PERSONAL AND CIVIC HYGIENE 329 



Try to decide just how you would go at it in order to im- 

 prove conditions, or show your neighbors who may not know 

 as much about the matter as you have found out. 



IV. OTHER MORTALITY CURVES (FOR ADVANCED 

 STUDENTS) 



Observations. 1. Use monthly or yearly reports of the 

 department of health from any source, as, for example, The 

 Report of the New York City or New York State Departments 

 of Health. 



Try to plot curves as in the preceding section for other 

 causes of death, as, for example, measles, scarlet fever, diph- 

 theria, croup, meningitis, pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, con- 

 genital debility, etc. 



2. Which sort of disease is most prevalent during the year? 

 In summer ? Winter ? Spring ? Autumn ? 



Conclusions. 1. Try to account for the greater prevalence 

 of certain diseases at certain times of the year. (Note tem- 

 perature, food, milk, water, flies, exposure, sanitation, etc.) 



2. What means would be most effective in reducing such 

 death rates ? Specify in detail for each particular disease. 



3. Suggest how you might cooperate with the Board of 

 Health. 



4. Comment on the following statement : " Six hundred 

 thousand infants under two years of age end their little span 

 of life yearly, while millions of children fail to reach their 

 best physical development because their mothers and fathers 

 understood not how to care for them in the light of science 

 with more knowledge at least half the number of babies could 

 be saved and the physical standard raised immeasurably." 

 Household Education League. 



V. PREVENTION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES 



1. In section I we have learned 



First : that disease germs come from the bodies of the sick 

 in excreta, sputum, etc. ; 



