Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-01-13
Ventilation.
Truly yours,
Philadelphia, 18th Jan, 1870.

few of the people of middle age were
brought up in houses in which the un-
skilfulness or haste of the joiner pre-
Guided any necessity of special arrange
ment, and as advancing civilization has
wrought its evil in this direction they
have become SO accustomed to impure air,
as not to realize its pernioious effects.
As evidence of lack of knowledge on
this subject one may notice the very need
of our defining it. Ventilation with a
majority of persons has reference merely
to heat and cold; letting in cold air is
what to many it signifies, and as this in
iudiciousiy done is injurious to health,
they are decided against ventilation in
advance To still larger class it means
the furnishing of means of escape for hot
air, whereby comfort may be promoted
which, of course is worthy of attention,
but would not be matter of intense i'm
portance. Such persons when reminded
of the need of windows open are likely
to answer, at is not very Eot here" and
to consider all such requests as mere per-
sonal notions.
Now what we really mean by ventila-
ton is the removal of the air rendered
impure by breathing, and the supplying
of that which is pure. It has nothing to
do with heat and cold, indeed as we may
be able to show cold room has greater
ne <0f 10
The estimates which we shall present
are not guess-work or founded upon i'm
perfect observation of our own, but are
taken from standard works on physiology,
and are the results of the experiments of
scientific men of the highest order.
1t is fact, that about four cubic feet of
air are rendered unfit for respiration by
each person every minute. We mean de-
prived of all goodness, and as this is con-
stantly being mixed with the air of a
room, the best authorities consider seven
cubic feet the least that may be safely
furnished per minute for each person,
while some assert ten. This poisoning of
the air occurs in three ways.
First-At each inspiration 720 cubic
inches of air are deprived of their oxy-
gen without which it becomes inert.
Second--A vastly larger quantity be-
comes so filled with carbonic acid as to be
noxious.
Third-A still larger amount is satu-
rated with vapor from the lungs and from
the insensible perspiration of the whole
body.
As sponge when full will take no
more water, and as water when a certain
rHint is reached will dissolve no more salt;
so the air has its point of saturation, diff
feriug according to the temperature, be-
yond which it will not receive the yapor
Which needs to be thrown off from the
lungs.
Now it is we'll known that the higher
the temperature the more moisture the
air will receive In cold day all have
observed the condensation of the vapor of
their breath which is invisible in a warm
day or room. 1t is for this reason that
the cool room has special need of frequent
change of air.
Eow as the object of breathing is to.
purify the tlcod, the result is that the
lungs fail to peZform their work, and the
Blood returns to Che heart
to be again sent on its round Of the sys-
TEN, bearing the seeds Of death instead of
life.
Taking, then, this estimate of severs3
feet per mipaate, let US reckon little. A
church, six0y feet by fofsy and twenty
feet high contains $4,000 cubiofeet.
D IF only one hundred persons are present
the air may be considered safe, whatever
it NAY be as to comfort, for about 69 min
utes if two hundred, 81 minutes and il, |
AZ on special occasions, crowded with from
four to five hundred, " minutes or less.
The opening of doors may alleviate this
sQmewhat, bot as house holds only
1efnite quantity, unless there are venti-
ators or windows open for escape, only
Very limited amount enters.
A sS.ting room, fifteen feet square aad
line feet high is as tsmpie as most people
,njsy unless very lately built. 1t holds
1925 cubic feet, which will last four per-
IONS about an hour and twelve minutes.
There is probably no great danger in the
lay time, as doors are open so often, and
he number of persons so limited. But
uppose gathering of twelve or fifteen
persons of an evening, what must they,
after a time be breathingP
But there is worse account against the
sleeping rooms0 Thousands of people
sleep IN rooms not larger than nine by
twelve and nine feet high.
Such room has capacity of 972 GU
bic feet, and if occupied by two persons,
8 wholesome Tor only about an hour and
en- minutes. What wonder that SO many
Use unrefroshad, suffering from headache
md nausea, which an hour or two Of
breathing purer air hardly seFyss to re-
move?
Bpt worst of all are some sohoolhouses.
| computation like the preceding will
end to show that nearly all OF them when
YELL filed, are, il unventilatad, rendered
INF. althy in few minutes The result
, that pupii.-- become restless, lose all de-
ire or capacity for stlsssy. and complain
1ouor,or ond hooIoobo No. fond