National Republican., 1884-06-14
AIR FIT TO BREATHE.
The Scientists Say That II Must be Taken
from Above,
And That the Ground AIR is Poisonous
Rnd Brings Death.

resulting from want OF the proper sanitary
provisions, constitutes tho highest mission of
tho architect. To him all matters are in
trusted which pertain to comfort, con-
venience, and healthfulness Of the structure;
it therefore becomes his paramount duty TO
inform himself of tho advancements Of science
in this line, so that ho may speedily correct
established errors Of the past and suggest
means for their avoidance in the future, and
thus secure the greatest benefits to mankind.
To accomplish this object no must first
acquaint the people with tho existence of
such advaucoments, their nature, and tho
principles upon which thoy are based, rs also
tho Importance of their observances for the
preservation of health aud life and, further
ho must suggest some practical modes of
applying them to our uses. This done, econ
omy of time and labor come to the front for
consideration.
The value of an advanced theory in hygiene
depends not only upon its effectiveness,
simplicity, and cheapness, but largely upon
its applicability to practical and beneficial
uses. There can be no doubt Of the correct
ness of the theory that ground air has q
detrimental and even a fatal effect upon
human health and life, and that this air
impregnated with organisms, noxious gases,
and disease germs, Is sucked up by the higher
temperature in the house over it, and that
this ground air becomes, in this manner, tho
air of the house. Under these circumstances
it must be obvious that the retention of this
ground air in subcellar of three or four
feet dopth especially provided for that pur-
pose, will eiiectually prevent it from pormeat-
ing the house above. This subcellar will be
provided with aspirating hues In the walls,
which will exhaust and carry this ground air
out Of the house. Being located between tho
soil and the basement floor and pro-
vided with aspirating flues, it will
act as an dir chamber and
render the suction of tho house upon tho soil
absolutely nugatory. This subcellar will also
afford an excellent opportunity for locating
the main waste, water, and gas pipes, which
are now buried in the ground out Of sight, in
manner to be seen by and accessible to the
plumber in cases of needed repairs or replace
ments.
This arrangement will work constantly and
automatically, and its cost is limited to three
or four feet of excavation, three or four feet
of walls, and to the construction of necessary
hues, and it will effectually prevent tho
ground air from pormcating our houses.
DIR. Vogt says: The air is most infected
with the germs of disease, when through
increase or docreaso,of atmospheric pressure,
according to the laws Of physics, the ground
air passes from the soil into the atmospheric
air, which occurs particularly during the fall
of the barometer This condition is most
favorable to typhus fever."
DIR. Fodor. in his last work on "Luft, Boden,
und Wasser" (alr, soil, and water) gives
| exhaustive proofs that this ground air enters
our abodes; that it nuctuates during the
seasons oftho year; that the difference in tho
| temperature between the in and outside airs
determines the quality which onters our
abodes, and that the same natural forces
| which bring IL from the depths to the surface
of the soil also drive it into our houses,
especially into tho Easements.
| DIR. Pettenkofor says in the winter, spring.
and autumn months, and during the nights
even in summer, tho air in our houses Is
warmer than that contained in the soil be-
meath. Tho house acts like suction pump
| in such cases, sucking up the air within tho
soil, and with it tho poisonous gasses and
germs with which it is infested. An explana-
tion of the great prevalence in cities of epi-
demic diseases, such as diphthera and scarlet
fever, during the winter months, when the
purity of the air is supposed to be greatest. is
furnished by this simple induction.
At the last international sanitary congress,
| held in Geneva, Switzerland, a few months
ago, one of the subjects discussed with great
fulness of detail was the ventilation Of
dwelling houses and public buildings, par
| ticularly in large cities, whore it is noJ
sufficient for tho purposes of health that
external air should be fully introduced into
living and sleeping rooms, but the upper
strata of the atmosphere must be tapped for
that purpose, rs the strata near and upon the
surface are constantly loaded with matter
that should not be admitted into tho lungs.
In large and densely populated cities, like
New York, Paris, London, Vienna &C., it is
u common remark of medical men that the
basement and parlor floors should never be
used Us sleeping rooms. One reason of this
is that the gases and moisture which. during
| the day, under the influence of the sun.
ascend to u considerable height, descend to
| the surface during tho night; SO that az high
| gnRpnH nImngnharA
in great city, in tho night time may
be said to be saturated with unwhole.
| some gases, moisture, finely divided
particles Of effete matter and other products
that, taken together, constitute what is
known and dreaded undor tho name of
malaria. This bad mir (malaria) is found in
every human settlement on the globe. Tho
extent of its manifestation depends upon the
nature of the soil and accessibility of water,
| tho habits of cleanliness of the people, the
density of tho population, and upon the
location in regard to altitude. Mys-
terious as the term malaria looks
in its native Italian, as invented
by the great Laucisi, to represent the
unwholesome emanations of tho Roman
marshes, it really means nothing more than
bad air, and was never intended by its
inventor to represent the entity of disease
which has lately become associated with it.
DIR. Wales, eX-surgeon general, United
/ otdtSo navy uppOlhNuu u pOdIu VI bClcullhl5,
composed of Medical Director j. NJ. Brown,
Surgeon |. H. Riddor, and Passed Assistant
| Surgeon s. III, Grittiths, to examine tho site
for the new naval observatory near Wash
| ington ID. o., with regard to its sanitary us
poets. Tho report of these gentlemen il
| very exhaustive, and shows conclusively that
| the existence of offensive gases or deleterious
| organisms which emanate from tho soil,
| is well known to them, rs well as the fact
| that the occasional occurrence of epidemiCs is
attributed to them.
tended observations have been made by the
board upon the composition of tho ground
air--a department of sanitary surveys which
has not received great deal of attention
hitherto. Whenever water does not stand as
ground water, tho interstices of the soil are
occupied by air, and as the ground water rises
this air is forced up into cellars and base
ments, and becomes, by aspiration into tho
warmer parts above the air OF our houses.
SHOULD the soil contain tracts impreg-
mated with deCompOsing organic matter
covered over by innocuous earth, as is tho
case often in made lands, air charged with
offensive gases or deletorious organisms is
likely to be forced up in this way from con-
siderable depth, and may account for the
occasional occurrence of epidemics, which
cannot otherwise be explained"
From all this 1t must be obvious that the
whole class of poisons, contagious, miasms
fumes, smells, aud polluting vapors which
deteriorate the air, or render IL dangerous to
health and uncomfortable to respire origi-