208 The Story of the Bacteria 



duster, we could largely reduce those affections 

 of the respiratory organs which are a most 

 serious and a growing menace to our modern 

 life in towns to-day. 



In fact, the household and general procedure 

 need be neither complex nor burdensome, 

 which amply fulfils the conditions of clean- 

 liness. But the cleanliness which modern 

 sanitation requires cannot be secured without 

 the exercise of informed intelligence. 



The regulation of the sick-room, and its 

 communication with the rest of the house, is a 

 matter on which the advice of the physician 

 should be sought. First and foremost should 

 stand the systematic and careful destruction 

 of the infectious material in all discharges of 

 whatever sort from diseased persons, by burn- 

 ing or by the proper disinfecting solutions 

 such as five per cent, carbolic acid. In this 

 solution the discharges should be allowed 

 to soak for several hours before they are 

 thrown into the sewer or otherwise disposed of. 

 As to the cleansing of rooms after their 

 occupancy by persons who have suffered 

 from bacterial diseases, directions should be 



