112 BULLETII^ 414, V. S. DEPAETMEISTT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



all the objects in the room, and breathed in with the air. Ordinary 

 dry sweeping stirs up a great deal of dust which settles again over 

 the same or different parts of the room and meanwhile pollutes 

 the air. This method of sweeping, therefore, is worse than none at 

 all. The proper method of cleaning floors is by using a damp mop, 

 not by sweeping. The mop should be dipped in a bucket of water, 

 wrung out, rubbed on the floor, then washed and rinsed in another 

 bucket of water. The method of cleaning floors by flooding them 

 with water and then scrubbing and sweeping is bad, because the 

 dampness promotes the growth of bacteria and the water gets into 

 the holes and fissures, causing the wood to warp and crack. 



A practice by which miuch labor in sweeping and scrubbing may be 

 saved is that of coating the floors of bunk houses with an oil floor 

 dressing. The particles of dust adhere to the dressing, but may be 

 removed easily by sweeping, because they are too heavy to rise and 

 float in the air. 



Such a dressing preserves the wood and tends to keep out vermin 

 and insects. Oil dressings for this purpose are well known and exten- 

 sively used and may be purchased through almost any hardware store. 

 The price ranges from 20 to 30 cents a gallon in 1-barrel lots, contain- 

 ing from 50 to 53 gallons. It is also possible to pufchase the dressing 

 in 5-gallon lots, but at a higher price. One gallon properly applied 

 will cover about 600 square feet of floor space, and a single appHcation 

 is said to be effective for two or three months. 



Spittoons. 



Spittoons are used in some camps, but not in all. In many cases 

 boxes filled with sawdust are provided, and the contents are burned 

 each day. Such boxes, while far better than no tiling, are almost 

 impossible to clean and disinfect, and while being dumped on the fire 

 the sawdust contaminated with sputum is often caught by the wind 

 and scattered broadcast about the camp. A much better receptacle 

 for the sputum is a metal or fiber spittoon which rests firmly on the 

 floor and has a wide opening to permit easy cleaning. Spittoons 

 should be removed each day to the place where other excreta are dis- 

 posed of and cleaned, preferably with boiling water, then partially 

 fiUed with a disinfecting solubion. Since, without the knowledge of 

 the men who eject it, sputum may contain the germs of tuberculosis, 

 diphtheria, pneumonia, and many other diseases, rules against pro- 

 miscuous spitting about the camp and in the quarters should be 



enforced rigidly. 



Vermin. 



Convict camps are especially hable to vermin infestation, and con- 

 stant care and watchfulness are necessary to keep the quarters free. 

 The bathing of aU incoming prisoners and disinfection of their cloth- 



