St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-10-12
Sunlight and Ventilation.

The free admission of air and sun
light to every part of house is equally
important with good drainage and a
surrounding pure, dry atmosphere.
People who live in dark houses are
usually pallid and languid artificial
darkness in the daytime has the same
physical and mental effect as the dark
ness of night, especially if people
lounge or lie down it impedes vital
activity 10y retarding circulation and
lowering the action of the heart men
tai action is lessened, because the brain
lacks the stimulus of light. In the
throbbing headache of megrim the pain
lis intensified 10y light and motion, and
darkness and silence are remedial
agents in certain acute nervous dis
orders the absence of light and sound
is desirable for the purpose of lowering
vitality, but in ordinary sickness, and
especially during convalescence, both
light and air should have free admis-
sion to the sick-rOom to exclude them
is to deprive the invalid of one of the
essential factors in the restoration of
health, while it is positive injury to
persons in sound health. Sleeping
rooms, beds, and bedding should be
flooded with pure air and sunlight if
they can bc open all day, the repose at
night will he soumder and more in
yigorating than if they are only aired
for Il little while in the morning. The
practice of covering the mattress with
the bedding early in the day-that is,
of ''maling" the bed-may he good
housewifery, but it would be better
sense to have the bedclothes thrown
or loosely folded over the foothOard of
the bed, and the mattress left exposed
to the air, or covered only by one sheet.
This is quite possible where sleeping
rooms are used only for repOse. 1t is
not well to make sitting-rOOms of
them.
The sleeping rooms of persons in
good health should be as plainly fur
nished as is consistent with comfort !;
all supcrtluOus drapery and upholstery
should be avoided, and the flool should
be covered at the bedside with rug,
rather than entirely by IA carpet ;
waXcd or painted floors, or mattings
are preferable to carpets for sleeping
apartments. The bed should have
a mattress over springs rather than
ltdiHtIS IL SIlOulu Dt 50 pldCtu IT'S 10
permit the free circulation of air and
the bedding should combine warmth
with lightness. AS has already been
said, blankets are preferable to com
forters; an eider-dOwn qcilt is, of
course, the lightcst and warmest of all
bed-cOverings, but it is open to the
same objection that applies to feathers
the difficulty of thorough ventilation.
Stationary washstands, or sinks, con-
Meeting directly with the waste pipe
leading to the sewer, are not only nu-
desirable, but often dangerous in bed
rooms, because they allow the eecape
into the room of impure air and sewer
gas this is especially to he feared in
country houses which are used only
part of the year. When drains and
cisterns are not used they become filled
with poisonous gases these gradually
find their way through the pipes into
the atmosphere of the house, which is
generally almost Theoretically closed
from the fresh outer air. In common
prudence such houses should he thor
Oughly aired and disinfected when they
ae opened for summer occupancy. DR..
Richardson says that such poisonous
carnations, which fare analogous to
those producing epidemic diseases, are
rendered innOcuOus by the free admis-
sion of air and sunlight to houses. The
diseases to he feared from such atmos-
pheric pOisons are diphthcria, typhoid
fever, and similar zymOtic affections.