The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-07-08

house-plants upon the air of the rooms
IN which they are kept has been much
discussed at one time and another. The
old idea was that they were injurious to
health, especially in sleeping rooms;
and this IS probably still the popular
opinion. though it was long since shown
to be erroneous. The chief functions
OF plant-life that have been supposed to
bear upon this question are the absorb
ton OF carbonic acid, the exhalation of
oxygen, and the production of ozone:
and it has been conclusivelv proved
that these processes all 90 on too
slowly to have any appreciable 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 in the consideration
of this question namely, that of trans
pirations or the exhalation of moisture
by the leaves. 1t is curious that this
should have been overlooked in all the
discussions of the effects of systems of
heating, especially of hot-air furnaces.
upon the humidity of the air in dwell
ings. So far as we are aware, atten-
ton was first drawn to its Importance
in this connection by an article in the
american Naturalist for December,
1879, from the pen of DR.. j. NJ. Anders.
He has more recently read a paper on
the subject before the medical alumni
of the University of Pennsylvania,
which is printed in full in the Philadel-
phia Medical Times of May 8, 1880.
Little was known of this transpira-
frps f,,~ 0e
and DR.. Anders' own Investigations
have brought out some curious and
striking facts, to which we can only
make brief reference here. For in
stance, the average rate of transpira-
ton for plants having thin, soft leaves
like geranium, lantanas, etc. is found
to be an ounce and half of watery va
por per square foot of leaf-surface for
twelve diurnal hours of clear weather.
At this rate, great tree like the WASH
ington Elm at Cambridge. which has
been estimated to have 200, 900 square
feet of leaf-surface, would exhale u
tons of water in twelve hours. The
rate of Transportation for house plant
is at least fifty per cent. more rapid
than for one in the open air, and it is
evident, on the face of it, that a num-
Der of such plants must have a material
influence upon the humidity of the air
in which they are kept. DR.. Anders
has made experiments that establish
this beyond doubt. We add some ex-
tracts from his article referring to this
and other points of interest:
By means of the hydrometer the at
mosphere of two rooms at the Episco-
pal Hospital, in which the conditions
and dimensions were in every respect
similar, were tested simultaneously in
order to note the variations produced
by growing plants. In the window of
one of the rooms were situated five
thrifty plants; the other contained none.
For eighteen consecutive days the dew
point of the room containing plants gave
an average complement one and half
degrees lower than the room in which
there were no plants.
To make it sure that the differences
in humidity was due solely to the pres
ence of the plants the conditions were
varied and further observations made,
but the results were similar.
Since it is well known that certain
maladies-especially those affecting the
lungs and air passages--are benefited
by moderately moist and warm at
mosphere, and since plants furnish
moisture to the warm air of dwelling,
these may be properly classei as thera-
peutic agents, and DR.. Anders gives
testimony to show that they have some
times proved to be such agents. He
quotes letter from DIR. Hiram Corson,
of Conshohocken. Pa, who, after stat
ing that the majority of his brothers
and sisters had died of consumption,
continues as follows: II mention these
cases to show that the germs Of the
disease were with the family. Thirty
years ago my eldest sister, then about
fifty years of age, was reported by her
physician, DIR. j. p, victim of tuber-
cular consumption, to which disease
she would succumb before the coming
summer. She was lover of plants and
flowers, and cultivated 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 bed
chamber, which, like the sitting-room,
was literally greenhouse. Visitors
and friends often spoke to her of the
improperly of having SO many growing
plants in her room, reminding her Of
the old tradition that they were in
furious. Still, every spring found her
again on her feet, in the yard and gar
den, 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 eighty
five, she passed away. Winter after
winter we looked for her death, the
cough, expectoration and weakness,
justifying our apprehensions, and yet
her eighty-fifth year found her cheerful
and happy, living among her plants
and enjoying the society of her friends.
May we not believe that the vast exhal-
alton from these plants-water purified
and medicated by their vital chemistry
prolonged her life?''
DIR. Anders also made personal inqui-
ries of thirty gardeners and florists of
Philadelphia concerning the effects of
their occupation upon their health, and
found that in several instances consump-
tive tendencies had apparently been
counteractcd by working among plants.
Some of the cases are described in de-
tfsiAs OuU VIC CssA 4AOSO Ouhy euC AOAAOW.
ing conclusions drawn from them.
From the above cases it will be seen
that what we have deduced from ex-
detrimental results, concerning the
health-giving effects of plants (Which
is owing to Transportation increasing
the humidity of the airy, the plants act
ing as natural and perfect ''atomizers'
is entirely in harmony with what is OBJ
served concerning the effect of suffi-
GENTLY moist, warm air in many cases
phthisis; and if it is true, as we nave
attempted to demonstrate. that house.
plant hygiene constitutes a valuable
preventive measure where there is he
reditary, tendency to certain diseases,
then it ought to be definitely and thor
oughly understood; and it is of vital
importance that it should be adopted in
cases where there's known predisposi-
ton to phthisis, for half of the cases are
supposed to be preventable, whereas
if the disease be allowed to develop