MAN'S IMPROVEMENT OF HIS ENVIRONMENT 389 



pictures speak for themselves. If such a small experiment shows 

 results like this, then what might a general cleanup of a city show ? 



Public Hygiene. — Although it is absolutely necessary for each 

 individual to obey the laws of health if he or she wishes to keep 

 well, it has also be- 

 come necessary, espe- 

 cially in large cities, 

 to have general super- 

 vision over the health 

 of people living in a 

 community. This is 

 done by means of a 

 department or board 

 of health. It is the 

 function of this de- 

 partment to care for 

 public health. In ad- 

 dition to such a body 

 in cities, supervision 

 over the health of its 

 citizens is also exer- 

 cised by state boards 

 of health. But as yet 

 the government of the 

 United States has not 

 established a Bureau 

 of Health, important 

 as such a bureau 

 would be. 



The Functions of a 

 City Board of Health. 

 — The administration 



of the Board of Health in New York City includes a number of 

 divisions, each of which has a different work to do. Each is in 

 itself important, and, working together, the entire machine provides 

 ways and means for making the great city a safe and sanitary 

 place in which to live. Let us take up the work of each division 



In the upper picture a little girl can be seen dump- 

 ing garbage from the fire escape. She was a 

 foreigner and knew no better. The picture below 

 shows the result of such garbage disposal. 



