394 ADVANCED PHYSIOLOGY 



typhoid bacteria, cereals and meals from insect eggs and the 

 maggots which hatch from them, vinegar from 'Vinegar eels." 



Public Disposal of Garbage. At each of the many 

 homes in a city there accumulates daily an unavoidable quan- 

 tity of debris; garbage from the kitchen, waste paper, empty 

 food containers, ashes, etc. Such material cannot be disposed 

 of on the premises, save by use of costly incinerators or by 

 burial. A system of collection at public expense is the only 

 safe and sure way of securing sanitary disposal of such material. 

 "Filth breeds disease' * as one often reads, and one protects 

 not only himself but all about him when he insists on sanita- 

 tion in the matter just mentioned. Garbage, if not burned 

 immediately, must always be kept, until collected, in covered 

 containers which will keep out insects and vermin. 



Street Cleaning. The sources of dirt and filth in a city 

 are innumerable. To some extent this dirt adheres to every 

 one. Air currents stir it up and carry it everywhere. The 

 accumulation of dirt and filth in a city should either be washed 

 away, or carried to stations especially fitted for burning it or 

 to places where it may be buried. The city's example of 

 cleanliness or lack of it is one which influences the practices of 

 all the inhabitants. To compel this public cleanliness by 

 law should be the willing procedure of the people. Disraeli, 

 the famous Englishman, once said: "Public health is the foun- 

 dation on which reposes the happiness of the people and the 

 power of the country. The care of the public health is the 

 first duty of a statesman." 



Public Playgrounds and Parks. The providing of play- 

 grounds and parks is necessary, as we now appreciate the vital 

 relation between recreation, fresh air, and rest on the one 

 hand, and effectiveness, health, and readiness for action on 

 the other. These public playgrounds and parks, with the 

 opportunities they afford to leave the crowded sections of the 

 city with their barren walls, their din, smoke, fatigue, and 

 monotony, are the oases in the city desert. Parks are unnec- 





