GERMS. 105 



stroyed. Everything else in the room would be de- 

 stroyed also, for the fumes of sulphur (sulphurous acid) 

 in the presence of water attracts oxygen from it. The 

 fumes also attract oxygen from any and all kinds of 

 colored goods. This would destroy them at once, as 

 all colors contain oxygen. This increase in oxygen 

 changes the weak sulphurous acid into the strong 

 sulphuric acid, and this would destroy every article of 

 clothing, carpets, curtains, upholstered goods, etc. 

 True, these may be removed, but in most cases they are 

 not, and if they were, the strong sulphuric acid would 

 still attack the woodwork, first destroying the varnish 

 and paint, and then affect more or less the wood it- 

 self, leaving a black stain. 



The solution of a certain gas in water is called 

 formaldehyde. Like the fumes of sulphur this is very 

 irritating. It is sometimes used instead of sulphur 

 fumes, but when sprayed into a room formaldehyde 

 loses its strength in from ten to fifteen minutes. When 

 exposed to air it undergoes a change and is destroyed. 

 This fact renders it worthless for general use. 



We see that it is impossible for the ingenuity of man 

 to destroy nature's weapons (germs). Pure air and 

 sunshine are the only disinfectants, and the only pos- 

 sible advantage in using sulphur fumes or formaldehyde 

 is, that rooms in which they have been used require 

 free ventilation for a long time in order to get rid of 

 their irritating effects, and the fresh air thus secured 

 will cleanse the rooms. It would have done the same 

 thing without the so called disinfectants. 



It is well known that bacteriology is, and always has 



