SCREENING 203 



it will be found advisable in most cases to remove the screen 

 from the chimney as soon as cold weather comes. 



Should it be desired to screen the fire-place instead of the 

 chimney, this may be done. Probably the best way of doing 

 this is to make the frame of the screen fit exactly the fire-place 

 opening. If the fire-place is screened instead of the chimney, all 

 stove-pipe openings in the chimney should also be closed. 



In some sections, it is customary to bore a hole in the floor to 

 permit the drip from the ice-box to escape through to the ground. 

 In such cases, mosquitoes may enter the house through these 

 holes. The best way to prevent this is either to divert the drip 

 to the sewer by means of a pipe or else to close the hole and put 

 a pan under the ice-box, emptying it whenever necessary. 



THE LIFE OF A SCREEN 



The life of a screen ordinarily depends upon two things — the 

 material of which it is made and the care it receives. 



Probably the best material for screens for all-round use is 

 bronze or copper. This material will last a life-time, unless 

 torn by accident. It is so expensive, however, that but little 

 bronze or copper screening is seen today. 



The material most commonly used is a galvanized iron. The 

 life of this type of screen depends upon its care and treatment. 

 Ordinarily, away from the sea-coast, this type of screening should 

 last several years— from 4 or 5 to 10 or 11. Carter 1 states that 

 the screening of the U. S. Marine Hospital at Baltimore— a 

 so-called rustless iron— put on in 1903 did not require renewal until 

 1914. This screening was not painted until the fourth year, and 

 then was painted with a very thin coat every second year. The 

 writer has observed galvanized iron screening, put on in 1917, in 

 very good condition late in 1921, and it had not been painted at 



all. 



Judicious treatment will undoubtedly greatly prolong the life 

 of a screen. It is reported that an application of banana oil each 

 season gives very good results. The ordinary treatment, how- 

 ever, is painting, a very thin coat being applied every second 

 year or so. 



Torn wire screening may be repaired by placing a small piece 



1 Transactions of the First Annual Conference of Sanitary Engineers, 

 U. S. Public Health Service, 1919. 



