The Charité boards have a great deal of laque.
The Bethanien and St. Hedwig’s boards much less.
(III.) Oiled boards without any laque—
As in the Military Hospital.
II. Much laque makes the floors shine brighter; requires more time to clean them; and earlier re-preparation than where less laque is used.
The Charité boards would be unmeaningly splendid for an English Hospital, and quite out of place in a Military one; besides entailing some unnecessary annual expense, and some daily finicking care.
III. A small quantity of laque, as at Bethanien, gives an amount of polish to the floors, which enables the eye at once to ascertain whether they are clean or not; considerably improves the appearance of the floor; and, according to all high authority, adds both to the durability of the floor, and the healthiness of the Hospital. It renders the whole flooring less subject to cracks, to dirt and dust getting into holes and corners; and, above all, by filling up the grain of the floor, it prevents the saturation, by organic matter, which otherwise takes place and which scrubbing only makes more mischievous.
IV. Where no laque is used, the absence of all polish on the dark-brown floors makes examination necessary, to see whether they are thoroughly clean or not. This flooring would never satisfy the eye or the mind of an English Inspector-General or Surgeon. But the main objection to the absence of laque certainly consists in the sanitary one above stated.
V. All the various authorities agree in estimating very highly the superiority of this flooring to flooring requiring scrubbing. They all agree in their reasons for this preference, viz.:—
(I.) The dampness which remains in a ward more or less time after it has been scrubbed, is completely avoided.