722 GENERAL THERAPEUTIC MEASURES 



afterwards. Stagnant and putrid water may be rendered 

 drinkable, after some hours, by the addition of 1 to 2 ounces 

 to each 65 gallons of water. Chlorinated lime* is a powerful 

 deodorant as well as disinfectant, but is of no value in either 

 capacity unless the compound contains so much chlorine gas 

 that the face cannot be held near it without the production 

 of great irritation to the eyes. Bleaching powder should be 

 placed upon decomposing animal bodies, and sheets wet 

 with a saturated solution should be wrapped about the car- 

 casses of animals dead from contagious diseases, to prevent 

 infection during transportation. Disinfection by sulphurous 

 acid and chlorine gas is done to destroy germs which cannot 

 be reached by other metheds. Three pounds of sulphur and 

 two ounces of turpentine or alcohol (to afford moisture and 

 aid combustion) ai-e needful for every 1000 cubic feet of air 

 space. Sulphur is generally burned in an iron vessel placed 

 on sand, or floating in a tub of water. If the building is 

 sufficiently tight to insure proper disinfection, it is difficult 

 to secure combustion of the proper amount of sulphur. To 

 obviate this, the sulphur may be saturated with turpentine, 

 ignited and placed in an iron kettle on a tripod over an alco- 

 hol lamp. Chlorine is disengiaged from chlorinated lime, to 

 which is added crude muiiatic acid, oue pound of former 

 to three of latter for every 5,000 cubic feet of air space. 

 Buildings must be tightly sealed and made completely irre- 

 spirable for animals during the space of three hours. Sul- 

 phurous acid disinfection is not of much value, and has 

 been discarded by most health authorities both here and 

 abroad. It certainly will not kill the spores of anthrax and 

 tuberculosis, and should never be allowed to replace 

 thorough mechanical cleansing and disinfection with other 

 chemical agents, but may be utilized as an additional 

 safeguard. Chlorine gas is more reliable. Formaldehyde 

 is now being employed by most boards of health for general 

 disinfectant purposes, and it appears to be the best means 

 of gaseous disinfection. (See p. 338.) 



. * It is used in 5 to 10 per cent, solution in water (or in wlutewash) for 

 lismfection of premises and on excreta. "uiLBwaun; lor 



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