In the country the balance ordained in nature has its
compensating power. The poisonous carbonic acid thrown
off by lungs and body is absorbed by vegetation whose
food it is, and which in every waving leaf or blade of
grass returns to us the ox3'gen we demand. Shut in a
close room all day, or even in a tolerably ventilated one,
there may be no sense of closeness ; but go to the open
air for a moment, and,, if the nose has not been hopelessly
ruined by want of education, it will tell unerringl^^ the
degree of oxj^gen wanting and required.
It is ordinarily supposed that carbonic-acid gas, being
heavier, sinks to the bottom of the room, and that thus
trundle-beds, for instance, are especially unwholesome.
This would be so, were the gas pure. As a matter of
fact, however, being warmed in the bod}^, and thus made
lighter, it rises into the common air, so that usually more
will be found at the top than at the bottom of a room.
u
24 THB HOUSE: VENTILATION.
This gas is, however, not the sole cause of disease. From
both lungs and skin, matter is constant^ thrown off, and
floats in the form of germs in all impure air. To a per-
son who by long confinement to close rooms has 'become
so sensitive that an}^ sudden current of air gives a cold,
ventilation seems an impossibility and a cruelty ; and the
problem becomes : How to admit pure air throughout the
house, and yet avoid currents and draughts. " Night-air **
is even more dreaded than the confined air of rooms ; yet,
as the only air to be had at night must come under this
head, it is safer to breathe that than to settle upon car-
bonic acid as lung-food for a third, at least, of the twenty-
four hours. As fires feed on oxj^gen, it follows that every
lamp, every gas-jet, everj^ furnace, are so man}' appetites
satisfying themselves upon our store of food, and that, if
they are burning about us, a double amount of oxygen
must be furnished.
The only mode of ventilation that will work alwaj' s and
without fail is that of a warm-air flue, the upward heated
air-current of which draws off the foul gases from the
room : this, supplemented by an opening on the opposite
side of the room for the admission of pure air, will ac-
complish the desired end. An open fire-place will secure
this, provided the flue is kept warm b}^ heat from the
kitchen fire, or some other during seasons when the fire-
place is not used. But perhaps the simplest waj^ is to
have ample openings (from eight to twelve inches square)
lit the top and bottom of each room, opening into the
chimnej^-flue : then, even if a stove is used, the flue can
be kept heated by the extension of the stove-pipe some
distance up within the chimney, and the ascending car-
rent of hot air will draw the foul air from the room into
THE HOUSE: VENTILATION. 25
Page 10
Presented as published in 1881. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
In the country the balance ordained in nature has its compensating power. The poisonous carbonic acid thrown off by lungs and body is absorbed by vegetation whose food it is, and which in every waving leaf or blade of grass returns to us the oxygen we demand. Shut in a close room all day, or even in a tolerably ventilated one, there may be no sense of closeness ; but go to the open air for a moment, and, if the nose has not been hopelessly ruined by want of education, it will tell unerringly the degree of oxygen wanting and required.
It is ordinarily supposed that carbonic-acid gas, being heavier, sinks to the bottom of the room, and that thus trundle-beds, for instance, are especially unwholesome. This would be so, were the gas pure. As a matter of fact, however, being warmed in the body, and thus made lighter, it rises into the common air, so that usually more will be found at the top than at the bottom of a room.
u
This gas is, however, not the sole cause of disease. From both lungs and skin, matter is constantly thrown off, and floats in the form of germs in all impure air. To a person who by long confinement to close rooms has 'become so sensitive that any sudden current of air gives a cold, ventilation seems an impossibility and a cruelty ; and the problem becomes : How to admit pure air throughout the house, and yet avoid currents and draughts. " Night-air ** is even more dreaded than the confined air of rooms ; yet, as the only air to be had at night must come under this head, it is safer to breathe that than to settle upon carbonic acid as lung-food for a third, at least, of the twentyfour hours. As fires feed on oxygen, it follows that every lamp, every gas-jet, everj^ furnace, are so many appetites satisfying themselves upon our store of food, and that, if they are burning about us, a double amount of oxygen must be furnished.
The only mode of ventilation that will work always and without fail is that of a warm-air flue, the upward heated air-current of which draws off the foul gases from the room : this, supplemented by an opening on the opposite side of the room for the admission of pure air, will accomplish the desired end. An open fire-place will secure this, provided the flue is kept warm by heat from the kitchen fire, or some other during seasons when the fireplace is not used. But perhaps the simplest way is to have ample openings (from eight to twelve inches square) lit the top and bottom of each room, opening into the chimney-flue : then, even if a stove is used, the flue can be kept heated by the extension of the stove-pipe some distance up within the chimney, and the ascending current of hot air will draw the foul air from the room into