The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-12-22

In this respect, ..eternal vigilance is
the price Of safety"
In the construction of our houses
there is large opportunity to profit by
well known, but often neglected
principles. The best arrangement of
rooms for the admission of sunlight
and proper ventilation r matters
mostly Of a wise fOrethonght and the
materials-other than wood-whIch
Is undoubtedly the best in isolated
situations usua ly a matter Of
choice. The larger the house and
the greater the number of rooms the
more complicated and difficult the
construction becomes to avoid diff.
culties in the heating and ventilation
and secure all the advantages of SUM-
light and that cheerful arrangement
OF apartments which raj he better
felt than described. TO reach these
results only competent advice from
architects and practical builders
should be sought and followed. We
have, ! fear, been too successful in
vigorously excluding sunlight from
homes and persons by window
shades, blinds, curtains and plants
and clothing of such texture and
thickness AS to prevent the penetrAt-
ing good officer of the light and
warmth of the suns rays. DIR. O.
W. Holmes used to say THAT he was
satisfied that man was made to live
in a warm climate or he would have
been provided with some natural pro.
lection against cold" And we may
I've the victims of the errors of our
ancestors In straying into northern
regions, and for generations reducing
vitality BY clothing and other means
OF protection. thus producing a tuber-
culOus d~iasthesis, whether from Ba-
cilli Or something else, which now
destroys one-sixth of the human ace
by consumption. Darkness, damp.
and cold combined, will soon
produce tuberculous disease in ami
mails as proved BY experiments.
Water supply this is one of the
most important REQUESTS of a home
and shhold not only be abundant at
all times, but free from suspicion of
iInpurity. In fact, however, it Is one
about which little care is taken. and
less thought apparently than was
given the subject five thousand years
ago. Then wells were provided and
preserved with great care. But now
a shallow hole in the ground, collect.
Ing a scanty supply of impure surface
water subject to the every varying.
but always present. decaying vege-
table matter through which it percO-
a successful trap for insects,
reptiles, and sometimes larger game,
is the family we'll most frequently
met with in this country. and from
which the household supply is drawn.
When something deeper is found,
rs a well, 1t Is not seldom polluted by
the neighbOring yards of domestic
animals, or by the ~cesspools of the
and the fiOwage from sinks
and imperfect drainage. In the out.
break Of typhoid fever two years ago
In the village of Massachusetts the
favorite resort and summer residence
or AS Intelligent a class of persons rs
our country boasts, the wells were
found contaminated 10y defective
sewers, and neglected drainage from
kitchen sinks, etc. Some abandoned
their wells and used only the water
from cisterns ; but these did not es.
cape the disease, and in analysing the
of the c~lterns, human hair
and amonia was found in such abund.
ance as to appear mysterious until It
was ascertained that chamber maids
the contents of slop jars on
the roofs from which the cistern de-
rived their supply.
In close connection with the water
is that of ice which is now
a necessity, and enters
into daily use in many fam.
lies. 1t has been supposed, by some,
that ice could not be impure that
the process of freezing excluded all
ielectrious elements, and therefore
the source from which it was pro.
cured was only a matter of conven.
fence without respect to the quality
the water frozen. This is a fallacy
and the wonder is that anyone, aside
from some selfish interest should
have ever entertained the delusiOn.
Pu:npelly and Hills of
University have proved by
experiments conclusively ''that dur.
ing the cOngelation of water its i'm
are collected together con-
and intensified in the re-
ice." II therefore it is i'm
prudent to drink from a glass of water
in the dark, 1t Is equally unwise to
swallow the same cooled with ice the
source Of which Is unknown and may
be highly dangerous to health.
In the selection of our food, cir
may restrict us in variety
rs we'll rs In that quality which would
best serve our wants, or the gratifica.
ton of moderate and heartily desires.
hut the proper preparation or such as
can be provided Is within the control
and ability Of all individuals OF COM
mon intelligence, and still sanitary
science might find much to improve
In modern cooking. / think the ex-
perience Of all physicians will agree
that In this respect there is an aver
age ignorance that Is really cruelty 10
animals, resulting In a waste of ma.
terials and arrangement of digestion
organs. which II habit did not become
second nature q large proportion of
the human ace would be s.soon cut
of and fly away"
The care Of our persons, and the
Of labor and recreation in
clude so much TO be done and so much
to be avoided that 1t would be useless
attempt an outline of these things in
a brief address !; and the matter Is SO
we'll understood by physicians, that
1t is not necessary.
DR.. Arthur Van Harlingen of Phil.
adelphia has ar article In Bucks
Hygiene which treats of the cure of
the person in detail and is very inter.
esting as well as instructive. As to
labor and recreation we all know
there Is too much of the former, for
most persons. and too little of the
latter; and that the two are not
alternated with that judicious regula-
ton which would contribute 10 the
highest welfare of the individual.
WHAT SANITARY SCIENCE PROMISES
FOR THE FUTURE.
Professor Kedzie, president of the
American Public Health Association,
in his address at the meeting in
Indianapolis, alluded to above, refers
to this subject in eloquent language.
He first enumerates the causes for
hopefulness-"the extension of
knowledge Of zymotic d~iseases-the
prevention Of disease by incubation
the wide interest now taken in
questions Of public health-the I'm.
crease of State Boards of Health and
other organizations for the same OBJ
ject." He also mentions some of the
discouragements, and among these
the Hostile Indifference" as lie
terms 1t, Of congress to the National
Board of Health, for the want of u
vigorous support, allowing the spread
of yellow fever and dangerous impor.
tatiOn of smallpox, But he still