The importance of the regular inspection and control of markets, through which the food-supply of a large proportion of the inhabitants passes, can hardly be over-estimated. In these, special accommodation and water-supply suitable for the articles for sale, _e.g._, fish, vegetables, meat, and livestock should be provided, and a staff employed to see that the existing laws are duly enforced, and that the quality of the food-stuff exhibited for sale is such as should be permitted. Public slaughterhouses for animals, the inspection of meat, and the disposal of offal should also be systematically regulated and inspected. The cost of erecting suitable market accommodation will soon be repaid and the investment become a source of income to a Municipality if the scheme is properly worked. The great point is the provision of good ventilation, drainage, and of a water-supply for flushing purposes. A design of an inexpensive market of 40 stalls for the Muzaffarpur Municipality constructed in 1902, at a cost of Rs. 4,786, is given in Fig. 25, page 55. This for the past three years gave an average income of Rs. 253. A loan of Rs. 4,800 at 4 per cent., repayable in 30 years, would entail an annual expenditure of say Rs. 278 (_see_ Table of calculations of repayment of loans by equal instalments, Appendix E, page 68), so the results there are not satisfactory from a financial point of view. [Sidenote: Disposal of Dead. Burning Ghâts.] The scarcity of timber generally prevailing, and its consequent expense, makes the process of cremation among the poorer Hindus frequently a farce, the corpse being generally merely charred, and then thrown into the nearest river, which thereby may be contaminated by the germs of disease; often the professional cremator does nothing more than throw the body into the water. It is time that rich Hindus came forward and constructed proper crematoria in the towns on the banks of the Ganges for the suitable disposal of their dead. Coal should be used and the burning ghâts be looked after by Brahmins, as at Kalighat in Calcutta. In Muzaffarpur, a new burning ghât on the banks of the river, down stream of the town, was opened under the control of the Municipality. A waiting-room to shelter the persons accompanying the corpse will be constructed at the cost of a leading zemindar; and the sale of fuel was regulated. For the cremation of an adult corpse this is supplied for about Rs. 2 and for child Re. 1, varying with the seasons, but private supply was allowed, provided it be sufficient for perfect combustion of the body. At least 9 maunds of mango wood is required to burn an adult corpse properly, the rate for this being about 5 maunds for a rupee. [Illustration: FIG. 25. MUNICIPAL MARKET 40 STALLS END ELEVATION PART PLAN CROSS SECTION ] [Sidenote: Burial-grounds.]