374 Human Physiology. 



sleeping in such an atmosphere. And the walls and ceilings 

 absorb animal emanations and the matter of disease from the 

 sick which they give out to poison others. In this way hospi- 

 tals become pestiferous, and any room which has been filled 

 with morbific matter may long retain and give it to successive 

 occupants. All hospitals and sick rooms should be thoroughly 

 disinfected by frequent white-washing or fumigation with 

 chlorine gas or sulphurous acid. The smoke of burning 

 coffee, or rags, and th" vapour of vinegar have also a degree 

 of disinfecting efficacy. 



Ergot, or the smut of rye, when it is allowed to get into 

 bread, or in whisky distilled from rye, or eaten by cows so as 

 to poison their milk, may be a cause of disease. A thorough 

 inspection of all kinds of food, and drink, and all dwellings, 

 and the atmosphere of all inhabited places by scientific and 

 conscientious men, -who would place the health and well-being 

 of the people above all other considerations, would do so much 

 for the prevention of disease, that the cost of poorhouses and 

 hospitals, and the expense of doctors and drugs would be almost 

 entirely saved ; so that as a mere measure of economy, or the 

 lowest kind of self-interest, such inspection, and all the sanitary 

 measures connected with it, would actually save money, as well 

 as health and life. 



As a rule men will do what they see to be for their own 

 interest, and their immediate selfish interest commonly is a 

 stronger motive than any future good. Men own cattle, and 

 if they know how, will take care of them. The higher the 

 price of slaves, the more care is taken of their health by their 

 masters. If our farmers and manufacturers had to buy their 

 labourers and "hands," they would be careful of their health 

 and habits in proportion to their cost. If every case of typhus 

 brought a fine upon the landlord, every town would be free 

 from it. If cholera involved as great a money loss as the cattle 

 plague, it would never again visit England. When it is the 



