The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-05-07
HINTS for a Sanitary Code.

NcAOh IuUOOio anu OuluOOIS)
In every community it is desirable to pre-
pare and publish a sanity code, which may
be enforced by law. The following will
serve as basis for such document. All
the provisions need not be obligatory.
In sea side or other summer resorts which
depend for Their prosperity upon public pat
ronage, it is imperative that all hotels ard
boarding houses should be carefully exam
ined as to their drainage, and rigid rules as
to their sanitary condition enforced. If
there is any risk of the drinking water being
polluted, it should be analysed at the begin
ming of every season, garbage should be ,e-
moved Systematically, no swill closets should
be permitted, and outhouses or earth closets
should be kept clean and sweet This is a
matter of mutual interest aud should not be
considered arbitrary or interfering.
Diaries and otLer receptacles for food
should always be kept free from auy.source
of contamination, as all food is specially
subject to faint. It. is not desirable to have
such places in cellars or under ground I'M
less carefully protected from grouud air or
damp. Neither should they be located near
stables Or outhouses. So May cases of
sickness have been conveyed by milk that
too much care cannot be taken to have dali
ries remote from all sources of contamina-
ton. The Shakers set au admirable exam
pie in this respect, and their cow stables are
kept wonderfully neat and Clearly All
milk dealers and diaries should be licensed
aud subject TO inspection OF the premises.
CiBlerns should be covered 10 exclude
dust and cleaned out frequently. In hot
climates it is better to have them built I'M
der ground to keep the water cool, but in
that case they must be carefully guarded
rom pollution. TTrbid water should be al
lowed to settle, and will clear itself more
quickly if teaspoonful of alum is ided to
each 10 gallons. Boiling water before drink
ing is sure safeguard against impurities.
Taste is no test for the purity of water, as
the most sparkling fluid may be full of sew
age. Most filters are useles :, if not harm
tnl, as they soon become full of matter.
which in itself may be a source of corrup-
tion.
Earth closets have failed unless with The
most careful supervision The greatest OBJ
lection to them is that they allow refuse
tNatler which is not perfectly harmless TO be
kept III or near d gellDgs, and hence they
should always be placed out of doors if pos
sTble. To remove kitchen vase provide a
grease trap on the kitchen sink and allow
the 1aid to discharge into separate cess
pool constructed of tight hagshead sunk
in the ground, which can be emptied at in
tervals by hand pump or odorless excavat-
ing apparatus, and then disinfected with
copperas or sulphur. Rain water leaders
should never be allowed to empty on the
ground, but should each have theft separate
drain.
Cellars should have ample ventilation, es-
pecially if used to store vegetables. A far
mer WHO would be Mortified at the idea Of
having rotten meat in his cellar will keep
decomp0sed vegetables there all winter with
out hesitation. Cellar windows should be
at opposite sides for better circulation of air.
Brick or stone flooring is not equal to con-
crete or Portland cement. If the cellar is
damp then asphalt must be used. Kitchen
garbage should be removed daily or oftener
If kept about dwellings it should be in closed
vessels, placed out of doors in open closets
or sheds, having thorough circulation of
air in and about them. and frequently white
washed and cleaned A garbage cremator is
good thing and can be had at small cost.
Clean ashes free from garbage NAV be used
for filing purposes, or, il siftei, for earth
closets. Garbage or other refuse should not
be emptied into water closets o. privies. A
priVy should be placed in an L or extension
connected by covered passage-way, so as
to be easy of access in any weather VIM
dows should be placed on either side of the
passage-way for througb-apd through circu-
lation of air, and shut off from the house by
double doors. Indoor appliances should be
provided for women, children and the sick,
and il not too complicated they can be kept
sweet and wholesome. Cesspools should be
thoroughly ventilated and never sealed
tight. The vent pipes should be not less
than four inches, and 10 inches would be
better. They should be cleaned twice q
year.
Houses should be SO arranged that The
main hall will run north and south. so as to
allow the prevalent summer breezes to pass
through the Railways. Living looms should
not be placed at the northern side. Sell CT
the best room tor the nursery, the second
best tor the sltting-room and the third best
for the kitchen. Don't sacrifice all three to
tue parlor, as is the common American her.
esy. Never sleep in basement rooms il it
can be avoided, but get as far above ground
as possible. Nevertheless, attic aud garrett
rooms next to the roof, unless lighted BY
windows at either end, are not desirable for
sleeping purposes. Store-rooms aud closets
for clothing should be occasionally aired and
few holes in the top and bottom of doors,
which may be covered with fine muslin to
exclude aust. This may also be done with
doors OF wash-basins and the fronts of wa
ter-closets. Bed-curtains are no longer in
general use, though once Indispensable in
bedrooms without fires or stoves. But The
evils of lambreqUins and curtains need to be
better understood. They obstruct the cir
culation of air and exclude sunlight, and
they should be used in moderation.
ALLOW no house Stops to be thrown on the
ground near houses, as it creates damp.
clamp houses are always unhealthy, appar-
entity from the lowering of warmth, giving
rise to catarrhal and rheumatic affections
and perhaps to increase decomposition of or.
ganic substances from the constant excess of
moisture" If the subsoll beneath house
is not naturally dry, it should be made SO by
draining. Every house should have eel
lar; the basement floor should not be below
the level of the ground outside. A site ex-
cavated on hillside or steep bank is liable
to be damp and difficult to ventilate. Under
such circumstances a considerable space
should be left between the rear wall and the
bank or hillside. The ground around dwell
ing houses should be paved, tagged or 9TH
erwise protected from soakage. Too much
as it invites damp. "Where the sunlight
cannot come, the doctor must" Evergreen
trees which grow so low that their branches
touch or root themselves in the ground, pre-
vent free circulation of air and invite damp
ness. Roads completely overhung by trees
are seldom dry. The spaces under piazzas