659 



known to be suffering with tuberculosis ; but many persons, through 

 willful disregard, or in the early and unrecognized stages of the 

 disease, spit freely, on the floor and on paths and sidewalks. The 

 sputum dries and becomes dust; and the germs are, therefore, easily, 

 blown about and settle wherever dust settles. 



The Dangers of Dust. The presence of dust, especially in pub- 

 lic places of assembly like school houses, halls, and churches, is a 

 menace to health, and so far as possible should be avoided. The 

 school is a natural mingling place for the germs of a community, 

 and it is time that parents, teachers, and pupils should combine to 

 make it the most ideally clean place in the neighborhood. Atten- 

 tion has often been called to the fact that diseases of children point 

 to the school as the great center of infection. 



SUMMARY. 



By careful attention to a few common sanitary measures you 

 can improve the health of your household and avoid certain diseases. 



1. See that your well is properly located and constructed, so 

 that disease germs can not get into it. 



2. See that your privy is properly located and constructed, so 

 that disease germs can not get out of it. 



3. If your water supply is not safe and you can not easily make 

 it safe, boil or distil your drinking water. 



4. Keep an eye on your milk supply. Pasteurize or heat milk 

 if it seems desirable. 



5. Avoid drinking out of public drinking cups, and avoid other 

 promiscuous habits. 



6. Keep flies and mosquitoes out of your house. Use screens ; 

 they are cheap. 



7. Keep an eye on the sanitary condition of the public build- 

 ings of your community ; especially of the school house where your 

 children go; look out for privies, water supply, and dust and dirt 

 inside. (Bui. 89.) 



DISINFECTION. 



By disinfection is meant the absolute destruction of the germs 

 of infectious diseases. If this is done by means of chemical sub- 

 stances these are called disinfectants or germicides. An antiseptic 

 is a substance which prevents decomposition by preventing the 

 growth and multiplication of germs, but does not destroy their life 

 necessarily. All germicides are antiseptic in weak solutions, but 

 there are many substances which are good antiseptics, though not 

 germicides in any strength. Examples are common salt and sugar, 

 both of which are largely used in preserving meats, fruits, etc. Ster- 

 ilization means the destruction of all forms of life in or upon thei 

 surface of an object. When an object is sterilized it is also disinfected. 

 Deodorants either mask or entirely remove disagreeable odors. Some 

 deodorants are good disinfectants, and some disinfectants good deo- 

 dorants. For example, charcoal is a good agent to remove smells 

 from putrefying material but does not kill the germs which cause 

 the putrefaction. Formalin is a true deodorant as well as a ctisin- 



