Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-06-12
FUNCTIONS OF PLANT LIFE.
Hvxienic and Therapeutic Rela.
tiOms of III Ouse.plants.

The question of the influence of house-plants
upon the air OF tue rooms in which they are
kept has been much discussed at one time and
another The old idea was that they were In
furious TO health, especially In sleeping rooms:
and this Is probably still the popular opinion
though II was long since shown TO be errone
GUS The Chief func, i)ns OF plant-nfe that hav
Deem supposed to bear upon this question ar
the absorption OF carboEic acid the exhalatton
OF oxygen, and the production OF ozone; and 1t
mas been conclusively proved that these pro-
ceSSes all go on too slowly to have any apprect-
able effect, whether for good or evil upon the
air OF an ordinary room.
There remains, however, another function OF
plants which has generally been disregarded Ia
the consideration OF this question namely. that
by the leaves. It Is curious that this should
have been overlooked In all the discussions OF
the effects OF systems OF heating, especially or
hot-air furnaces, upon the humidity OF the air
I'm dwellings, SO far as we are aware. attention
was first drawn to It's Importance In this con-
nection by an article In the American Natural
asst for December 1879. from the pen OF Dr. j. M.
Anders. He has more recently read paper On
the subject before the medical alumni of the
University of Pennsylvania which Is printed in
full In the Philadelphia Medical Times OF May s,
1seg.
LII tie was known of this transpiratory func-
ton OF plants until recently and Dr. Anders'
own Investigations have brought out some
curious and striking facts, to which we can
only make brief reference here. For instance
the average rate of Transportation for plants
having thin, soft leaves-like geraaium. Ian
tanas, etc.-fs found TO be an ounce and a half
OF Watery vapoI per square foot of leaf sur
face for twelve dlurnal hours of clear weather
AT this rate. a great tree like the Washington
Elm at Cambridge, which has been estimated
10 have 10000 square feet OF leaf surface would
exnale seven and tnree-quarterS tons OF water
In twelve hourS. The rate OF Transportation for
houSe-Plant Is at least 80 per cent more rapid
than for enc In the open air. and 1t is evident
on the lace Oh IL; that number OF such plants
must have material influence upon the hu-
Nudity Of the air In which they are kept. Dr.
Anders has made experiments that establish
TINS beyond doubt We add some extracts
Hom his article referring TO this and other
points OF interest:
BY means OF the hydrometer the atmosphere
or Two rooms at the Episcopal Hospital In
which the conditions and dimensions were In
every respect, similar, were tested bimultane.
'ously In order to note the variations produced
Dy growing plants. In the window OF one OF
the rooms were situated five thrifty plants: the
other con aimed none For eighteen consecutive
Gays the dew point OF the room containing
plants gave an average complement one and a
half degrees lower than the room in which there
were no plants.
To make it sure that the difference In humid
lily was due solely to the presence OF the plants
the COnd1tions were varied and further Ob5erva-
lions made, but the results were similar.
since II IS well known that certain maladies-
especially those affecting the lungs and air
pasSages-are benefited By moderately moist
and warm atmosphere, and since plants furnish
moisture 10 the warm air of a dwelling these
may properly be claSSed as therapeutic agents
and DR.. ADdtrS gives testimony to show that
they nave Sometimes proved TO be such agents
he quotes letter from DIR. Hiram Corson of
Conshohocken, Pa, who after stating that the
majority OF bis brothers and sisters had died of
consumption, continues as follows / mention
THESE ca 5es to show that the germs of the d.
SeaSe were with the family. Thirty years AGO
my eldest sister, then above 50 years of AGE
was reported by her physician, DR.. j. p, VIC,
I'm OF tuoercniar consumption, to which disease
sne would SuccumD before the coming summer
she was lover OF plants and flowers and Gull
tivated them In doors and out The spring saw
her again moving among her plants, and the
winter found her confined to the house and
sometimes for weeks to her bod-chamb1r which
Like the Sitting-room, was literally a EN-
house. Visitors and friends often spoke TO her
OF tne IMPROPERLY OF having so many growing
plants In her room, reminding her OF the ira.
dit1on that they were injurious Still, every
spring found her again on her feet, In the yard
ana garden, nursing her plants, and every
winter confined TO her room And thus She
lived, year after year, until two years ago.
when. at the age OF IS, she passed away. Win
ter after winter we looked for her death the
cough, expectoration, and weakness 1ustffyinp
our apprehenstons, and yet her s5th year found
her cheerful and happy, living among her
May We not believe that the vast exhalation
rom these plantS-water puriIled and meflf-
Gated By thi vital chemistrJ-pr, Jngei her
DIR. Anders also made personal Inquiries OF
lnlrty gardeners and florists OF Philadelphia
concerning tie effects OF their occupation upon
thelr health, and found that In several instances
eonsumptiye tendencies had apparently been
counteracted by working among plants Some
o. the cases are described In detail, but we can
quote only the following conclusions drawn
from them:
from the above cases It will be seen that
what We have deduced from experimental re-
SUITS, concerning the health-glving effects Of
plants (Which is owing TO Transportation increas-
Ing The humidity of the air-the plants acting
as natural and perfect 'atomEerS- Is ENTIRELY
Id harmony with what is observed concerning
tne eject OF Suff1c1ently moist, warm air In
many cases OF phthiSiS; and II it Is true as we
nave attempted TO demonstrate, that house
pant hygiene constitutes valuable preventive
measure where there Is hereditary tendency to
certain diseases. then IL ought to be definitely
ana thoroughly understood; and 1t Is OF vital
Importance that Ii should be adopted In cases
where there Is a known predlsposition to
plthi5is. for half OF the cases are supposed to
be pTeyentable whereas II the disease be allowed
10 develop complete recovery Is not to be ex-
pecttd
The plants should be well selected and kept
10 thriving condition. The chief point to be
6orne In MUD In the selection OF the plants are,
hrsI, that they have soft, thin leaves secondly
foliage plants, or those having extensive leaf
surface, are TO be preferred; thirdly, those
which are highly scented (as the tuberose &c1
should be avoided, because they often give
Ilse 10 headache and other unpleasant symp-
toms.
In order to facilitate practical application OF
the data gained by experiment the following
formula has been carefully prepared: Given a
room 20 feet long, IL feet Wide and ceiling 12
ieet high, warmed by dry air, dozen thrifty
plants with soft, thin leaves and q leaf surface
OF square feet each would, IL well watered.
and so situated as to receive the direct rays OF
the sun pIeferably the morning SUM- for at
least several hours, raise the proportion of
aqueous vapor TO about the health standard.
To obtain the best results both the rooms
occupied during the day and the sleeping apart
mentS should contain plants TIC was for a long
time the opinion OF scientific interpreters gen.
orally that plants in sleeping apartments were
unWholesome, because OF their giving on car
bonic acid gas at night; but IT has been shown
Dy experiment that IL would require twenty
thrifty plants to produce an amount OF the gas
equivalent 10 That Inhaled b. one baby sleeper;
so this is no valid objection to their admission
and not TO be compared with the benefit arising
from their presence.
A Great Exploit.
Every one knows that Prof Nordenskj0ld has