St. Landry democrat., 1879-03-01
COOKED AIR.
| Some of the gold-weasher Fel,ies of the
| American People.


Philadelphia Ledger.
There is one very good reason why
PEOPLE I" take cold in winter time. Most
of the wel'~to-do spend their lives, when
indoors, in cooked air. The lower down
the thermometer goes the higher the
burning coal is piled; all the chinks and
cracks are stopped that would let shy
| fresh air in, and its main chance, indeed,
is when the front door opens for twenty
seconds, Or when the beds are made in
the sleeping-rooms. In the living rooms
of the family there is no occasion, many
people think, to raise the windows ever,
except to wash them, on periodical
cleaning days, or to shut in the shutters.
So carpets and furniture and people,
lungs and skin, are dried and baked IN
the hot, dry rooms, until ingenious
persons can bring out electric sparks
from their Anger ends by skating rapidly
I'D and down the room in their wooden
slippers.
Out from this kiln.dried atmosphere
into the winter streets and into the very
cold or very damp air plunge the folks
who live in these alright rooms. They
put on plenty of wraps, but they Wear
the same foot-gear and they carry the
same lungs out into the streets with
them and the same sensitive skin. Then
, they 20 into friends houses and sit IN
other hot rooms with all their wraps on,
Z or they ait in church rews, the women
t at least, heavily muttled in turs and
q woolens, for matter of two hours.
q (Why man will take off his overcoat
s in church and women cling to thel1
z Jackets as to an article of faith, Is among
t the puzzles for the wise to settle, or to-
the next hundred questions of an inqulr
It ing worldly Again, they go out in tn
q damp streets, and it is wonder to al
o docto:s and thinkers that they do no
d all take" and Keep, too, that congeste'
It state of lungs, and membranes, an
d chilled blood vessels that we class unde
ID this one convenient term of "cold."
Perhaps the houses are not kept an
al warmer than they ought to be, whe
I'd people are taking but little exercise. Blu
al they certainly are, nearly all of ther
en- too dry and lacking in constantly n
in newed pure air. It has been before r.
lis marked in the ledger that folks who al
at extremely particular about wearing the
ms own clothes, and who would by I
ms means consent 20 take the csst-ot ga
of ments of neighbor-one and all Of the
les are perfectly comfortable to breathe ov
and over again the cast.off and soiled a
to from each others lungs, when it
nis cooked especially; for in summer tin
an they do insist Gu change OF it, and
art get their houses ventilated. Janitors
de. public buildings, iu short~sighted eco
omy of fuel, will shut up all the APT
re lures by which fresh air might got
;tv lest they should suffer some heat to
Ia cape thereby, and are rewarded
for sleepy audiences. especially when t
i'd gas-burners are at work, also drainl
Nv the cooked air of what little lie 1t n
ass. There are some peop)e-msny, it
I'M. hoped-who open an inch or two OF tn
th~ bedroom windows every night to
so,f sure a modicum OF fresh air to sleep
.ror But these do not in the least care
10 have fresh air to be awake in, it seel
the for they are content to have their
sod mace draw all its supplies from the tlg
,n; ly-sesled cellar, and from the stale
nor mosphere of the ash boxes and vegeta
,,nn bins in that subterranesn apartme
10 When we live in fresh air within dc
,der IS without, with its proper proport'
al of moisture for the skin and breath
nod apparatus to keep up their healthy tc
.a1t it is likely we shall have found out
49,. way st least of how not to take cold.