32 



character, whicli, thrown into the air and falling upon or entering the 

 body, give rise to renewed cases. In scarlet fever these germs appear 

 to retain their vitality for an unusual length of time, one case being 

 mentioned where a piece of flannel, worn around the neck of a scarlet 

 fever patient, was picked up and used two years after, and developed a 

 fresh case of the disease. In a certain instance of an outbreak of scar- 

 let fever over a wide neighborhood it was ascertained that in every in- 

 stance this took place in families that had been supplied with milk by 

 the same milkman. On inquiry it was found that persons connected 

 with the farm from which milk was supplied had been infected with 

 scarlet fever. The precautions to be taken, according to Mr. Lennox, 

 after the disease has made its appearance, are, in the first place, to 

 isolate the patient at whatever trouble or expense, preventing the ap- 

 proach of any one excepting the nurse and physician. With this, dis- 

 infectants must be used with the utmost freedom, whether they be car- 

 bolic acid, permanganates of soda and potash, chloride of zinc, chloride 

 of aluminum, chlorinated lime or soda, sulphate of iron, &c. These 

 should be employed in and around the patient. All his discharges and 

 excretions should be immediately disinfected, and all bed clothing and 

 linen worn by the patient treated with the same care. Nurses in at- 

 tendance, and physicians touching the patient in any wa.y, should also 

 wash their hands in a disinfecting solution before leaving the room. 

 Woolen clothing that cannot be washed should be exposed to a heat 

 of at least 212 degrees, this temperature having the property of destroy- 

 ing the poisonous germs. Even after the j)atient has apparently re- 

 covered, the precautions should be maintained until the peeling off of 

 the cuticle, or the scales, has been entirely accomplished, as in many 

 cases the disease has been traced to tbe particles of this character. 



ITEMS FEOM VARIOUS SOUECES. 



An Immigration scheme. — A society in England proposes to or- 

 ganize a colony of agricultural laborers, in number about GO or 70, to 

 settle in California, supplying them with agricultural implements, and 

 supporting them until such time as they can support themselves. It is 

 proposed that each settler receive 40 acres, ranged in alternate plats 

 around a central section of G40 acres. The condition of carrying out 

 this plan is that the owners of real estate on which the colony is located 

 shall contract to give the society, free of charge, the fee-simple of C40 

 acres, central block, and the alternate quarter quarter-sections (40 acres) 

 occupied by the immigrants; the owners of the estate to recompense 

 themselves by sale at advanced prices of the alternate quarter quarter- 

 sections. The estimated cost of each immigrant to the society is £100 

 to £150, or a total investment of £6,000 to £0,000. In the event of the 

 first colony proving a success, it is proi)Osed to organize others. It is 

 sui)posed that by confining the free grant to 40 acres, each man would 

 soon require the contiguous 40 acres, and Avould pay a high price for it. 

 The movement originates among wealthy, charitable English persons. 



Colony in Florida. — A colony has recently been planted on the 

 Halifax liiver, in East Florida, where it is proposed to raise sugar-cane 

 and seiqi-tropical productions. It is thought that the climate and soil 

 for such purposes are as congenial as those of Cuba. The location is 

 within a mile of the ocean, where a forty-mile drive on the hard sand 

 beach may be had. The Halifax, a beautiful stream, abounds in fish 



