" The frequent and great losses at posts of vegetables during winter,
and of meats during summer, that are stored in cellars, make it ad-
visable that some suggestions should be made on the subject of cellar
ventilation. Damage to stores in cellars is generally caused by heat,
moisture and light, or by some one of these. Proper ventilation will
204 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
remove heat and moisture ; light is easily excluded, and ventilating
appliances should be so constructed as not to admit it. In any
arrangement for ventilation the following principles should be borne
in mind :
" Cold air is heavier than warm air ; cold air has less capacity for
moisture than warm air, and therefore at the period of its greatest
cold it has its least capacity for moisture, and as a corollary of this,
as it becomes warmer its capacity for moisture increases. When the
ventilation of a cellar is not influenced by the wind, the outer air, if
colder than the cellar air, will descend into the cellar by its own
weight, and force the warm air therein upward and out of the cellar,
and as this air becomes warmer it will absorb moisture, and in turn
be forced upward and out, carrying with it moisture and impurities,
and this process continued long enough would bring the outer air
and the cellar air into the same thermal and hygrometric conditions.
When the outer air is warmer than the air of the cellar, and ventila-
tion is desired to remove moisture or impure air, advantage should
be taken of a dry wind from a favorable direction, and having in mind
that the colder the air the less its capacity for moisture, and as in hot
weather it is generally the coldest about 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning,
it would follow that about these hours would be a favorable time for
ventilating a cellar during the warm season. Although simple op-
posite openings in the upper part of the cellar walls might be suffi-
cient for ventilation alone, tubes for the inflow of the outer air (inlet
tubes) and tubes for the outflow of the inner air (outlet tubes), with a
sufficient number of elbows, and painted black on the inside, are
necessary to arrest the entrance of light. The inlet tubes should
extend to the bottom of the cellar, and have at that point a
tight-fitting slide or cap for opening or closing them. To obtain
the best results their mouths (the outer or upper end) should be
presented horizontally, and may be hopper-shaped, and be arranged
to turn horizontally 180° so as to be turned toward the wind; they
should also be provided with a door for security against a driving
rain.
THE PHYSICIAN IN THE HOME. 20$
Page 130
Presented as published in 1883. 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
" The frequent and great losses at posts of vegetables during winter, and of meats during summer, that are stored in cellars, make it advisable that some suggestions should be made on the subject of cellar ventilation. Damage to stores in cellars is generally caused by heat, moisture and light, or by some one of these. Proper ventilation will
204 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
remove heat and moisture ; light is easily excluded, and ventilating appliances should be so constructed as not to admit it. In any arrangement for ventilation the following principles should be borne in mind :
" Cold air is heavier than warm air ; cold air has less capacity for moisture than warm air, and therefore at the period of its greatest cold it has its least capacity for moisture, and as a corollary of this, as it becomes warmer its capacity for moisture increases. When the ventilation of a cellar is not influenced by the wind, the outer air, if colder than the cellar air, will descend into the cellar by its own weight, and force the warm air therein upward and out of the cellar, and as this air becomes warmer it will absorb moisture, and in turn be forced upward and out, carrying with it moisture and impurities, and this process continued long enough would bring the outer air and the cellar air into the same thermal and hygrometric conditions. When the outer air is warmer than the air of the cellar, and ventilation is desired to remove moisture or impure air, advantage should be taken of a dry wind from a favorable direction, and having in mind that the colder the air the less its capacity for moisture, and as in hot weather it is generally the coldest about 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, it would follow that about these hours would be a favorable time for ventilating a cellar during the warm season. Although simple opposite openings in the upper part of the cellar walls might be sufficient for ventilation alone, tubes for the inflow of the outer air (inlet tubes) and tubes for the outflow of the inner air (outlet tubes), with a sufficient number of elbows, and painted black on the inside, are necessary to arrest the entrance of light. The inlet tubes should extend to the bottom of the cellar, and have at that point a tight-fitting slide or cap for opening or closing them. To obtain the best results their mouths (the outer or upper end) should be presented horizontally, and may be hopper-shaped, and be arranged to turn horizontally 180° so as to be turned toward the wind; they should also be provided with a door for security against a driving rain.