Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1852-06-11
Fumigati0n.

uAA0'tAVSs
In many cases fumigation is essentia
to promote health, By the destruction o
: pestilential riiiuva. That this can b,
done is blessing for which we all should
: be grateful, and especially since it can b,
: done in very simple manner During
, the hot season it may be necessary tc
, fumigate some buildings, and to 60 this
the whole principle and practice should be
well understood. Fumigation is an appli-
cation of vapors Or fumes for the purpose
of gotting rid of unpleasant and unwhole-
some smells. BY the old method, vapor
of hot vinegar, aromatic pastiles, and
vegetable matters, the smoke Of burning
brown paper, burnt feathers, tobacco,
&c, were supposed to be effectual and
one or the other Of these substances is
still occasionally employed but in all
these applications little more is done than
to substitute one bad smell for another, by
overpowering, not displacing or destroying
the bad or dangerous odor and in the
case of tobacco, its reputed purifying and
anticeptic properties furnish an excellent
excuse to those who have tn. misfortune
&c smoke, of rendering the house always
unpleasant, and not at all more free from
infection. The only eficacious kinds of
tumigation are by means Of gases which
,.econrose the miasmata or fumes, and
convert them into innocuous compounds !;
sach gases are suipnurous acid, nariatic
acid, nitrous acid, ana chlorine the last
named, either in its free state Or in COM
binatiol with line, Or SOFA, being inoom-
parably tie most convenient, e.icacious,
and powerful.
Suiphurous, and the other gaseous
acids, are supposed to perform, indirectly
important services III maintaining a large
city in healthy condition. The products
of the combustion Of coal may operate in
checking the spread of malignant diseases;
the manufactures Of chloride of lime and
other chemical works may also be of use,
although the benefit derived from them is
seriously courteracted by trades which
deal largely in tie conversion of refuse
animal Iaatta.r, ard Wese It not fer tie
sewerage, and tie plentiful supply OF
water in New IorLl, the efscots OF our
large consumption Of animal fcod, and
.he presence Of so many slaughter houses,
would &c more segereis se.t. liz tines CT
plague and otaer pcstilerce, the vicinity
Of smelling furnaces was formerly resolted
to as being the least liable to infcct;cl,
the snipLurous and c:Ler ae;l fumes act
irs g., disi-.octani:.
Tie theory Of in:esi:on and consageon
Is Tery imperfect, and therefore tl.o mode
O. action Of Gisiufectan;s must be equally
go. We are ignorant of the influence and /
production of Irais. III, OF marsh niiasua, I
arL ot,.,r poisonous exiialations CT croauic, !
out caichy OF .ega!abic origin, which
produce that extraol ,.,.aary dissa5s, the
G1uc, o. Intermittent fevcr. Ono ct the
nest -alnarkab.S properties Of some forms
Of infection, matter is lis permarercy,
IS i frequently does, il. peculiar
powers for long, II rot fo- al indefinite, |,
period. Of this, tie preservation and
trarsmiticn oe died variolous and vaccine
matter is 4 faa,il;ar example. Professor
Uranl states, that "the infection Of scarlet
fever is sometimes retained tor weeks and
months by articles Of wearing apparel in
one instance, after malignant form of
bat diseass had prevailed in the house, it
was sumiga,cd with chlorine and white
washed, ard every article of furniture and
,lothing clcanscd and finigated, with tie
exception OF handkerchief, which had !,
been accidentally overlooked, and 20 which
The appearance Of the disease after
rericd Of two months; aas probably attri-
putable, Blankets and voc.en goods
seem especially rotentisa 0. such poison',
and il .lldoubtful cases should be burned"
But since Brande wrote this paragraph,
he invention of driving a current of hot !
.ir at 300o through infected clothes has
the destructive practice Of
9arning good clothe9 in many hospitals.
II currents CT hot ar at 3G0' could be !
lr;vcn through tie rooms OF every house
ye;oTa people aert to live in them, and
,.iergards at least once per annum, the
laagcr o. infectious disease would b.
much lessencd, and general health greatly .
promoted. It is to hoped that this good :
nvention will yet be more extensively
lpplied.
I
Politics and Intsmrerance.