The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1847-07-22
Ventilation and Health.

Ventilation and Health.
"The breath of man is in his nostrils," and
according to the purity or impurityi ofthe air
we inhale, so may we expect health or sick
ness. The Almighty has wisely designed that
labor should be one grand means Of health to
man, and in harmony with his great plans,
motion is the principle of all creations health.
The earth spins upon its axis, the sea rolls in
mountainous waves and the atmosphere roars
in the whirlwind. If the sea be not contin-
ually in motion, it will stagnate and the at
mosphere without motion would soon become
offensive and hurtful. Inaction is one cause
of atmospheric impurity and motion is one
means of publication. There are also other
causes which deteriorate the atmosphere and
render it injurious to those who breathe it
The act of breathing throws much impurities
into the atmosphere, as the air IS exposed
when taken into the lungs to a surface thirty
times that of the human body, or 170,00O,00O
of minute cells in which tits dccomposed and
deprived of its oxygen and then carbonic acid
gas, a deadly poison, is the produce of this
wonderful laboratory. 1t is therefore appar-
ent to all, that unless there is a continual sup
ply Of fresh air to the lungs, person shut up
with his own breath. A terrible instance of
this kind occurred when the Nabob of Ben
gal thrust one hundred and forty-six prisoners
into the Black Hole of Calcutta, which was
scarcely large enough to contain three persons
and when out of the number stated one hun
bred and twenty-three persisted before morn
ING amid the most dreadful sul1erings. 1t is
Of the first importance to health-the health
of our families and citizens-that every at
tention should be paid to the ventilation of
our houses, our streets, and our public build
ings, and to have knowledge Of those things
which injure the atmosphere, Is just as essen
tial for judging correctly Of what ventilation
we need, as to know that without inhaling the
atmosphere at all, life would soon droop,with-
er and decay 1t is calculated that two can
dies injure the air nearly as much as human
being, absorbing the oxygen which is sup
porter of combustion and eXpelling carbonlc
acid gas, the principal ingredient of wax and
tallow Fourteen gas lights will destroy as
much as five men, and from the pores OF the
skin three gallons of noXious fluid are thrown
off from 250 persons in one hour, while from
the decomposition of animal and vegetable
matter, there is continual stream Of noAlous
vapor ascending and spreading,
Dirty streets pent up sewers stagnant and
impure water and confined apartments, muir
der more men and women than war with all
its attendant evils, for it is calculated that in
ENGLAND alone, more than one hundred and
twenty thousand die yearly, their deaths at
tributed nearly direct to these causes. The
direct causes of all 1evcrs, is atmospheric I'M
purity and consumption and great number
of other diseases can be traced indirectly to
the same source. Twenty-nine died in this
city of tvphus fever last week, contracted
somewhere in an impure atmosphere and from
the same cause indirectly thirty died in the
same week of consumption. There can be no
doubt but that the least excess Of carbonlc acid
gas is hurtfrl to the lungs, and when we take
| into consideration that great number OF
males who have to labor in narrow confined
rooms and in cellars lit up with air consum-
! inc GAS, it is nothing but what we may expect
to hear weekly, Of 1928 deaths, as were last
week, and the mortality increasing even in
greater ratio as our population becomes larg-
| err, for although our wharves are lined with
emigrants in the most miserable condition and
coming from scenes Of desperate fever, yet 1t
is sad to tell that there is an excess Of deaths
| by consumption over fever, showing that
gradual destruction of life upon most gigan-
tic scale is going on and by disease traceable
in most cases to want Of free exercise IN the
open all.
The great mother of disease, is want Of
cleanliness and proper ventilation AS tar as
cleanliness is concerned, a speedy and cheap
remedy can easily be had while there is plen-
| ty of water, but as for proper ventilation, 1t
will be very difficult to affect suitable re-
form. Landed property is so valuable In our
city, that every inch is turned to the most
money making advantage, and our pubic;
promenade grounds are more stlnted IN All
our cities and villages than such places are IN
the older countries, probably because Amer
| lea is such a small country. There IS one
thing to which we would specially advert, viz.
the necessity of having large bedrooms 1t
is no uncommon thing in the construction OF
our buildings, to set off place without SIM
ole window in it, about the size OF decent
box and call it bedroom because 1t measures
six by seven feet. Sleeping rooms should at
least contain one hundred and forty superhclal
feet and never be less than seven and halt
/ feet high and have Rumtord ventllator IN the
window and an Arnott valve in the chimney
or an open fire place. All rooms should nave
free access to the light of the sun, at any
rate to the atmosphere, so that the impure air
thrown off by the lungs or candles can pass
away and pure air be admitted. Wherever
GAS Is used, there ought to be some method Of
allowing the carbonic to escape through tubes
in the caves of the buildings, as invented by
Ransom Cook
In the city of Hamburg where so many per-
nile live in cellars, it has been remarked by
| travellers, that blindness and all manner OF
physical imperfection prevail among the low
err classes to most alarming extent While