condition when these are introduced is quite remarkable. But in view of the fact that whenever cans are being renewed fibre ones invariably replace the old-fashioned tin cans, legislation seems unnecessary, and in many places where tin cans are still in use trams are used to convey them to the drawing-frames.

At the present time girls are frequently seen dragging skips of cops and bobbins from one room to another or on to the hoist. In well-managed mills the skips are moved on lines, or else are furnished with wheels, but sometimes cases are reported of girls getting ruptured through pulling skips without wheels up sloping floors.

In most weaving sheds—cotton and worsted—the weavers' work is to fetch the tins of weft, keep the shuttles full, repair broken threads, and carry the finished pieces or cuts to the warehouse. The actual process of weaving does not involve any heavy work, and fetching the cops of weft is only fatiguing when heavy tins have to be brought from the cellars, which is not usual. But the dangerous element in the work is the occasional necessity of altering the weights, which are placed by the overlooker on levers at the back of the loom, to maintain the required tension of the warp. Many witnesses, Trade Union officials, doctors, overlookers, employers, and technical schoolmasters bore testimony to the risk of internal strain and hernia which attends the manipulation of these weighted levers. A broad loom for the manufacture of cotton sheetings or worsted cloths may have two or three 56-lb. weights on both levers, while for lighter fabrics two 32-lb. weights on each side are quite common. In most sheds the space between the looms is so restricted that the weavers have to move the weights in the position of maximum disadvantage. As a matter of fact the actual number of cases of rupture and other injuries is very small. Many witnesses said it was a cause of perennial amazement to them that this should be so, but some Sick Visitors and Trade Union secretaries said that not all the cases came to their official notice, as girls are often too reticent to claim compensation for internal injuries. Other witnesses recorded their conviction that the effect of the risk was seen better in the gradual strain and the deterioration in health than in the few cases where actual injury results. It must be remarked here that men weavers are often willing to help women and girls with this lifting of the weights, but as a general rule the girls are too independent to ask for the help, and the competition and speeding up are so intense that they will not take up the time of a fellow-weaver. There are a number of patent weighting motions on the market whose object is to dispense with heavy weights, a 9-lb. weight being sufficient for any ordinary warp, so that a young person can roll back the yarn on the beam after unweaving or pulling back equally with the strongest man. Many witnesses considered that legislation ought to be introduced making such contrivances compulsory, and it is interesting to note that some employers who had tried these patents on a few looms intend to introduce them altogether when the war is over, and some have found that by selling the old weights they have been able to install patent weighting motions at a very small cost per loom.

Carrying finished pieces to the warehouse is an advantage to the weavers in so far as it breaks the monotony of the work, but where the cloth is heavy it is very tiring, particularly for short weavers, as lifting the bundle over the loom-end in the narrow alley is exceedingly fatiguing. In the worsted industry most pieces weigh 100 lbs., and two girls are said to carry one piece to the warehouse. Cotton goods seldom reach this weight, but in many districts the trade is becoming heavier, and 60 lbs. is not unusual, and girls will carry such a piece without any help. Most witnesses insisted that cut carriers ought to be employed, as they are in a few places, where heavy cloth and broad pieces are woven; even though few cases of serious injury can be attributed to this cause, girls at work on heavy goods and broad looms are "off sick" more frequently than other weavers.

Peculiar Movements.—The points to be considered under this heading were included in the investigation as it was felt that movements involving continued use of one foot, while the full weight rested on the other, as in working a treadle, or frequent stretching might exert a harmful effect during adolescence, whilst they might be quite innocuous for adults. The evidence, however, is too scanty to warrant any conclusion, as work of this character is much less general than formerly. On some of the machines used in engineering girls have either to work a foot lever continuously or to start and stop the motion, but where Welfare Workers and nurses are in charge they frequently arrange that girls be transferred to other work after a time, so they have nothing to report as to the effects of the work. The doctor at one large factory considers that such work causes trouble with womb and bowels and may lead to prolapse, and that it is likely to weaken the abdominal muscles, but she had no definite evidence from girls under her supervision as she had insisted some time previously that girls should only do pedal work on alternate days, so that now they are engaged on another process in the same room every other day. She was, however, able to report that, previous to the enforcement of this arrangement, many girls working treadle machines would go home during their menstrual periods, and now very few feel the need to do this.

In some of the card-room processes, particularly on the intermediate frames, also in the ring spinning-room, and at worsted spinning, short girls have much stretching to reach the top rows of bobbins, but though this is tiring no special injurious effects are recorded. The difficulties of stretching movements are further intensified in the case of preparation work on drawing-boxes in the worsted industry, as girls have to lift large bobbins weighing about 28 to 30 lbs. into creels above their heads; but though some witnesses declared that this was very tiring, no evidence as to actual effects could be secured. A Trade Union delegate mentioned that some girls on this work have broken down completely, and have been forbidden by their doctors to return to the work—the effect showing itself in a rapid deterioration in general health rather than in actual injury. Further inquiry, however, brought out the fact that the majority of workers on this process are over 20 years of age, and are therefore outside the scope of this investigation.

Sanitary Conditions.—Reports as to sanitary accommodation in factories are generally satisfactory, thanks to the untiring efforts of the Women Factory Inspectors. In Birmingham, with its multiplicity of small workshops, however, conditions, to put it mildly, are not always ideal. As one doctor remarked, "Things are not so bad as to allow closing down of workrooms, but the sanitary arrangements often fall short of a reasonable standard of decency, though the competition with large firms is having a salutary effect." The only complaints that were brought to my notice referred to inadequate ventilation and lighting and the objectionable system of "timing." The former is generally remedied with the advent of the Welfare supervisor, the latter complaint appears to be quite general in Coventry and is the cause of much discomfort and annoyance. Where a large number of girls are employed the temptation to remain away from the workshop for long periods, playing in the lavatories, appears to be very general among younger girls. One cannot help feeling that the difficulty can be overcome by arranging for a woman attendant to