Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1858-01-21
FAYETTEVILLE. TENN:
Thursday Morning, January 81, 1858
Tennessee Hospital for the Insane.

Esq, of the State Senate, for the
"Third Biennial Reports of the Trus-
tees, Treasurer, Architect and the
Physicians and Superintendent of the
Tennessee Hospital for the Insane.
Transmitted to the Legislature Nov.
3, 1857 From these reports we
learn that the Hospital is erected up
on tract Of land, containing four
hundred and tifty-fve acres of land,
which fronts upon the Murlreesboro'
turnpike, six miles from Nashville,
The building is in the castellated style,
having a front Of SO feet. With two
wings running back at right angles
with the main building, 90 feet, the
height being in part three and four
stories without the basem mt. There
are 265 rooms, exclusive of domes-
tic apartments. The manner of heat
ing aud ventilating the building Is
thus described by the Architect:
ssThe entire building is warmed by
steam, for which purpose series OF
vertical aues are constructed in the
longitudinal walls OF the halls, start
ing from the coil or hot air chambers
in the basement story. From these
flues the heated air will enter the
halls and part Of the rooms of the
different stories near the floors. Il
is intended by this arrangement that
the air supply shall be constant,
without any external condition OF
temperature of weather. During the
season when artificial warmth is nee
essary, the inaowiug air is to be rails
ed to any required degree by ad-
hitting steam into as large number
or portion of steampipes as will eli
feet the object desired.
"The ventilation of the whole bull
ding is carried on by means Of a CEN
trifugal fan driven by an engine-the
air is thence conducted through suit
able passages under ground, to the
central chambers in the basement
in the main building and wings, and
so on through the steam pipes cham
bers into the vertical llues. BY thil
arrangement the air is forced into the
different apartments, pure and fresh
during the summers months, and heat
ed in winter.
'The fan used for this purpose is
seventeen feet in diameter, and the
quantity Of air discharged may be
carried as high as seventy Thousand
cubic feet per minute, giving about
two hundred and fifty cubic feet per
minute to each occupant. The foul
air chambers ia the attics are con.
nected with large ventilating shafts
by which means the putrid air is car
ried of"
Taken altogether, there is no ed
ifce erected for the same purpose in
the United States, which is superior
to this.
During the past two years, there
have been admitted to the hospital
1872 patients, and within the same
time SO have been discharged, % Of
these wholly restored, the others tex
cept 10 who died) improved.
The physician and Superinten.
dent, DR.. Cheatham, thus rebukes the
too common practice of enticing pa.
tiants to an Insane Asylum by
means of deception:
sThe deception practieed upon pa.
tients by their friends when they have
determined to send them to such an
institution is very injudicious. 1t is
almost always pretended that they
are to go to some other place, for
some fanciful object that may bar.
monize with the patients diseased
imagination. In this buoyant con.
dition he is left, as he interprets it,
In a prison, when the natural revision
is SO great as to operate most unfa-
yorably on him. No wonder that be
should rave and curse his pretended
friends who have thus, he thinks, so
cruelty betrayed and abandoned him.
But this is not all. He cannot be
persuaded but that his attendants
were party to his capture, and it is
lono hafore they can secura his con-