In Baltimore, there is now no question of providing them. During the past year, nearly five thousand consumptives passed under the supervision of the Tuberculosis Division; we asked that milk and eggs be given to only thirty-eight of this number. Of these thirty-eight cases, thirteen were advanced, waiting admission to a hospital; two were early cases, waiting admission to a sanatorium; nine were suspects, and extra nourishment was needed in order to facilitate diagnosis; and fourteen were chronic cases, to whom this diet was given as a valuable tonic. Quite apart from their value, the real reason that we have ceased to give milk and eggs is because of our policy of removing the patient to an institution. The furnishing of this diet, or of anything else which tends to keep him at home, is something we do not endorse. We do not wish to place any premium upon the home, or to offer any inducements to remain in it. If our patient wants milk and eggs, we can send him where they may be had. If there is no hospital for the tuberculous patient in a community which is able to furnish one, the maintenance of the patient by charity as a centre of infection, makes little difference, one way or the other. In this case, the absence of a hospital means that the community is merely sentimentalizing and pottering over the tuberculosis problem. CHAPTER XVIII Home Occupations of Consumptives—Sewing and Sweatshop Work—Food—Milk and Cream—Lunch Rooms and Eating-Houses—Laundry Work—Boarding- and Lodging-Houses—Miscellaneous Occupations—Summary—The Consumptive Outside the Home—Cooks—Personal Contact in the Factory—Supervision Outside the Home. =Home Occupations of Consumptives.= Up to this point we have considered the patient solely in relation to his own family, or to those with whom he comes in immediate, constant contact. The people surrounding him are in their turn infected, transmitting the disease to others who in like manner are intimately exposed. Roughly speaking, all of this infection takes place within the four walls of the home. The home, therefore, is the centre of infection,—the focus from which tuberculosis radiates into the community. The further one is removed from this focus, the less the danger. There are certain ways, however, in which danger from the home threatens people who live outside, people in no wise connected with the patient, and unaware of his existence. This occurs when the patient leaves his home to seek employment in the community, or when he makes or handles certain articles which go forth into the community as carriers of bacilli. Infections of this sort may be termed accidental. They are infrequent as compared to house infections, but infrequent as they are, they should be prevented.