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sufferer. Then we might adopt with advantage over the doors 
and windows of hospital or sick-room alike the perfumed cur¬ 
tains or awnings of fragrant grass called “ cuscus tatties ” in 
the East. These are now and then sprayed with water from a 
syringe, and the evaporation or the grateful odour, or perhaps 
both, cools and sweetens the room at the same time. Mrs. 
Earle, in that charming work “ Pot-pourri from a Surrey 
Garden,” tells us she places dried leaves of Verbena, Lavender, 
and sweet-scented Geraniums in bags, and places them under 
and behind the cushions of her chairs, much to the enjoyment 
of her visitors, who wonder from whence the delicate perfume 
comes. In the East it is a common practice to place bags of 
lime, or orange leaves and lemon-grass under the mats near the 
doors, so that the pressure of each one entering aids uncon¬ 
sciously in perfuming the rooms. In Borneo I saw the girls of 
the villages wrapping or coiling their glossy black hair well 
oiled around Jasmine or Champac flowers, so that by this 
personal enfleurage their coiffure was a sweet one next morn¬ 
ing. I believe also that by their thus perfuming themselves 
they to a large extent escape malarial fevers, so common in 
low-lying tropical regions. 
Benefit of Perfumes for Burning. 
Professor Mantegazza, of the Institute of Lombardy, long 
ago pointed out that the burning of perfumes or incense, such 
as benzoin, in sick-houses, or hospitals, or churches was a 
practice based on common sense. If this burning merely dis¬ 
guised or masked insanitary odours, we might not reap much 
material benefit by the practice. But the burning creates or 
assists ventilation and oxidisation, and then acids are produced 
that neutralise the effects of bacteria or of foul air, while the 
aromatic fumes given off are inimical and preventive of infection, 
being often fatal to bacterial life. 
Essential Oils versus Bacteria. 
Those who wish to go further afield in their inquiries as to 
the beneficial influence of essential oils versus bacteria should 
consult Sternberg’s “ Text-book of Bacteriology,” p. 199 et seq. 
Professor Chamberlain has made extensive experiments in order 
to prove the antiseptic powers of the vapours of volatile vege- 
