different rooms are kept at differing tem- 
peratures, certain goods not requiring as low a 
temperature as others. One of the important points 
about a cold storage plant is the maintaining of a 
constant temperature, for of course if the foodstuffs 
Meat Inspection 
Cold Storage 74 
are occasionally allowed to warm up for a few hours 
all security is lost and there is no telling what de- 
composition the foods may have undergone. Some of 
the wholesale heef houses rent space in these cold 
storage rooms from the Cheshire Beef and Produce 
Company. 
I sampled food in a number of restaurants, 
and in all cases it was decided- 
ly cleaner and better in quality 
than that obtainable near the 
Harvard Medical School. 
The food and drug administration is controlled 
chiefly by the State. The only activities of the 
city in the matter are those of in- 
spection as carried out by the 
health officer. The food and drug 
laws of the State of New Hampshire 
are in general very satisfactory. 
The health officer in his report for 1923 
states: "There are 11 barber shops in the city, 
all of which are conducting their 
shops within the State law cover- 
ing barber shops, and have been 
clean and sanitary when inspected." From what I 
saw of them I found no reason to doubt this statement. 
Restaurant Food 
Food and Drug 
Administration 
Ikrber Shops 75 
There is a department of district nursing and 
social service which meets at the hospital from 
4.30 to 5 o'clock every day. The problems of 
social service in Keene are not so great, because 
there are fewer people in Keene in extremely hard 
circumstances than there are in 
large cities such as Boston. Dis- 
trict nursing is not so imperative 
as in larger cities. The District 
Nursing Association maintains two nurses on duty 
at all times. Their office is in the Health De- 
partment of the City Hall, also they have a tele- 
phone at a drug store so that they can be reached 
at all times day and night. 
At present the overseer of the poor and the 
health officer are one man. There 
is a county poorhouse, also aid is 
furnished to a large number of city 
paupers and dependant soldiers. 
Nursing 
Social Service 
Charitable 
Institutions 76 
SUMMARY 
Keene is a delightful little city in God's 
country. It lies in the verdant and wooded hills 
of southern New Hampshire. It is endowed with all 
the advantages Nature can offer, except weather. 
The weather is capricious and is perhaps partly 
responsible for the large number of respiratory 
infections that occur among the populace. Keene 
is in a strong financial position. 
The geographical position of Keene is such 
that an abundant supply of excellent water is 
available for drinking purposes. However, the 
fire menance causes them to keep a reservoir 
which should long ago have been dis- 
carded. I refer to the Beech Hill 
Reservoir described on page 12. The 
water from this reservoir is unfit to 
drink and the reservoir should be permanently dis- 
connected from the pipe lines. The city should 
heed the warning given it in the spring of 1924 
when B. coli was found in the water near the 
place where this reservoir connects with the mains. 
If this reservoir were disconnected, Keene could 
rightfully boast of an excellent water supply. 
Beech. Hill 
Reservoir 77 
Ke ene is in the enviable position of having 
lake water for drinking purposes, and a river handy 
to dump its sewage into. The sewage is not treated 
* 
in any way. There is no necessity for any treatment. 
Would it not, however, be advisable, if 
only to avoid nuisance, to have the sewage 
enter the river at a point some distance 
below the thickly inhabited part of the 
city? Perhaps the added value of real estate along 
the river would eventually make the undertaking a 
profitable one. About 1800 feet of fairly large 
sewer pipe used as suggested on page 25 would solve 
the problem. 
The use of septic tanks seems to offer the best 
solution for those who live too far out of the city 
to connect with the sewerage system. 
Keene has chosen well in adopting the incinerator 
method of disposing of garbage. The main problem now 
lies in the financial aspects of collected garbage. 
The present method of charging each family 
for the collection seems to offer the only 
alternative to supporting the work out of 
the taxes. 
The death rate and birth rate of Keene are both 
Sewage 
Disposal 
Garbage 78 
rather low and suggest poor statistics. It is indeed 
surprising that the hirth rate should be low in 
Keene. One gets the impression 
that there are many large families 
and a relatively small number of 
unmarried men and women. 
The specific mortality rates are rather unsatis- 
factory because of the small population on which they 
are based. 
Keene has no pasteurized milk. I think that 
under the circumstances this is fortunate. The raw 
milk is well inspected now. In 1901 there were 
twenty-one deaths from scarlet fever and this 
probably taught Keene a lesson about 
milk. Keene has a certified milk plant 
which is being run properly. Even at a 
price of 35/ a quart this is cheap. We 
can feed an infant with certified milk more cheap- 
ly than we can feed an adult on any food. 
The problem of nuisances is being well handled, 
with one exception,-- the mosquito problem. This 
is not handled at all. An anti- 
mosquito campaign should be launched 
next spring. 
Vital Statistics 
Good Milk 
Supply 
Mosquitoes 79 
Industrial hygiene offers no real problems in 
Keene; at least the main industry, wood working, 
is not dangerous to health. 
Housing and ventilation are also satisfactoiy 
from the sanitary aspect. 
In glancing over the list of notifiable dis- 
eases it will be seen that the occupational dis- 
eases are not notifiable. Chancroid is about the 
only addition to the usual list of 
notifiable diseases. The quarantine 
regulations are not remarkable, except- 
ing those for whooping cough. The 
method of handling whooping cough seems to be 
quite satisfactory however. 
The epidemic of measles was perhaps handled 
as well as it could be. It would be interesting 
to study this epidemic further, not so much from 
the point of view of how it could be handled bet- 
ter as from the point of view of preventing its 
recurrence. Of course the morbidity of measles 
tends to vary considerably from year to year 
in pendulum fashion, owing to the fact that the 
number of cases that can occur is limited largely 
to the young folks who have not had the disease 
in the previous years. 
Infectious 
Diseases 80 
The schools of Keene seem to be well equipped 
and well run for a city of such small size. The 
medical examination of school children is 
at no places as thorough as it really 
should be. In Keene there seems to be 
much room for improvement. Perhaps if the city 
would pay for the services of a physician to do 
this work on a definite schedule rather than as 
a spare time job, the matter could be handled much 
better. 
Schools 
Suggested Improvements 
1. Disconnect and abandon Beech Hill Reservoir. 
2. Construct an intercepting sewer to convey 
sewage downstream beyond thickly settled district. 
3. Launch an anti-mosquito campaign every spring 
and continue it through the summer. 
4. Employ a school physician to examine all school 
children regularly, systematically and thoroughly. KEENE 
INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL BOUNDARIES OF 
Upper Ashuelot 
Compiled from personal surveys 
and from city records bv 
Sami Wadsworth, 1305 
Contours and attitudes are from lhe 
U.S. Ceoloyical Survey of 1355