Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1873-07-17
Agricultural.
Look TO the Cellars.

Dr. @. :. Johnston furnishes the Coun-
fg GcntCmdu with the following timely
article:
at is said that the summer of 1873 will
he greatly productive of epidemic diseases.
Now it i the practice Of many farmers in
the Northern States to bank up their cell
lars tightly il. the autumn. leaving no VEN
tsiatiou and no chance for the effluvia
arising from decaying vegetables TO es-
cape. except through the cracks in the
rooms above. Is it any wonder that the
scarlet fever. dipthcria, measles and
small poX prevail where such is tbs prac-
tice: II the children are sick and die, do
not call it dspensation of Providence,
or lay the blame upon the cold winter, but
look to the cellar. where the trouble arises.
II there are rotten fruit. bins of decaying
potatoes, turnip-. cabbages. musty bal
rel>. and all manner of disagreeable odors,
30 not forget they breed disease, and do
not wonder whence the scarlet fever and
measles can come from; but set TO work
and rout out all the foulness which lies I'M
der your feet. Take the barrels out Of
doors wash them aud let them dry; bury
in the baruyarl all decaying vegetable mat
ter. Look TO the pork and beef barrels;
keep them sweet aul clean. Commence
the work in the morning. when the sun
shines warm and bright; remove all the
banking, take out all the windows. throw
open the hatchway, AMI let fresh air blow
through every part. Carry ont every box,
barrel. and movable thing. and sweep the
bottom thoroughly; and not only the bot
tom. but the sides and rafters. Do you
iAiuk they are clean: The foul air, the
lsh;est air, i, settled there, pressing it,
WAY up into your rooms and sowing the
~red- Of diptheria and typhoid pneumonia
and levers of all kinds.
- take a thick broom and scrub down
every part; give the sides similar treat
meui, and clean the whole cellar
thoroughly; DO not leave a single sproui-
inL onion. All the vegetables are better
ia the barn than in the cellar now. To be
sure, il i not easy WORK. but neither is it
easy to watch by the sick bed, to see our
loved ones suffer. to have no rest night or
day. and finally robe them for the grave.
science teaches Us that we sow the seeds
OF epidemic fevers-sOw them ignorautly,
and then weep over the destruction that
ousues. ana call it Gods work. When the
Prince OF Wales lay al the point of death,
il was ascertained that his disease was
contracted from sleeping in an elegant
apartment, poisoned with mephitic air is
suing from a disu>ed drain. His youth
ana the good nursing he received. joined
10 the prayers OF his family and nation
saved his life; his valet. however, lost his,
and the Lord Chesterfield was also a VIC
tim TO the disease. In high and low
places, mephitic gases spread disease,
aud the flesh shrinks and wthers under
Their fierce. baneful fires. Make white
wash with one peek unslaked lime and
boiling water enough to thin it; add to il
pounds Of copperas and 3 pints OF flour
starch make il thin enough to spread well.
and yellow with copperas. Wash every
rafter, stone and crack or crevice at the
sides overhead, and see how sweet the
place will become, and what a scamPering
of rats and mice will follow. Throw bits
OF eopperas into the corners-lay them on
the shelves-and purify every part OF the
cellar with this cheap disinfectant, which
j. also dsagreeable to the rodentia.
Don't hesitate TO do this. because your
own health and ths health OF your wife and
children depend upon it. a family living
over foul cellar is more liable to be ef-
fected with illness than city family in a
tenement building.-With plenty Of pure
air, water and exercise, farmers ought to
keep the evil disease, from their midst;
bat foul cellars. iron stoves, and small
sleeping rooms are fast making country
villages as unhealthy as the crowded city.
-Diptheria has been more fatal in the
country than in the city l know of one
family where it carried to the grave Ave
of the number in less than four weeks.
The attending physician traced the disease
10 foul drains but parents scoffed the idea,
and bitterly bewailed the severe stroke
from the divine hand. Ignorance of sani-
iary laws fills our graveyards. and this
summer death will be successful reaper
if farmers forget that perfect cleanliness
in their cellars and barns is essential to
the lives of their families