SANITATION 57 



stock solution from time to time, as needed, care being taken 

 to keep an excess of the permanganate crystals always in the 

 bottom of the jar. 



Permanganate of potash may he usetl to advantage in water 

 containing a large amount of organic matter. 



Pure carbolic acid may be used in the drinking water with 

 good effect during the ])resence of contagion, or to insure the 

 l)urity of the water. Add a sufficient quantity to make a one- 

 lialf of one per cent solution (tive teaspoonfuls to the gallon). 

 Do not use the permanganate and the carbolic acid at the 

 same time. 



Under many conditions, particularly when enteric diseases 

 are present m the flock, mercuric chlorid (corrosive subli- 

 mate, bichlorid of mercury, perchlorid of mercury) is a valu- 

 able antiseptic for the drinking water. Employ it in solutions 

 of 1 to 5,000 to 1 to 10,000 (from three-fourths to one and 

 one-half grains to the gallon). 



Both mercuric chlorid and carbolic acid are very poison- 

 ous and must be handled with great care. On this account; 

 the comparatively hannless potassium permanganate should 

 he used, or chinosol, which is equally harmless, may be used 

 in a solution of 1 to 2,000. 



DISINFECTION 



The removal of parasites and disease germs or their de- 

 struction is termed disinfection. Because of the ability of 

 these organisms to multiply, from a single individual or a 

 single pair, at an astonishing rate and speedily reinfest the 

 premises, it is obvious that to be of any value the disinfect- 

 ing must be thoroughlj^ done.. 



The first step in any disinfection is the removal of all 

 visible filth. A small lump of manure behind a nest box or 

 a single grain of dirt in a crack in the floor or on the roosts 

 may furnish the hiding place from which will emerge the 

 parasites or germs to reinfest the whole building, and spread 

 disease anew among the flock, thus undoing the whole of the 

 disinfection. 



Disinfection of Buildings 



The first operation in disinfecting a poultry house, there- 

 fore, is the thorough removal of all manure, trash and litter. 

 If the roosts and nests are removed from the building, they 

 must be cleaned and disinfected before they are returned; 

 if left in the building during the disinfection, they must be 

 as thoroughly cleaned as the remaiTider of the building, and 



