The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-06-04
HOUSE, FARM AND GARDEN.
The Health Of Farmers.

II IAlOu4 kAAND "AAASOA law
.e's'. - The Health Of Farmers. s25 S@s;
: A correspondent of the Country Gentle
man write from Monroe county, N. Y, on
this subject: &'!a p u +ss,
The sanitary aspects Of farm life''
were discussed by the Western New
York Farmers Club at its, meeting April
2. AS was natural there was lively
meeting, for more men and women are
morbid on the question of health than on
any other, The, old proverb says, Chap
Ply is the man who does not know that
he has astomach,' and from all the testi-
mony given by modern farmers, those in
that happy state are few indeed. The
question what We shall eat, occupied,
perhaps, rather more than its due proper
ton of the time, but some @ interesting
facts were brought out. Mr. Allis and
Mr.. Lawton protested decidedly against
pork and lard, and the latter cited exam
pies showing that men . could do
more work ON vegetables and milk than
on a diet in which pork was a. staple.
Against these onslaughts Joseph Harris
was called to defend the pig, but declined
the pig. He raised pigs to sell, he said,
but did not eat pork, not because he
thought it wrong, but because he did not
like it. 1t was suggested that he run
drains into a cesspool and clean that fire.
quently, using the contents as manure.
The keeping Of vegetables in cellars,
except in very small quantities, was dis
w. o1O%I1 %0
air from cellars L. B. Arnold described an
excellent method. Sink 4 hole one or
two feet below the bottom Of the cellar;
into this the foul air, being heavier, will
settle. Then put pipe in this hole and
extend it into the chimney above the
stove-plpe inlets. Then whenever there
is fire the heated air creates a draft
through thisl pipe, bringing up the foul air
from the bottom of the cellar, and rapidly
purifying it.. This pipe should have a
valve, SO that the draft may be stopped
whenever the. weather is very colo, as the
foul air taken out of the cellar must be
replaced by air from the outside. . J.. r.
Garretsee said he accidentally adopted a
singular method of ventilation, having
an oven built in the cellar and extending
the chimney down, to it. This had secur-
ed perfect ventilation ever since, though
the oven itself was. long since disused
F. P. Root had adopted this plan, inten-
tionally and for the. purposes of ventila-
ton, starting the chimney from the cellar
when he had his house built It had
worked well: In, t...lr.. -. 49, III
Shelby Reed presented at some length
the advantages and disadvantages of the
farmers life He had, or, might have,
healthful exercise in the open air. To
offset this, he had to over work at some
seasons, eat hurriedly during the busy
time, and vas liable to many injuries
from reapers, mowers, steam threshers
and other machines used, as we'll as from
his stock. ....,..,.,j-.. ..,., /
b. U. King, of Wayne county, doubted
whether farmers were as healthful as
thirty OF forty years of ago. Then pork
was even more largely eaten than now,
and farmers worked much harder. He
attributed the decreased health of farmers
to excessively warm rooms and the use
OF close stoves and anthracite coal, the
gases from which are very dangerous.
Hon. Heman Glass said that he had aban-
daned the use of anthracite, as he found
it caused diphthera and Group among his
children. He now burned coke, but re-
Gently substituting'coal when the coke
could not be obtained, one of his children
was taken with Group within ten days
after the coal burning commenced,
The discussion tookea wide range and
was lively and interesting. One of the
club having expressed the belief that
farmers houses were mostly too large,
was called to account by Mrs. Arnold,
who thought that houses, so far as health
fulness is concerned, were too small aud
too close: Ventilation isEa very import
ant matter, and it can be accomplished
so easily that no house should be built
without providing for it. 10. ,n:a1.a,