Dust and Bacteria. 125 



air of the room. Compare this with the condition after the 

 ordinary sweeping of a carpeted room with the common 

 broom. The dust fills the air, only to settle back on the 

 floor and furniture. Then comes the so-called dusting. 

 But do we get rid of the dust ? For those who cannot have 

 hard wood floors a most excellent substitute is oilcloth or 

 linoleum. 



Sweeping the Sick Room. The improved carpet 

 sweepers are not only convenient, but sanitary. Many a 

 well-meaning person will sweep a carpet in a sick room 

 with an ordinary broom when the patient is suffering from 

 lung disease, thoughtless of the fact that a little dust on 

 the floor is of much less significance than dust in the air 

 we breathe. No one likes dust on the floor, but better a 

 thousand times there than in our lungs. 



Lung Diseases. Statistics seem to show that one 

 seventh of the deaths among the civilized races is due to 

 lung diseases. The best authorities are now agreed that 

 consumption is not hereditary. But it appears that there 

 may be inherited a tendency to this disease, so that, if ex- 

 posed, such persons are more likely to contract the disease 

 than others. Probably anything that lowers the general 

 vitality makes the system more ready to yield to any of 

 these contagious diseases. We have all noticed what a 

 difference there is among individuals in the readiness with 

 which they " catch" contagious diseases. 



How to ward off Contagious Diseases. A good general 

 condition of the body helps greatly to ward off diseases of 

 this nature. A cheerful condition of mind and body should 

 be cultivated. In times of widespread contagious disease, 

 if one is terrified into the belief that he is going to have 

 the disease, he is more likely to take it. Thorough clean- 



