Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-02-09
AN OLD SUPERSTITION.
One That Must be Got hid of 40 an
smre G,,Od Health.

The greatest part of the disease that
atiiicts civilized mankind during the
winter months is unquestionably due t.
the fact that all fresh mir is carefully tx
cluded during the night hours. AMI
sometimes with the coming of winter
the windows are securely fastened and
not opened until spring. Many peopla
seem to think the house is sufficiently
ventilated if the windows of the sleep,
ing rooms are left open for few min,
utes during the day, but almost eve,
body is convinced that night air is IN
furious to health. In this connection.
Dir. Felix e. Oswald says i'll the Popular
Science Moolthty:
Beware Of the night wind be sure
and close your windows after dark +" IL
other words, beware of Gods free air
be sure and infect your lungs with the
stagnant, azotized and offensive ailnps.
phere OF your bedroom. In other words,
beware of the rock spring stick 10
sewerage. Is night air injurious? !.
there a single tenable pretext for sac.l
an idea? Since the day of creation ihiu
air has been breathed with inlpumty ~
millions Of different animals-teuti..
delicate creatures, some of them-fawns.
iamt and young birds. The MOST
nightair OF the tropical forests is br,atl.cd
with impunity lay our next relatives,
the anthropoid apes-the same apes
soon perish with consumption iii the
close though generally well-warmed All
mo pbere of our Northern menagelies
Thousands of soldiers, hunters and lum
bermen sleep every night in tents an,
open sheds without the least injuriuu
consequences men III the last Stage ui
consumption have recovered by aaopt-
ing semi-sayage mode of life, ana
camping out doors in all but the storm
lest nights. Is it the draught that you
fear, or the contrast of temperature
Biacksmiths and railroad conductors
seem to thrive under such influences.
Draught? Have you never seen boys
skating in the teeth of a snow-storm at
the rate of fifteen miles an hour "Ihty
countcract the effect of the cold air l,1
vigorous exercise" Is there no othcl
way Of keeping warm? Does the north
wind damage the fine lady sitting
motionless in her sleigh, or the pilot and
helmsman of a storm-tossed vessel? 1t
cannot be the inclemency of the golden
air, for, even in sweltering summer
nights, the sweet south wind, blessed | y
all creatures that draw the breath of lie,
brings no relief to the victim of aero
phoba. There is no doubt that families
who have freed themselves from the
curse OF that supers tition can live out
and out healthier in the heart of great
city than its slaves on the ARREST high
land of the Southern Apennines.
In a tolerable location the air of
three-room cottage can be kept pure
enough without any force ventilators or
any other expensive continuance. Open
your windows; in very cold weather AZ
the bedrooms in daytime and the Others
at night. In larger houses the kitchen,
parlor and dining-room should be thor
oughly ventilated every night, also il
daytime at convenient intervals, during
the temporary absence of the occupants
TO save foul air for the sake Of its warmth
IS poor economy; experiments would
shaw that the difference in fuel amounts
oaly to trife anyhow. Ten or twelve
pounds Of coal day ought not toveigh
ag inst the direct gain il comfort anu
tnt prospective, unspeakable gai2 il
iesIth. Breathing the same all over
ADD yer again means to feed the organ
l,u on the excretions of our own lungs,
il air surcharged with noxious gases
aI.d almost depleted of She life-sustain-
iac principle. Azotized air affects the
uIaps as the substitution of eXcrt meEts
lor noluishing food would affect our d.
festive organs; corruption sets in; pull
mouary phthisis is, in fact, process OF
putrelaction.
No ventilatory continuance can COM
pare with the simple plan of opening a
window; in wet nights ram shutter"
"a blind with large, overlapping bars)
will keep room both airy aud dry. In
every bedroom one of the upper windows
should be kept open night and day, ex-
cept in storms accompanied with rain,
OF With a degree of cold exceeding 10
dogs Fahrenheit. In warm summer
nights open every window in the house
ana every door connecting the bedroom
with the adjoining apartments. Create
a thorough draught. Before we can hope
to fight consumption with any chance Of
suoseSs we have got to get rid of the
ught-air superstition. Like the dread
If cold water, raw fruit, etc, it is found
4 on that mistrust Of our instincts
which We owe to our anti-natural rel3g-
.on. 1t is probably the most prolific
-n.ge cause of impaired health, even
among the civilized nations of our en-
lgLtened age, though its absurdity RI
walls the grossest delusi ons of the witch
craft era TIE subsection of holy reason
- hearsays could hardly go further.