Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1863-05-30

A hundred times have my consumptive
patients expressed surprise that the wet
weather, in which | have insisted they
| should 30 out "a usual, has not injured them
| that they even breathe more freely than
on pleasant days. OF course, tell them, II
the body is well protected, the more moist
the air, the more grateful to your lungs
There is no possible weather which can
excuse the consuniptive for keeping in doors
Give him sufficient clothing, protect his feet
carefully, and he may go out freely in rain,
snow and wind.
That point Of temperature at which the
moisture of the air fret becomes visible il
known as the dew point. According to one
authority. the mean dcw-point of England.
from the first of November to the last of
March, is about 35 degrees; that of our
northern states about 16 degrees. Now,
suppose house in England is kept at a
temperature of 20 degrees, the drying power
there would be represented by %. A house
With the same temperature in Albany, for
example, would possess a drying power Of
54. This great contrast in the atmosphere
OF the two countries is strikiugly illustrated
by the difference between the plump body
and smooth skin of the Englishman, and
the lean, juicclcss body, and dry, cracked
skin of the Yankee. 1t is also shown by
the well known difference in the influence
of housc-heat upon furniture. Our chairs
and sofas and woodwork warp and shrink,
while nothing of the sort occurs in England.
AS we cannot increase the amount of mois-
ture in the atmosphere of our continent, We
must limit our practical ctfrrts to the air of
our houses. If we use n stove, its entire
upper surface may be made a reservoir for
water; ornamental work, of but little cost,
may be used to conceal it. The furnace may
be made to send up, with it3 heat, many
gallons Of wafer daily, in the form Of yapor
In justice to stoves and furnaces, must say
here, that, in the opportunity to do this,
they possess one advantage over open fire
places.
BY adding artificial moisture in this way
to the air of our houses, We not only save
our furniture from drying and shrinking,
but protect our skin. eyes nose, throat and
lungs from undue dryncss, and from the
affections to which it would give rise. 1t
is found necessary, in our cloth manuiacto-
rics to maintain moist atmosphere in or
der to successful spinning Intelligent man
ayers have assured me that coughs and
throat difficultics arc comparatively rare in
the spinning department.
We must all have observed, that while
the AR of hot kitchen is cdmfoftablc, that
vi pdllOr III inc same neat from an AR
tight stove, is almost suifocating. The kit
chen has a hot stove, but the steam of its
boiling kettles moistcns the air.
Your country aunt who has lived over
her cooking stove for years without serious
Inconvenience after spending an afternoon
in your parlor, heated by Il stove or furnace,
returns home glad to get out Of that hot,
sitting air. And yet the thermometer may
have indicated that the kitchen was ten
degrees warmcr than the parlor. The dry
heat of the parlcr produced headache, irri-
liability, and, perhaps, o sense OF ctricturo
in the chest. 1t we would avoid these,
dry chappcd skin, an irritable nervous sys-
tenn, and dry hacking cough, we must add
the needed humidity by artificial means.