90 



KNOWLEDGE. 



March, 1911. 



some of the best and most up-to-date hotels, where 

 labour-saving is most important. 



Doubtless guilders might object to the extra 

 expense, but as soon as the public demand such a 

 change it will be made. The only dela\' « ill be in 

 educating people to make the demand. Linoleum 

 might be used to a greater extent: most houses have 

 too many carpets, curtains and other hangings which 

 collect dust. On entering the house dirtv boots 

 bringing in mud might be changed for slippers. 



The writer does not propose in these articles to 

 discuss the action lor maction) of corporate bodies, 

 a subject on which much might be said, but 

 it may suffice to point out the importance of 

 scientific knowledge to our local rulers. The more 

 they know of science, the fewer mistakes will they 

 make. Li spite of frequent warnings in the dailv 

 press, few people realize the dangers lurking in w ater 

 and milk, two of the prime necessaries oi life. The 

 public are in the habit of drinking water an\-where 

 and everywhere, without making anv enquiries as to 

 its purity and origin. A very good rule would be to 

 refuse to drink the water provided in hotels, 

 restaurants, or lodgings unless guaranteed to be 

 effectively filtered. There are good filters to be 

 obtained which will effectually stop all bacteria, if 

 kept clean and in good working order, such as the 

 "Pasteur" (which has been subjected by expert 

 bacteriologists to severe tests). Perhaps a safer plan 

 would be to boil all the drinking water, and charge it 

 with carbonic acid in large gasogenes made for the 

 purpose. This would make it pleasant and sparkling. 

 When travelling abroad, it is still more important to 

 avoid the drinking water, and to drink onh- w ine or 

 beer, or mineral waters of guaranteed qualitv. With 

 regard to milk, it may be safely said that the danger 

 is still greater : and one is glad to observe that more 

 attention is now paid to this subject, both b\- the 

 general public and by sanitary authorities, for 

 it is a most serious question. Tuberculosis in 

 children is frequently due to milk from a tuber- 

 culous co\\-. Diphtheria, scarlet fever, typhoid, mav 

 often be traced to a similar source. Consequenth- 

 it is most important that both dairymen and 

 farmers should take every reasonable precaution 

 to keep the milk clean and pure, for it is a 

 most favourable soil for harmful bacteria. Also 

 milk, when it reaches the house, should be kept in a 

 cool place, away from the sun, and it is a good plan 

 to cover the basin containing it with muslin (fixed 

 on a wooden hoop), to keep out flies and dust. 

 Dairymen mostly adopt this practice now, and 

 housekeepers should follow their example. Most 

 farmers are not sufficiently careful about the con- 

 dition of the cow-house and its surroundings. Any 

 sort of refuse carelessly left near these places ma_\' 

 be a real source of danger, on account of the flies 

 that breed on refuse heaps. Milkers must keep 

 their hands clean, and milk-pails must be scalded 

 with pure water. Sir James Crichton-Browne and 

 others have spoken plainly to the public on the 

 danger of flies, and it is greatly to be hoped that 



these warnings w ill be heeded. Some of the London 

 streets might be washed and brushed very much 

 more than they are. Where there is much traffic, 

 one often sees horse manure lying about in large 

 quantities. Flies are attracted to it, and when 

 dried by the sun and air it is carried about like dust, 

 enters shops where food is sold, and contaminates 

 it. This is a matter in which doctors and public 

 men may do good service to their fellow-citizens, hx 

 writing to the newspapers and bringing pressure to 

 bear on local authorities. The power of the press 

 is enormous, and consequentlv the education of our 

 verv unscientific public, in these davs, is largelv in 

 the hands of the journalists ; on them rests a heavy 

 responsibility. One is glad to see a popular news- 

 paper, such as the Daily Mail, devoting some of its 

 space to matters of this kind, for in so doing it 

 renders the nation a service of untold value. 



It cannot be denied that a great deal of food is 

 wasted, not by any one class of people, but in houses 

 of all classes. \\'aste of anv kind is unscientific, 

 and quite wrong economicallv. One of the triumphs 

 of modern science is the way in which bye-products, 

 or so-called " waste,"' in manufacturing processes, 

 have been turned to account and made a source of 

 increased profit. Even the refuse from our houses 

 can be converted into " producer gas." and supple- 

 gas engines for working machines, or for making 

 electricity. What can be accomplished on a large 

 scale can also be carried out on a small one, and, 

 probabh', more effecti\'elv. A great deal of teaching 

 is wanted to bring home to the minds of women the 

 full meaning of all this \\ aste. 



It is true that much care and supervision is 

 needed in order to prevent waste, but the lad\' of 

 the house (or housekeeper, as the case may be) should 

 regard this as an imperative duty. \Miere coal fires 

 are used (and these are quite wrong scientifically, 

 as will be shown later) a good deal of valuable coal 

 is wasted b\' servants, who are too careless or in- 

 dolent to separate the white ashes from the unburnt 

 coal, and so both alike are thrown into the dust-bin, 

 to mix with organic refuse, such as cabbage leaves, 

 and so on. To anvbody who regards this question 

 scientifically, it is quite clear that the organic matter 

 and the inorganic matter should be strictly kept 

 apart from the beginning. In the countr\', cottagers 

 set a good example in this matter b\- putting coal ashes 

 on to flower-beds, or some other part of the garden, 

 and keeping the waste food-stufts to feed a pig or 

 chickens. Now it may be troublesome for town-folk 

 to make this separation, but it would be well worth 

 while to do it, and so to increase the national wealth 

 and welfare. There should be two dustbins, one for 

 coal ash (i.e., real ash, not lumps of coal), pieces of 

 china, wood, iron, paper and other such refuse ; the 

 other for food-stuffs. The lady of the house should 

 give instructions to her ser\-ants to use a sieve for 

 separating the coal ashes from unburnt coal, the 

 former to be throw n away (which seems a pity, for 

 the\- contain potash, soda, lime and iron silica, and 

 50 on. all of which can be used by plants ; in country 



