DISINFECTING DWELLINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17008, 15 November 1918, Page 6

DISINFECTING DWELLINGS.

; ADVICE TO HOUSEHOLDERS. I • !| OFFICIAL SUGGESTIONS. !' Suggestions for effectively disinfecting dwellings have been issued by Dr. J. P. [ Frengley, acting-chief health officer, and , householders are requested to take imme- , dinte steps to clean their homes of germs, j whether influenza has been present or not. , Any of the following alternative precautions may be used (1) Formalin, solution—one part with 20 parts of water, and spray room thoroughly. An ordinary garden spray pump may be used for this purpose. 1 (2) Fours to six pounds of splphur to be burnt in the room. Get an old kerosene tin, fill it up near to top with garden soil or ashes. Put the sulphur on the soil or ashes. Tour a tablespoonful of methylated spirit or whisky on sulphur, and set . alight with a match. Make sure when the sulphur is aflame that it cannot burn anything in vicinity. This can best be done • by standing; the kerosene tin in a large 1 galvanised iron tub or in. a bedroom basin, . i (3) Burn plenty of sulphur candles in the room. | In all cases the room should first have all windows and doors closed. If there is 1 a fireplace, block up the aperture by ram--1 mining newspapers over the opening. Other ' openings may be closed by pasting paper over holes and cracks with ordinary starch paste. After any of the above means of fumigation have been used in the room it should be kept closed for at least four hours, or as long as possible. Above all, after fumigation, the room must have a spring cleaning, in which nothing can be better than soap, water, and a scrubbingbrush, well and thoroughly applied. THE PUBLIC SERVICES.

TIMES OF GREAT STRESS.

Owing to the epidemic and the holi'days in connection with the signing of the armistico, the various branches of the | Public Service are still disorganised. J The usual hours will be observed by all I post and telegraph offices to-day. The ; holiday on Tuesday enabled the telegraph , staff to overtake the accumulation of tele- ; grams, but, aa the epidemic has reduced j the staff about 60 per cent, telegrams may I still be delayed. I The telephone exchange will observe ! the restricted hours. This department ' still has a large number of operators I away, and tho publics, is eaked to assist, ! the sorely-taxed operators by using the telephones as little as possible. The railway time-table to-day will bo the same as yesterday, except that the department will run a train from Auckland to Henderson at 10.15 p.m., and one to Papakura at 9.45 p.m. This department has still about 250 of its train-operating staff ill.

CONDITIONS IN WELLINGTON.

WATERSIDERS STOP WORK,

>Y TELEUBATH.—PIIESS ASSOCIATION.]

WELLINGTON. Thursday.

The New Zealand Waterside Federation decided not to work shipping at any port for seven days, owing to the influenza epidemic. The Town Hall has been turned into a hospital, also St. Patrick's College and St. John's Schoolroom, for the whole of the health district. Tne Department has been notified of 135 cases of pneumonia, mostly from the country. A standard influenza mixture is being forwarded to all hospital boards, to be sold to the public at cost price.

A meeting of citizc has formed an organisation to more effectively combat -the influenza epidemic. It was decided to divide the city into blocks, and district captains and committees were appointed. It was stated that over fifty hospital nurses had been stricken, and only aoout six doctors were working yesterday.

PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS.

POSTPONED INDEFINITELY.

[BT telegraph.-—press association.] WELLINGTON, Thursday. It is officially announced that the Education Department's examinations for Public Service entrance and intermediate, senior free places, and junior and senior national scholarships, which were to have been held between November 20 and November 29, are postponed until a date to be notified later. \ DEATHS AT NAPIER. [BT TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] NAPIER, lursday. Several more deaths have . occurred locally from influenza.