Fumigation Can—This can is made of galvanized iron, with a tight-fitting cover. It needs to be about four and a half feet high, and at least two feet and a half in diameter. A slat shelf, with iron or wire hooks that fasten over the top of the can, will be useful in sterilizing small articles. This contrivance is superior to any closet, as it confines the formaldehyde in small space, and can be made almost entirely air tight. It should always be remembered that formaldehyde has almost no power of penetration, and therefore special care is needed to expose all possible surfaces to the fumes.
Extermination of Vermin—To prevent bedbugs in hospital is no easy matter where patients and visitors are coming from all kinds of homes. A leading hospital superintendent recommends sulphur fumigation. It is said to be the only thing that will effectually destroy them. “In order to secure the desired results the fumes must be very dense. In preparing for fumigation large pans are used made to hold from twenty-five to thirty pounds of sulphur, and other pans are filled with water. The heat from the burning sulphur will cause steam, which makes the sulphur fumigation more effective. In order to accomplish the entire destruction of the bedbug, it is necessary to fumigate three or four times in a month. It takes three weeks for the bugs to be hatched and eleven weeks to mature. By successive fumigations in this way a room or ward may be considered safe, but this treatment should be repeated twice a year.
For keeping beds free from bugs, the following prescription is recommended:
| Corrosive sublimate | 1 | ounce |
| Spirits of turpentine | 1 | pint |
| Coal oil | 1 | pint |
The corrosive sublimate should first be dissolved in alcohol and the mixture used through an atomizer or oil can.
To exterminate pediculi of the head, saturate the hair thoroughly with kerosene for three successive days and wash with warm water and green soap.
For pediculi on other parts of the body the following is recommended: Salicylic acid, 2 parts; toilet vinegar, 25 parts; alcohol, 75 parts. Apply with a flannel or piece of absorbent cotton. One application is usually sufficient.
CARE OF FLOORS.
The best finish, the ideal finish, for wood floors in hospitals, has yet to be invented. At the Cincinnati convention of hospital superintendents the subject of floor finishes was discussed, and the following recommendations made, which were based on experience:
On new maple floors two coats of Berry Brothers liquid granite varnish is applied, then a finish composed of the following ingredients: One pound of paraffine dissolved in 1½ pints of linseed oil and 2 gallons of turpentine. This preparation is applied once a week with a mop by the ward maids, and is afterwards rubbed down with hair brushes covered with flannel. Water or alcohol dropped on these floors softens the wax, but spots can be touched up with the brush when necessary. On old floors two coats of oil is used and then the above mixture.