St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-04-13

liar stories told of the success of men
and women, and of boys and girls, who
have been genuinely polite. Courtesy
and patience help wonderfully to make
the wheels of our lives run smoothly.
Health of Our Country Homes.
The House.-The only probable source
of danger to health in farm house lies
in the condition of the cellar, or of the
space which separates the lowest floor
from the ground. If there be a cellar,
observe whether it is dry and free from
standing water or decaying vegetable
matter (allOwed to accumulate there
through the negligence of servants.) If
the house is built upon the ground, the
lower floor should be at least Is inches
above the ground, and the sides should
be so open that the air can circulate
freely through the space.
The Welt.-If the water is clear and
sweet, and free from any unpleasant
odor, one may pretty safely assume that
no harm is to be anticipated from this
source. Farmers are often i'll the habit,
however, of hanging meat in the well
for the purpose of keeping it cool. A
pretty severe epidemic lin 1874 OF
diarrhea, in a boarding house at one of
the heaIthiest Long Island summer re-
sorts, was traced to the existence of a
decompOsing shoulder of mutton at the
bottom of the well, into which it had
accidentally fallen.
The PriUy.-TheTe is little or no dan
ger from contamination of the air by
the contents of the privy. The real
danger lies in the diffusion of these
contents through the soil and their
contamination of the water of the well.
To avoid such a possibility, the privy
should be placed at least 60 to 20 feet
from the well, and-if the direction OF
the natural drainage currents be known
in such position that the contents
of the privy will drain away from the
we'll. Better yet, let the privy be so
constructed that its offensive contents
shall simply lie upon the surface of the
ground, and let there be easy access to
it from behind, so that fresh earth may
be frequently added, and the entire ac-
emulation removed, say once a week.
The Stops. How common is it for the
kitchen authorities in farmhouse to
throw the slOps upon the ground, just
outside the kitchen door, and perhaps
within six feet of the well. | have
known of boarding house epidemic OF
diarrh9a which could be traced to nc
other source than the contamination OF
the well water by a shallow pool OF
sun-exposed, foul smelling slOps. A
cemented cistern should he built about
rs or 100 feet from the house, and at a
distance from the well, and to this all
the kitchen slops. vegetable waste, etc,
should be conducted through a suitable
pipe or conduit From the cistern these
matters may be fed to the pigs, oil
thrown upon the ground at Il proper
distance from the house
The Ice.-The ice may be so loaded
with foul vegetable matter us to give
rise to quite severe disturbances of the
bowels and stomach. If it be found
free from imbedded impurities, and if
when melted, it be free from an un-
pleasant odor, one may safely assume
that no danger is to be anticipated from
this source. An interesting epidemic
of bowel troubles were traced to impure
ice last summer at Rye Beach.
DrainGge.-This is a more difficult
subject to investigate, and one concern
ing which hardly dare venture any
remarks in this place. In genera
way, however, the statement may he
made that pools of standing water, oil
marshy flats near brooks or streams
Except, perhaps, at the seaside,) are
not desirable neighbors. This is espe.
cially the case if the house in which you
live is situated in hollow las in some
mountain valley, however elevated il
may be above the sea- where the all
does not freely circulate. The preva'
lence of typhoid fever in some of the
Vermont and New York mountain val.
leys, especially in early autumn, i:
probably to be explained by the exist
ence of just such conditions. In the
case of large hotel, the investigation
should be practically the same as in tn,
case of IA farmhouse. The difficultie,
in the way of such an investigation will
be found, however, to he much greater
and it would probably be better in suct
case to secure the assistance of some
physician or engineer who is familiar
with the subject.-Ne,0 York Tribune.