240 CIVIC BIOLOGY 



our local health authorities (when possible) and the best current health 

 literature. All are agreed that in case of gross uncleanliness or of new, 

 rare, and exceptional infections, the means of transmission of which may 

 not be known, terminal disinfection is advisable. It may take years, or 

 even centuries, of hard work, but nothing can ever take the place of 

 exact knowledge of the definite means by Mhich each parasitic germ is 

 harbored or transmitted. Knowing this, we now exterminate the guilty 

 mosquito instead of sinking the ship to prevent spread of yellow fever, 

 and we pay attention to the rats and fleas in case of plague instead of 

 burning the village, inhabitants and all. 



Contact infection. It was a lesson, never to be forgotten, 

 when his family physician once confessed to the writer that 

 he had caused the death of a young mother l)y failing to 

 scrub the little-finger edges of his hands carefully enough. 

 Upon such honesty as this we can depend for progress of 

 both science and practice. Could we be as honest with our 

 own hands for one day, we might each learn a lesson of life- 

 long value to our own ideas of rational cleanliness. Suppose 

 we mark with red ink every spot on lingers or hands moist- 

 ened by saliva or mucous secretions from the nose, and \Aith 

 black ink all areas soiled bv contacts Avith thino-s Avhich it 

 would be utterly disgusting or dangerous lo put into the 

 mouth — the fly Ave crush, the cat Ave touch (that has licked 

 her oAvn saliva OA^er her fur), the dead mouse Ave haA^e taken 

 from a trap, the pus from a pimple or sore, and so cloAvn 

 the list. If Ave did this for lialf a day even, could Ave CA^er 

 again go to the table without obeying the scriptural injunc- 

 tion to Avash the hands before breaking bread ? .Vnd Ave 

 Avould mjt be content Avith ceremonial touchhig of water, 

 Imt Avould Avish to scrub them AA^ith soap until all the ink 

 spots Avere oft". If such definite instruction Avere universal, 

 Ave might not haA^e examples like the following : 



Spread of gonococcus infectious, persistent and impossible to prevent 

 or trace, in the New York City Babies' Hospital, uncontrolled for sev- 

 eral years by laborious disinfection of buildings and equipment (after 



