TUBERCULOSIS 171 



adopted in several cities in the United States and 

 should be enforced everywhere, not only in the inter- 

 est of the public health but as a matter of decency. 

 There was a time when all kinds of filth could be 

 thrown into the streets of cities without danger of 

 police interference. But the public has long since 

 been educated beyond the point of submitting to 

 such nuisances, and the time is not far distant when 

 no self-respecting citizen will deposit masses or pools 

 of expectorated matter in public places any more 

 than he would upon the floor of his own drawing- 

 room. Those who have no self-respect or regard for 

 the sensibilities of their neighbours should be re- 

 strained by suitable laws. 



When infected saliva has been deposited in a suit- 

 able receptacle of porcelain or of metal it is a simple 

 matter to destroy it. This may be readily accom- 

 plished by placing the receptacles with their contents 

 in boiling water for at least five minutes. A five- 

 per-cent. solution of carbolic acid or one of the other 

 coal-tar disinfectants (lysol, creolin, tricresol) may be 

 used for the same purpose, and it is a good plan 

 to have the sputum directly deposited in a porcelain 

 cuspidor containing such a solution. This should be 

 emptied and cleaned in boiling water at least twice a 

 day. Various forms of cuspidors have been devised 

 for tuberculous patients and are to be obtained from 



