To make matters worse, the clothes, when washed, are laid out on the grass to dry. All sorts of tiny creeping things are here; so that while the garments look white and clean, they may be full of wriggling life from the water and from the ground,—creatures too small to be seen without a microscope, yet the cause, many times, of the unpleasant skin diseases so common in this climate.
The laundry work of the family ought to be done at home, and the clothes should be hung upon lines to dry. In other countries clothes are boiled after first being washed with soap, but this is not possible here; probably it never will be possible. Yet clothes can be washed with soap and water and then leached,—that is, rinsed in lye water. Wood ashes are easy to get, and lye water—that is, water in which the ashes have been soaked—will destroy all germs. The clothes rinsed in it are as safe as those which have been boiled.
The Best Way to dry Clothes.
Attention to all of these things means work for men and women, and for the boys and girls who wish to feel that their house is really their castle which they are defending against unseen foes. These foes are harder to fight than those who come openly and slay with the sword. They are more dangerous foes, moreover; for they are about us always, and must be fought daily. Otherwise, they will rob us of health, of comfort, of sight; they will make us the victims of disease which is ugly to look upon and painful to bear. They even take from us life itself, unless we are constantly on guard to fight their great helper, the dirt, which gathers about any neglected spot.
QUESTIONS.
What sort of site should be chosen to build a home upon?
How should the foundation be prepared?
Why is it unhealthful to live near the ground in the tropics?
Why is it unwise to keep animals under the houses?