Evening star., 1903-07-01
HINTS ON COUNTRY BOARD.
Select Your Rural Retreat With Care
Danger Of Typhoid Fever.

From the New York Herald
TO the anxious paterfamilias who wishes
to settle his wife and children in some
healthful rural retreat there are many i'm
portant matters for his consideration Not
the least of these bear upon the actual
healthfulness of the place to be selected
There is something more to be taken into
account than plain. healthy board farm
life and abundance of milk and eggs"
The instinct for radical change of en-
vironment seeks special gratifica ton in life
on the farm and the simplicity of its rest
full routine. Alas the romance of the yen
ture TOO often ends disastrously when on
the return to the city typhoid and malarial
1eVers claim one or more of the family of
health seekers
1t Is a well-assured fact that typhoid
fever occurring in New York every autumn
Is essentially a product OF rural importa-
ton and results from the insanitary con-
dltlons OF many of the so-called model
rural health resorts. The old fashioned
farmhouse with its sunlSen we'll its blind
cesspool and its nearby barnyard is so
often chargeable with fever dssemina ton
tnat the carefui man cannot be too critical
before making his choice. While some risks
must be taken in this regard II is well to
reduce them to a minimum before II may
be too late. The good farmer. however
well he may be disposed is not by anv
means practical sanitarium. nor is he
ordinarily receptive of the new-fangled
notions OF health cranks"
In estimating the danger of trusting 10
the ignorance and prejudice of the rustic
housekeeper 1t is necessary only to call to
mind the many ways in which the typhoid
germ can infect the susceptible individual
BY SO doing there is perhaps an opportu-
nifty Tor applying such knowledge in guard.
Ing against the probabilities of fever in
Vaslon In particular instances
The sunken well is always a menace tc
the newcomer and is the common recep-
IT.,
that the drinking water lis not contaminat-
ed 1t is also necessary to be certain that
there have been no typhoid cases for many
months in the immediate vicinity of the
dwelling 1t would seem almost necessary
for his own protection that the owner OF
the well could, on the authority of an ex-
pert chemist, guarantee the water to be
above suspicion.
Then there is the milk supply that never
can be trusted If there has been any fever
existing In the neighborhood. Good milk
requires that the mixers be clean the
cows healthy and the stables IN good sani-
tary condition. The flies also are sources
or danger liable to carry the poison for
long distances and indirectly to contami-
nate the food. The mosquito now that h,
Is charged with propagating malaria is
also to be Stunned. although as a propa-
gator of typhoid he is quite innocent D,
is well that the oyster is tabooed as /.
summer food. else 1t would be hard to es-
innate the damage it might do along our
seacoast resorts. Lastly, the fresh vege-
tables are not always above suspicion in
harooring the typhoid germ from the gar
den manure.
Certainly, viewing these chances of i'm
porting typhoid into town in the autumn.
the prudent head of a family needs to sa:-
isfy himself thoroughly on the safety O.
his choice of farmhouse, country cottage
or rustic hotel before engaging quarters
for his summer outing. He cannot control
all conditions, but there are certain pre-
ventive measures that may be within easy
reach.