ROYAL GAZETTE.

The term “ Nuisance Authority ” has the same meaning

as in “ The Sanitary Act. 1866 :"

2. The Master of every ship within the district of a Nuisance Authority, having on board any person affected with cholera, or the body of any person dead of cholera, or anything infected with or that has been exposed to the in- fection of cholera, shall, as long as the ship is within such district, moor. anchor, or place her in such position as from time to time the Nuisance Authority directs.

3. If at any time a Nuisance Authority is informed that cholera exists, or within three days previously has existed, in a ship within its district, such authority shall cause the ship to be forthwith visited, inspected, and otherwise dealt .. with (according to the circumstances of the case), in like manner as nearly as may be as if the ship were a house within the district of such authority, and shall give all such medical and other directions with reference to the persons therein, as seem to such authority requisite or proper for preventing the spread of the disease therefrom, and for dis- infection or diaposal of any thing infected, or that has been exposed to infection therein or therefrom.

(Signed) EDMUND HARRISON.

PRIVY COUNCIL OFFICE.

MEMORANDUM ON DISINFECTION.

N.B.—-1t is to cleanliness, ventilation and drainage, and the use of perfectly pure drinking water, that populations ought mainly to look for safety against nuisance and infection. Artiﬁcial disinfectants cannot properly supply the place of those essentials: for, except in a small and peculiar class of cases, they are of tempo rary or imperfect usefulness. That no house-refuse— not only no excremental matter, but also no other kind of dirt or refuse, should remain on or about in- habited premises, is a ﬁrst rule against infection. That the air within the house should never in any part of the house be stagnant, but should always be in course of renewalfrom without by uninterrupted and abundant supplies of fresh air, is a condition of equal importance. And that all water meant to be used for drinking or cooking should be drawn from sources which cannot have been polluted by any hind ol'rry‘use- matter, is a third most important rule for the avoid- ance of infection.

dewelling-places have within them any odour of drain- age, particular examination should be made (1) whe- ther the ﬁlth which house~drains are meant to carry away is retained in or near the premises in ill-made drains, or sewers, or cesspools, or perhaps is lea/ting from house-drains within the house; and (2) whether, inside the house, the inlets of drains and sinhs are properly trapped; and (3) whether the drains and sewers are suﬁciently ventilated outside the house. All water-clgsets within houses should have free open- ingsfor ventilation from and into the outer air. Of a cesspool, the only true disinfection is to abolish it. In country-places, where proper drainage is not pro— aided, the nuisance of open prioies may be best avoided by the use of the so-called earth-closet.

If a sewer is much complained of, as stinking into the public way, generally the presumption is, that, from original ill-construction or some other cause, it does not properly fulﬁll its object, but has ﬁlth accumulated and stagnant in it ,- and such a sewer, besides occasion- mg nuisance in the public way, mag be the source of“ serious danger to the inhabitants of houses which drain into it. It is most important that all sewers should be well ventilated at points where their qﬂluvia will be least injurious ,- and ordinary drain-pipes may be used to conduct the Minute to a distance.

3 M

For convenience, in this memorandum, the word “ disin- fectants ” is used to cover, not only those true disinfectants which permanently destroy infective matter, but also these agents which merely arrest the process, or absorb the oﬁ'enstvs products, of organic decomposition.

For artiﬁcial disinfection on a large scale, the agar: which most commonly prove useful are—quiek-lime,.ehior- ide of lime, carbolic acid, sulphate of iron, perchloride o: iron,and chloride of manganese. The following are also eﬂicient disinfectants, but, as being dearer, are less suited for large operations 2—sulphate of zinc. chloride of zinc. chloride of soda, and permanganate of potash. In certain cases chlorine gas, or nitrous acid gas, or sulphurous acid gas, may advmitageously be used; and, in certain other cases, powdered charcoal or flCSll dry earth.

Quick-lime ought to have been recently burnt, and may be used, either in the form of dry powder, or. stirred up with about ten times its bulk of water as mill; of lime. Chlorid of lime is best used with water. and thoroughly mixed with it, in the proportion of a pOund to the gallon; or, of the solution, as commonly sold, about two pints may to mixed with a gallon of water. Carbolic acid (in the ﬂuid form in which it is commonly sold) should be dissolved in about eighty times its volume of water, with which it must be mixed by strong shaking in a closed vessel. Sulphate of iron should be dissolved in ten times its weight of water; a solution which is best effected by employing hot water and stirring. Of perchloride of iron and chloride of rrzanganese, the common concentrated solutions may be used, diluted with. ten or twelve times their bulk of water. Sulphate of zinc should be dissolved in about ten times its weight of warm water. Of Chloride ofzinc the common concentrated solu— tion may be diluted with eight or ten times its bulk of water-flt Of chloride ofsoda, the common solution may be used like. that ofehloride of lime. Of permanganate ofpotash an ounce may be dissolved in a gallon of wareri

All disinfectants must be used in quantitiesproportionate to the amount of matter or surface to be disinfected. When the matters requiring to be disinfected have an oﬁens'we smell, the disinfectant should be used until this smell has en- tirely ceased; and as often as the smell recurs, t‘he disinfec- tant must again be used.

1. During the emptying of privies and ces.spools. ant whenever elsc temporary disinfection is required lor them, catholic acid, or sulphate of iron, or perchloride of iron, or chloride of manganese, or chloride of zinc, will be found available. A dilute solution (as above) of one of these agents should be poured into the privy or cesspool, from a quart to a pailful at a time, till the desired effect is obtained. Espe- cially where cholera or typhoid fever is present, privies anti cesspools ought to be very’freqnently ﬂooded in this manner. The best test of their being adequately disinfected, is the en- tire absencc of feocal or ammoniacal odour.

2. Heaps of manure or otherﬁlth, if it be for the time impracticable or inexpedient to remove them, should he, covered, to the depth of two or three inches, with a layer of freshly-burnt vegetable charcoal in powder. Freshly-burnt lime may be used in the same way, but is less effective that. charcoal. Ifncither charcoal nor lime be at hand, the ﬁlth should be covered with a layer. some inches thick, of clean dry earth. For a privy which has only solid contents, the

* Or the preparations respectively "Known as Burnett's and Crewe'e disinfectant solutions may be employed.

t ()r Cond 's disinfectant ﬂuids, which contain manganic and pet. mauganic ea ts. may be used.