ll of a room is often an indication of whether the air is pure or
not, especially in the nostrils of one entering from the outer air. Let
all windows be kept open day and night, and let fresh air and sunlight
continually flood the room. Nothing will kill disease germs quicker.
Avoid choosing a residence with but little open spaces around, such as
basement tenements and back to back houses. Have an open fireplace in
the room. Gas or oil for lighting, heating, or cooking renders the air
impure, and in need of constant renewal. _See_ Air.

Dirt, either in the house or around, poisons the air, and refuse should
be removed to a distance from the dwelling. Tea leaves should be
sprinkled on floors before being swept. Remove dust with damp dusters,
which should be boiled. Cleanliness should be strictly attended to, and
schools and factories should be plentifully supplied with soap and
water.

The food consumed by the vast majority of people is far from being as
nourishing as it should be. Tea and white bread have replaced porridge
and milk. This should not be. Cocoa might with advantage replace tea,
and porridge and milk by itself would make a highly nutritious meal
(_see_ articles on Diet).

Stimulants are not required by the healthy body, and intemperance is a
fruitful predisposing cause of consumption. Skim milk is not a suitable
food for the young. _See_ Infants' Food.

Infectious diseases, such as Typhoid and Scarlatina, are frequently
conveyed by cow's milk. There is also reason to believe that in certain
cases of Tuberculosis the infection has been conveyed by milk from
tuberculous cows. These risks can only be absolutely avoided by
sterilising the milk, _i.e._, by placing the jug in a pan of water and
bringing the water to the boil, keeping it so for twenty minutes. If
the milk is kept covered, and rapidly cooled by placing in another pan
of cold water, but little boiled taste will be felt. Sometimes,
however, sterilised milk disagrees with an infant; if so, the strictest
watch must be kept on the history of the milk used.

It should be remembered that this disease is not hereditary. It is only
the delicacy of constitution predisposing to the disease that is
inherited. This delicacy may, especially in childhood, be remedied. We
have known hundreds of tender children made strong by liberal daily
MASSAGE (_see_). In all cases where hereditary weakness is feared this
should be resorted to. In many cases nothing more i