The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-02-13
From the Philadelphia Morning Post.l
What We Breathe-The Foul Atm0s-
phere Of Badly Ventilated Rooms.

phere OF Badly Ventilated Rooms.
The Post, having had its ambition
excited by the performances of the New
York World in regard to the adultera-
tions OF spirituous liquors, has caused an
agent to preserve from various public
buildings in this city specimens of the
air therein contained, and has had these
specimens analyzed with the following
result: From one of our court-roOms,
where each day many of our most
learned lawyers and good citizens are
obliged to pass most of their time, q
bottle OF air was procured which was
found to be composed of the following
elements: Oat of one hundred parts
there were nine of oxygen, eighty of
exhaled breath, seven of perspiration
in gaseous form, one of common burn
ing gas, and three of an irreducable
smell. From once popular lee
ture and concert room, after a musical
performance, the specimen yielded six
parts of oxygen, eighty-two of bad
breath, four of perspired exha-
lations, six of ordinary foor-dust,
and two of coal gas from the
heaters. Some OF our churches are so
we'll ventilated that the atmosphere is
only diluted to an extent impossible to
prevent, during the presence of large
congregation, but the aim in Others is of
a character calculated to produce disas-
trous effects upon the human organiza-
tion. From one of the most fashiOna-
BILE houses quantity of air collected at
twenty minutes of twelve o'clock on q
Sunday morning contained ten parts OF
oxygen, seventy of pulmonary exhala-
tions, ten of fine particles of dress
goods, three of common dust, three OF
pstchouly, five of coal dust from heater,
four Of perspiration, (supposed to ema-
nate principally from the sexton, who
also acts as usher.) Visiting bill
liard-room, the air was found to be
much purer than in the places mention
ed above, on account of the players be-
ing able to enforce the necessary open
ing of the windows, but it was bad
enough. Seventeen parts of oxygen,
forty-six of repaired air, twenty of to-
bacco-smoke in a stale condition, ten of
the same, but fresher, and seven of al
ooholic exhalation. The specimen from
one of eur older school houses, built
before the recent improvement in these
sdifices were thought of or adopted, but
which is used by more scholars in pro-
portion to the room than the more mod
ern structures, was composed of four
parts oxygen, seventy-eight of exhaled
air, six Of perspiration, five from burnt
air from stoves, one sf emanations from
wet sponges, one of inky evaporations,
three of combined odors, and two of the
shoe and floor dust.
Besides these, we have air from street
cars, where the odors of salt hay and
condensed exhalations predominated;
and from large factories, where we find
the bad smells so well steamed that
they were more readily absorbed into
the system, Other places had their
peculiarities, but we have room for no
more instances. To the result of these
Investigations we invite the attention
of our city authorities, and that of all
good people who have the desire to see
those of the community who, not by
their own fault, are compelled to breathe
bad air, an injury more justly complained
of than that caused by the drinking of
bad whisky, because the last we need
not drink, but the first we often cannot
avoid inhaling.