The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1877-05-01 00:00:00

WEYMOUTH PARISH 11,411

TO the Et

- -
ffir,—ln one of Mr. Walker'e latesit placards he
takes xr.stit for reducing the poor-rates in the parish
of Weymouth, I !et.; most distinctly to deny that he
ever was the mem,. 4 effecting a decrease in the
rates, as I am quite certain s.c n.ver examined one of
the rate books in his life, and that. L 4 ic-estigation of
the hooks was ever made by any one bht .7,4ilitor
at the usual audit, and in the usual way.

EDWARD MAItIIN.

•
Weymouth. April 25, 1577.
MANI'S IN OUR DWELLINGS ; ARE THEY
BENEFICIAL OR NOT.
We have here a very iinnortant question to onsider,
that is, whether it is beneficial, wholesome or otherwise,
to have flowers in our dwelling,' I have heard it sled by
People who pretend to know that von should not have
flowers in your house at all, as it is greatly against the
health of the inmates, lecauee the noxious gases they give
out have a baneful effect on the air, especially if they are
in the sleeping apartment& I hope to be able to show you
that such an idea is to a great extent chimerical. All
plants absorb through their leaves earbonic acid gm from
the air around them. Now this earbonic acid gas is
composed of carbon oxygen. During the hours of daylight
the plant retains the carbon and releases the oxygen.—
giving it out to the air again—Now with us and animal
life this order of thing is reversed, for we retain the oxy-
gen and give out the carbon. Therefore, during the hours
of daylight the oxygen without which we could not live is
given out by the plants, while they retain the carbon
which affords them nourishment, while it would kill Us it
we breathed it. During the day however dead leave, and
diseased parts of plants and also the flowers give out a
small portion of carbon, but it has no effect on the air if
the plants are kept free of dead leaves and decaying parts ;
the great amount of leafage on a plant will absorb far
more carbon than the blossoms can give out. Thus you
see plants in a room dunng daylight are really a benefit
instead of being otherwise, since !bey purify the air by
absorbing and removing carbon which is injurious to our
health, giving out at the same time oxygen which is •
necessity of our life. So much cannot be said for them
after daylight departs: then the order of things is
reversed, for during the hone of darkness the plants
absorb and retain oxygen and release and give out carbon
to the air; this of necessity would be injurious
to our health if there were no remedy or
counteractlng influence to nullify the bad effects,
You can receive no harm from the carbon if
you leave your bedroom window a little open during the
night to cause a circulation of fresh air ; the least bit will
do. You should do this in any case during summer, for it
is very beneficial to the health of the sleepers. Or if OW
place the pleats on the floor the evil will be remedied too
great extent, for the carbon, which la half as heavy again
as common air, will fall to the floor. But when we know
that "we breathe out huts stuall quantity of carbon dur-
ing the hours of sleep aa compared with the quantity
exhaled during the day." and that" the quantity of carbon
0,,,,,a5t by the plants at the woe time Is not large," the
et slmts In t your bedroom at night can scarcely e=
Ind Went I kOP• you nnThind this clearly.
It le a rather sestosieg statement of the ere. but it