Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-12-17
HEALTH IN SCHOOLS.


Sanitary Precautions That should be
Adopted by all school-Boards.
It is grand and noble thing that, in
so many of our States the children of
the nation are invited to attend the pub
lie schools free of all expense. But,
surely, it should be an axiom of such q
gratuity that we must assemble the chill
dren in way that will not expose them
to any undue risks of health. With the
most of those who attend the schools,
health is to be the working capital. If
this is imperiled to any great degree, no
ordinary accumulation of knowledge
will compensate for its loss. 1t can not
be concealed that far too little attention
is given to the care of the physical edu-
cation. Besides what this involves in
the training of the child is what it de-
mands in the care Of his surroundings.
We no longer are in doubt as to what
is the model school-room. Its floors
should be of the smoothest and best ma
terial. The wood should be so prepared
as not to absorb deleterious matters,
and the very cracks of the floor, treated
like those of a hospital, so as not
to be the resting places for organic mat
ter. The same rule should apply to
every article of wood and to all wood
without crevices, should permit of the
easiest cleansing, by dry or wet rub
bling. The walls should be of the best
hard finish. The relation between the
walls and the outer Enclosure should be
such that, by means of porous material
or air spaces, there should be no con-
tinuous dampness 1t is now possible
SO to construct the Enclosure that it
free, minute circulation of air through
its material Thus sweet walls protect
from draught, and yet admit valuable
quantities of pure air. The next thing
to be thought of is how to secure
prevalence of pure air in the school
room. To do this we must see to it
that we minimize the sources of foul or
incompetent air, and that we secure an
incoming of such pure air, as will COM
pensate for the necessary deterioration.
All the details of cleanliness, as applied
in the school-room, serve to dimin-
ish dust and those putrescible Or
ganic matters which are wont to float in
the air and to reduce its quality. In
heating, we are to remember that, be-
sides the burning up of oxygen which is
accomplished by all systems which heat
the air of the room only, we are not
only impoverishing the air, but too often
adding various gases which are I'M
friendly to perfect respiration. In
lighting, we are to remember that, I'M
less it be the electric light, we are also
consuming the oxygen of the air, and
must see to it that this is not done to an
undue extent, and especially that our
kerosene and gas does not add to the air
some deleterious substance. Imperfect
combustion will of itself do this. AS the
presence of each person involves the re-
moval from the air of about five per
centum of its oxygen, and the addition
in its place of nearly the same quantity
of carbonic acid, and as with it there is
the Transportation or exhalation of thirty
grains or more of highly putrescible or
ganic matter, we are diligently to inquire
how all this can be neutralized or quickly
and harmlessly removed. This can only
be done by adjusting the size of the room
and the modes for the introduction of
pure air to the number of persons in the
room, SO that a sufficient supply can be
furnished without undue draught We
derive our estimate of the amount of air
needed by considering how much air
passes through lung at each inspira-
ion, or in from sixteen to twenty in
'pirations per minute, and how far the
impairment of the air is
affected by it. We also have to give con-
'ideration to the fact that something de-
Ponds upon the relation of position
which one person bears to another, and
20 the proportion this floor space bears
20 the general area of the room. Even
with these-as location, health and
cleanliness of persons, modes of heating,
state of atmosphere, etc., have SO much
% do with the circulation of air-we
nave to test results by the other
'esults of experience of the
senses, and by actual chemical
ests of the amount of carbonic
acid and other material found. The
n the estimate for schools, not less |
han two hundred and fifty cubic feet of
space should be allowed to each per-
'on, of which at least twelve square |
eet is represented in floor space, the /
ceilings not being reckoned higher than
welve feet. The supply of air neces-
dl W hCcp tilIo III d pure COuulGlOIl,
md yet to prevent draught being felt
n its admission, must not be less than
me thousand five hundred cubic feet.
t is easy to see how far short most
chools come of this requisition. If,
n any particular case, any school
,oard claims that in the school
building such an allowance is unnec-
'ssary, they should be able to show
hat the Angus Smith carbonic acid test
howed the amount of carbonic
lcid present to be ordinarily with
n limits, and that the Their
nometer, the hygrometer and the
test showed satisfactory
ecord. This rule is: "Keep the room
o that the air contained in a ten-and-a-
lalf-ounce bottle of room air shows no
,recipitate when shaken with a half
'unce of fresh clear lime water" Too
'ften another evidence of the foulness of
he air is afforded by sluggish or irri-
able minds, by coughs and colds and
everishness, and that general state of
which does so much
o demoralize some schools and to di-
ninish the ability for intellectual ac-
uirement. Other effects are too often
pparent in headaches, pale faces and
Vant of that vigorous expression of
ealthy happy boyhood and girlhood
Without which the mind has a casket