St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-02-20

| to kill them all. In the dry state the
product is simply oxide of sulphur,
but when water is added we have
sulphurous acid, which is powerful
enough to kill the spores as well as
the germs.
tits of the utmost Importance that
a sufficient quantity of the sulphur be
used to make the work effective 1
have seen people attempt to disinfect
a large room with handful of sui
phur barely sufficient to disinfect a
dry-goods box. 1t amounts to moth
ing whatever. Ascertain the size of
the room, and burn three pounds of
sulphur for every one thousand cubit
feet of air. Take, for instance,
| room which is twelve by fifteen feet,
| floor measurement, and ten feet high,
| which gives a cubical contents of
| eighteen hundred cubit feet. This is
SO nearly two thousand that it
would be best to take six pounds of
sulphur to disinfect it.
Some people distribute a handful
of chloride of lime about, which gives
a sanitary smell but is really of no
value. Many strange notions as to
| distinction prevail, and all sorts of
valueless recommendations are 60
ing the rounds of the papers For
instance, called upon a patient once
and found a tub of water under the
bed, and it was explained to me that
this was for the purpose of absorb
ing germs. Others will set powder
ed charcoal around on trays, or a
Some people seem to imagine that
the germs are going to hunt up the
disinfectant and destroy themselves.
A strong solution of copperas will
kill all the germs it touches, but it
will not kill the spores or seeds of the
germs.
Half a pound of chloride of lime to
a gallon of water makes q good dis
infectant to destroy germs in eX-
creta, provided the chloride of lime is
good, but the most of it is poor, hav-
ing lost its disinfectant properties.
Another excellent disinfectant is
corrosive sublimate, but it is too dan
gerOuS for common use, unless kept
under lock and key. 1t is best used
in connection with permanganate of
potash, one drachm of each to a gal
lon of water. This will make red
| dish or purplish solution, and, if
marked poison and handled with
care, will be dangerous chiefly to
| germs This solution is equal to
about one part in one thousand of
| each; the corrosive sublimate will
| destroy the germs, and the perman-
ganate of potash will destroy the
odors, as well as furnish coloring
matter A solution of corrosive sub
| Innate alone is cOlorleSS, OdOrless,
and nearly tasteless, which facts
greatly increase the risk of using it.
About one part i'll twenty thousand
is sufficient to kill germs, but to dis
infect excreta it is necessary to use a
strong solution, and the bulk of the
disinfectant should be equal to that
of the eXcreta.
For disinfecting the clothing from
| the bed and the patient, soak for
| four hours either in solution of cor
rosive sublimate or the same length
of time in two per cent solution of
carbOlic acid. The latter is to be
preferred for general purposes, for it
will not affect the texture, while cor
rosive sublimate will shrink flannel
clothing and make it harsh. If the
disease be diphtheria, scarlet fever,
or the like, every article of clothing
or upholstery which will not wash
must be burned, and every book and
paper must be burned.
A solution of corrosive sublimate
may be used to disinfect a room by
washing the walls and floor in it,
but the permanganate of potash
must be left out from this as we'll as
from the solution for disinfecting
clothing, for it will stain To set
any of these things in room does
no good; disinfectant must be dis
tributed to be available.-[Dr. ]. H.
Kellogg in Christian Union