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and comfort of the people; and it is to be hoped that all obstacles
to the promotion of these objects may shortly be overcome. What
has already been done, in spite of some disappointments and drawbacks
has resulted in a considerable improvement in the health,
habits, and dwellings of the poor; and doubtless the extension of
sound education will be means of disseminating among all classes,
the idea that cleanliness is essential to the preservation of health.
In previous Reports I have called the attention of the inhabitants
to the proper and effectual method of disinfecting a sick-room
in cases of contagious disease. I will now quote a statement of
Dr. Baxter, who has been engaged in investigating the value of the
various disinfectants, at the request of the Medical Officer of the
Privy Council.
He says, " Aerial disinfection, as commonly practised in the sickroom,
is positively objectionable, owing to the false sense of
security it is calculated to produce. To make the air of a room
smell strongly of Carbolic Acid by scattering Carbolic Powder about
the floor, or of Chloride of Lime in a corner, is, so far as the
destruction of specific contagion is concerned, an utterly futile
proceeding.
"When ærial disinfection is resorted to, the probability that the
virulent particles are shielded by an envelope of dried albuminous
matter should always be held before the mind. Chlorine and
Sulphur Deoxide are both of them suitable agents for the purpose;
the latter seems decidedly to be the more effective (of the two). The
use of Carbolic vapour should be abandoned, owing to the relative
feebleness and uncertainty of its action. Whether Chlorine or
Sulphur Deoxide be chosen, it is desirable that the space to be
disinfected should be kept saturated with the gas for a certain time,
not less than an hour; and this, in the absence of such gaseous
compounds as might combine with and decompose the disinfectants,
and so impair its energy.
"When the thorough disinfection of a mass of solid or liquid
matter, through which (a) contagium is disseminated, is impracticable,
we should guard against giving a false security by the
inadequate employment of artificial means. It is probable that all
contagion disappears sooner or later under the influence of air and
moisture, and that the absence of these influences may act as a