Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1864-01-02
Dried Air Unhealthy and Injurious

As the cold weather approaches, and the
windows OF dwelling houses are shut down,
and lot only shut down, but either caulked up
tightly, or another outside window put over
the whole, so as TO keep the air out as much as
possible and the doors all tightly listed, and
the stoves heated up, the air not only becomes
heated up above summer temperature, but it
becomes dried, or in other words dives sed of Its
natural moisture, and therefore rendered IN
healthy in proportion as it is so depriv ed Of
this necessary ingredient.
Since the use of furnaces in cellars, which
are nothing more than stoves out of sight, and
therefore have less att. ntion paid 10 the regu-
lations of them, the drEness of the in sitting
and other rooms, warmed by them has been
increased, and, by consequence, the troubles
incident to such n condition. This is made ey-
ident by the difficulty of keeping many kinds
of plants in such rooms in healthy and flour
ishing condition, while some plants used to do
well when the rooms were warmed with the
common fire place.
Different calculations have been made by
different eXpermenteTs on the amount of Inois-
ture generally contained IN air, anG the amount
requisite to keep it in what may be called
healthy state condition. A writer in the
American Agrlculturalist, says that room II
by Is feet and feet high contains 1,620 cubic
feet OF air; at the freezing point this amount of
air will / contain one half pint OF water; heated
TO so degrees 1t will, ii not confined, absorb
nearly a full pint; heat it TO summer heat and
it will absorb nearly quart of water; raise it
to blood heat and it will absorb two ami one
half quarts OF water. Thus by increasing the
heat you increase the capacity 10 absorb mois-
tuTe. In q cold room, he says, the air feels
damp; warm it by Il stove and Il soon becomes
dry and unpleasant-tbe moisture h2 wing been
absorbed; and by stIll raising the heat its alb
sorbent power Is increased, and it takes the
moisture from the skin. Cool the air down
again. and the Tois ture that had been absorbed,
and rendered latent, Will be deposited and the
room again feel damp.
In old times, when the clumsy hox-stove
was first introduced into stores and school
houses, basin Of water used to be placed
upon the top of 1.-THE evaporation from which
used to supply the air with moisture in pro-
portion TO its heat-and thus your skin, and
other paris of the body were not likely to be
robbed of moisture. In process of time, az
''air- tights" and hidden furnaces were adopt
ed, the basin of water was left ont, and the
process of warming and drying the air was
carried on nj one operation. The results have
been prejudicial to health. Physicians Will
tell you that 1t has been one of the agents for
bringing on new types of disease, and il some
instances new classes OF disease. II looks rea-
atmosphere too dry for plants to grow and be
healthy in, is not the one for human beings to
grow and be healthy in.
1t is therefore necessary that, with the means
means of mois tening them. The two should
always be used together. The furnaces
now in use are not well adapted TO fixtures for
this purpose. A vessel of water in or near the
register would be in the way. A vessel might
be placed in the hot air chamber with
rargement TO feed il as the water evaporates;
but such thing is seldom used. The writer
above referred to recommends that cloth
moistened and hung near would be simple
and cleanly mode of supplying moisture, but
this would often need to be repienished
We mention these things now with a view to
calling attentio to an important subject, and
here leave 1t TO your ingenuity to remedy the
evil In the best way you can--Adine Farmer.
~ In Nebraska the snow drifts are twenty
five to thirty feet deep in some places.