The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-10-03

PURE air is as necessary to physical
health as food is. Indeed, air, though
not taken into tho stomach, is Just as re-.
ally food to the body rs bread and beef.
steak, for it furnishes it with an element,
oxygen, which Is as important cOmpo.
ncut Of the animal tissues as any of the
four which are furnished by alimentary
food. Impure matters inhaled with the
air in nsseOus form exert quite as dele.
teriOus an influence upon the body as
when they are eaten in food Everybody
is aware how readily the miasms which
produce fevers are received into the
blood through the lungs, and also how
poisonous the effects Of the breath
ing Of air adulterated with coal
gus, or that which has been de-
prived Of much OF It's oxygen and
also loaded with carbonic acid from
inhalation by q room full OF peo-
pie. Physicians and others who pay
attention to the laws ol health are
equally aware Of the bad influence OF TOO
much or two little moisture, even when
that moisture is pure vapor of water and
contains no noXious foreign element.
Perfectly pure air for breathing cannot be
had in city like New York, nor indeed
in the country, and Therefore the animal
constitution has been endowed with a
conservative power to protect itself
against ordinary quantities Of deleterous
substances, whether contained In air or
aiimentary food. But there is limit Of
exposure beyond which the most robust
cannot safely venture.
II, then, pure air is as necessary rs
wholesome ioOd, ought not everybody to
take the preCaution 10 breathe only that
which is the least contaminated In
warm weather, when most Of the win
dows and doors OF houses are open,
there is less need Of care than during
those seasons when these avenues to
fresh air are closed. Most dwelling
houses are so constructed and to man-
aged that good share OF the air in any
OF the rooms is derived from impure
sources. II the windows arc tight, in.
gross Of air is excluded through those,
and If change Is obtained 1t must DO
through the floors and the inside doors.
In that case, where does new air come
from? Certainly from the hall and from
the rooms below, and consequently from
the basement. In fact, great
portion Of the air in the rooms Of most
houses in town, where caro- Is not taken
to have it otherwise, comes from the
cellar and basement hall, where it Is
damp and unwholesome, derived as
It is from the lower strata in the
street, where it has been contaminated
with impurities. Are not tho occupants
of rooms in the third and fourth stories
made aware every morning Of the Culin.
ary operations in the kitchen by the odors
that ascend from that region? How does
the odor ascend except with the air which
passes up through the houseT How i'm.
portant, then, that the lower apartments
of'a house, including cellar, area, back
yard, and all closets, should be in the
most cleanly condition; for with all pre-.
cautions possible, air from these places
cannot be entirely excluded from the
upper portions. 1t may be asked why, il
the air which ascends from the lower
rooms is unwholesome, it is not also un.
wholesome to those who inhale It there
| II WUulu uG bO IL luey COQLlQueQ 10
breathe il, but fresh air Is constantly re.
ceivcd while the etFete air goes 10 the
rooms above.
The practical conclusion arrived at from
the above considerations Is that people
ought to take the precaution to have theil
apartments supplied with air Immediately
from out doors, or by properly construc
ted venttlAtors, and TO prevent its ingress
through the floors and from the basement
US far as practicable. The plan Of heating
rooms sometimes adopted by having regis
ters open from the ceiling Of one room tC
the floor Of tho one above is very objec-
tionablC. This question OF ventilation is
q very important one, and has taxed thC
ingenuity Of many inventors, and goot
deal OF progress has been made; but all thC
inventions In the world, in any depart.
ment, will not supply the place OF know
ledge and prudence on the part Of thost
who have them in charge, Apoorly con
structel house, with tho most inconyen
lent arrangements Tor ventilation, may bI
kept in n better sanitary condition by {
thoughtful hcusekeeper than one fitted uI
with the. most improved apparatus If Il 4
hoJI, ,naoauhA ~ y c,in