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89
is lost. To replace these with fireplaces of more modern type
would not only give warmer rooms, but would be an economy
owing to decreased consumption of coal.
Cleaning.—Dust in schools, as elsewhere, consists of: 1.
Inorganic or Mineral matter derived from the roads outside,
brought in on children's boots, and from the chalk and wear
of the materials inside the school. This is comparatively
unimportant. 2. Organic dust, derived from the children's
bodies, scales from the skin, hair, bacteria, etc. This dust is
important; it is decomposable, and so becomes foul if not
removed ; it may also contain germs of disease.
The close, stuffy odour, so obvious in a class-room,
especially if the windows are closed, is due to this organic
dust. Hence the more free the school from dust, the healthier
it is. For this reason it is important to limit the number of
maps, pictures, paper, etc., hanging on the walls, and to see
that the furniture and fittings are as far as possible so designed
as not to harbour dust.
An enormous improvement would be made in our schools
if the floors, instead of being of wood, were made of one of the
compositions now so largely used in hospitals. The amount of
dust would be infinitely less, while the labour of cleaning
would be materially reduced. The spread of infection would
also be lessened; children are frequently sick in school; this
material falls into the crevices between the boards, and cannot
be removed; later, when dry, in the form of dust, it is distributed
about the room. With a jointless composition floor
this risk would be entirely obviated.
Method of Cleaning.—It is obvious from the preceding,
that in cleaning a school, or any other place, it is essential to
remove the dust without dispersing it into the air of the room.
For this reason, dry sweeping and dusting should be
absolutely prohibited. The instructions to caretakers are to
use damp sawdust on the floors when sweeping, and afterwards