170 PHYSIOLOGY AND TEMPERANCE. 



would develop. The butcher, finding his meat a little tainted, 

 can restore it by the timely use of a disinfectant, and hence 

 he washes it with Condy's fluid, or, better still, a solution of 

 the "acid from willow bark. One of the best and cheapest 

 antiseptics is boiling water. It has no equal in the univer- 

 sality of its use and in its cleansing and wholesome properties. 

 In the kitchen, in the scullery, in the laundry, in the 

 dairy, it is the perfect antiseptic. The housewife knows its 

 antiseptic properties when she scalds the milk cans before 

 " setting " the milk, in order to keep it pure and sweet. 



Many of the best disinfectant drugs are powerful poisons, 

 and, therefore, cannot be recommended for general use. 

 Strong-smelling drugs are not necessarily good disinfectants. 

 They may be good deodorizers, but cannot be relied upon for 

 killing germs. Carbolic acid, for instance, will only disinfect 

 where it touches, and although much vaunted and much used, 

 is not a good general disinfectant. The following is a better 

 general disinfectant, and is one which cannot be too strongly 

 recommended, not only for its effectiveness, but because it 

 is cheap, free from smell, practically non-poisonous in the 

 strength it is used, and will not stain or injure linen, clothes, 

 etc. Dissolve, half a drachm (nearly half a small teaspoonful) 

 of nitrate of lead in a pint of boiling water. Then dissolve 

 two drachms (two teaspooiifuls) of common salt in eight 

 quarts of water. Pour the two mixtures together. After 

 the sediment has settled, the liquid is a saturated solution of 

 chloride of lead. 



A cloth dipped in it and hung up in a room will purify a 

 fetid atmosphere. It may be used to be poured down a sink, 

 drain, or other foul opening. 



5. The Sick Room. The proper management of a case 

 of contagious disease, to prevent it from spreading, should be 

 understood by everyone. From this case the germs may find 

 their way to other members of the family. They may pass 



