298 IMPROVEMENT OF MAN'S ENVIRONMENT 



in some other place with its load of bacteria. Professor Hodge 

 tells of an experience in a school in Worcester, Mass. A health 

 brigade was formed among the children, whose duty was to clean 

 the rooms every morning by wiping all exposed surfaces with damp 

 cloths. In a school of 425 pupils not a single case of communi- 

 cable disease appeared during- the entire year. Why not try this 

 in your own school? 



Unselfishness the Motto. — Pupils should be unselfish in the 

 care of a school building. Papers and scraps dropped by some 

 careless boy or girl make the surroundings unpleasant for hundreds 

 of others. Chalk thrown by some mischievous boy and then 

 tramped underfoot causes dust particles in the air, which may 

 irritate the lungs of a hundred innocent schoolmates. Colds 

 may be spread by spitting in the halls or on the stairways. 



Lunch Time and Lunches. — If you bring your lunch to school, 

 it should be clean, tasty, and well balanced as a ration. In most 

 large schools lunch rooms are part of the equipment, and balanced 

 lunches can be obtained at low cost. Do not make a lunch entirely 

 from cold food, if hot can be obtained. Do not eat only sweets. 

 Ice cream is a good food, if taken with something else, but be sure 

 of the quality of your ice cream. More than 250 samples of ice 

 cream collected in Washington, D. C, ranged from 37,500 to 

 365,000,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter, the condition of the ice 

 cream depending on the sanitary condition of the place where it 

 was manufactured. Above all, be sure the food you eat is clean. 

 Stands on the street, exposed to dust and germs, often have for 

 sale food that is far from fit for human consumption. 



If you eat your lunch on the street near your school, remember 

 not to scatter refuse. Paper, bits of lunch, and the like, scattered 

 on the streets around your school, show lack of school spirit and 

 lack of civic pride. Let us learn above all other things to be good 

 citizens. 



Inspection of Factories, Public Buildings, etc. — It is the duty 

 of a city to inspect the condition of all public buildings and espe- 

 cially of factories. Inspection should include the supervision of 

 the work undertaken. Certain trades where grit, dirt, or poison- 

 ous fumes are given off are dangerous to health; hence care for 

 the workers becomes a necessity. There are other occupations 



