522 DISINFECTION 
sary in order to get the disinfectant through the dirt and into the 
crevices of the floor. The disinfectants can be applied to the ceilings 
and upper parts of the side walls with a spray pump. 
It is often desirable to disinfect yards where infected animals have 
been kept. It is well in such cases to carefully scrape together and 
burn the litter, after which the surface of the soil must be disinfected. 
For this the milk of lime or a very liberal coating of slaked lime has 
been recommended. The burning of the surface such as can be done 
by covering it with a layer of old straw and burning is a more certain 
destroyer, especially if animal parasites are to be eliminated. 
The practical use of disinfectants is a matter requiring much atten- 
tion if good results are to be attained. It is not wise to trust the dis- 
infection of pens and stables to their owners, unless they are men well 
versed in the knowledge of disinfection. The failure to properly 
disinfect stalls and stables is frequently the secret of the failure to 
stop the ravages of infection. 
In the employment of commercial disinfectants, it is necessary also 
to know the destructive value of the solutions for the organism to be 
destroyed. There are many so-called disinfectants that, in the 
strength of the solutions recommended, are little if any better than a 
poor antiseptic. In the destruction of pathogenic microérganisms it 
is important to keep in mind that the disinfectant must be able to kill 
the organisms under the conditions in which they are existing. 
REFERENCES 
1. Bracken. Disinfection and disinfectants. 1901. 
2. Dorset. Some common disinfectants. Farmers’ Bulletin 345. U.S. Dept. of 
Agric., 1908. 
3. Poprr. Practical methods of disinfecting stables. Farmers’ Bulletin, No. 480, 
U.S. Dept. Agric., 1912. 
4. Ripeat. Disinfectants and disinfection. London, 1895. 
5. Rosenau. Disinfection and disinfectants. 1902. 
6. Younc. Notes on disinfectants and disinfection. Reprinted from the 10th 
Report of the State Board of Health of Maine, 1898. (Contains ffull bibliography on 
disinfectants and results of experiments.) 
