50 LICE AND THEIR MENACE TO MAN 



A number of perfectly satisfactory disinfectors 

 for civilian purposes are on sale by various 

 sanitary engineers, and one or another pattern 

 is to be found at the municipal cleansing stations 

 now established in some places. The proper 

 course for the unfortunate civilian who becomes 

 lousy is to obtain access to one of these, if avail- 

 able, and have his garments treated by experienced 

 hands. In the home it can be done in the baking 

 oven or in a steamer used for boiling clothes. 

 In the former case it is unlikely that there can 

 be any standard of the temperature, and care 

 would have to be taken that the heat was not 

 so great as to scorch or burn the garments. The 

 process would be most safely carried out after 

 the fire had been withdrawn and the oven was 

 cooling, when the articles could be left in over- 

 night. If a boiler or " copper " is used, a wooden 

 stool may be placed in the water so that the 

 seat comes just above the surface, and the clothing 

 may be loosely piled on that. After steam issues 

 freely round the lid the operation should proceed 

 for an hour. Moist heat damages leather goods, 

 and for them dry heat should be used. 



As in these operations the heating standard 

 has not been recorded, the appearance of dead 

 lice and nits should be known so that it may be 

 told by inspection whether the vermin on the 

 treated garments are really destroyed. Lice 

 under adverse circumstances, such as immersion 

 in water not sufficiently hot to kill them, have 



