474 Our Surroundings 



solutions are used, for no germs are present. This is an advan- 

 tage over antiseptic surgery for germ-killing solutions irritate 

 wounds and retard their healing. 



Health Institutions. There are many institutions of a semi- 

 public character that are doing remarkable work for the conserva- 

 tion of health. Among those in this country are the Rockefeller 

 Institute for Medical Research in New York City, and the Nutri- 

 tion Research Laboratory in Boston. The discovery of a serum 

 for the treatment and cure of meningitis by Dr. Simon Flexner 

 of the Rockefeller Institute is an illustration of the great value 

 of the work done by institutions of this kind. 



The Life Extension Institute was organized to encourage the 

 movement to prolong human life. It gives advice to its members 

 in regard to ways of keeping well. It has a large staff of examin- 

 ing physicians in its head office in New York City, and has the 

 services of more than seven thousand examining physicians 

 throughout the United States and Canada. It provides personal 

 physical examinations at regular intervals as a means of prevent- 

 ing needless suffering and premature death. 



Necessity for Cooperation. In order to accomplish desir- 

 able results, it is necessary for all the forces working toward 

 a proposed end to pull together. These forces may be indi- 

 vidual or public. Individual hygiene depends on the effort 

 of each citizen to observe the requirements of cleanliness. 

 Public hygiene and sanitation depend on the efficiency of the 

 government in providing and maintaining surroundings that 

 are in every way conducive to health, but especially in guarding 

 against the spreading of contagious diseases. In the latter work 

 there is much encouragement in the words of Pasteur: "It is 

 within the power of man to rid himself of every parasitic disease." 



The city, the state, and the nation all have their boards of 

 health. They divide the important duties of health protection 

 and together work toward a common end the betterment of the 

 health of the people. 



City boards of health have charge of municipal hygiene and 

 sanitation. Among the duties of such boards are the making and 

 enforcement of regulations in regard to the removal of sewage 



