Gazette Of The United States, & Philadelphia Daily Advertiser

From the (N. Y.) Commercial Advertiser

A GOOD THING IN TIME OF SICKNESS.

A number of essays in the public papers contain abundance of facts in recommendation of Lime as a destroyer of pestilential air. The practice is without doubt very judicious, and ought to be observed by all house keepers in the United States, Lime in powder should be strewed in cellars, alleys and passages frequently; and thrown into sinks and privies. This practice ought never to be omitted. The publishers of almanacs, primers and elementary books for children, should insert this maxim, "that Lime is the destroyer of infectious vapours."

But excellent as Lime is, it is not so convenient as might be wished for at all places. It is unsightly to be sprinkled about the rooms of houses, and is apt to be tracked every where above and below stairs. This has probably prevented the use of it whole-some a thing in sick chambers.

There are however other substances, possessing many qualities in common with Lime, and of superior strength and virtue, which may be employed with great advantage to overcome contaminated air in places where sick persons lie. I mean Pot-ash, Pearl ash, Salt of Tartar, Kelp and Barilla. These Alkaline salts are some of the most perfect purifiers in nature. They are cheap and easy to be procured by every body. They dissolve most readily in water, and in that form may be sprinkled over the floors, entries and stairs, which they will keep clean and sweet beyond every thing which has ever been tried. Noxious and contagious matters floating in the air are attracted by these Salts and taken out of circulation. They then float about no more to poison the inhabitants. It is an astonishing thing, that notwithstanding the wholesome properties of these substances, they have been neglected so long. Their unparalleled virtues should be held forth to public notice in the newspapers, talked of at the corners of the streets, and impressed upon the mind of every house keeper. It would be right in times of sickness to have them proclaimed by the bell-man—and the watchman, when he cries the hour, should add, that all the citizens might hear him, sprinkle your floors with Potash or Barilla.

It has been affirmed that fumigations with acids of various kinds have done wonders. Neither Vinegar, nor Aqua-fortis, nor Brimstone, nor any other of the tribe ever did any good. They only render the former foul smell imperceptible by stimulating the nostrils more powerfully themselves, and are therefore not to be trusted. Even in the British navy where the most noise was made about them, they are going into disrepute, and acknowledged to do more hurt than good. They add to the mass of unrespirable air, and do not overpower it by their opposite qualities as alkalies do.

Besides the healthiness of employing Alkaline Salts, the ladies will approve them on account of their cleanliness. They are enemies to all manner of dirt. The floor (for there should be no carpets on a sick man's room in hot weather) is in due preparation for scouring. And nothing in nature equals the ease and elegance of this mode of correcting the vitiated state of the atmosphere.

Adopt this method, house-keepers, and be safe; and advise all your neighbours to do the like.