The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1889-02-14
A COUNTRY FARMHOUSE.
WHY IT'S OCCUPANTS ARE OFTEN
In BAD HEALTH.
DR.. Lucy NJ. Halls Presentation OF
Present Evils sand Suggestions

as TO sanitary improvements
DR.. Lucy NJ. Hall, of Brooklyn, read a
highly interesting paper recently on
"Sanitation in the Country" before q
meeting of the New York Academy OF
Anthropology.g We quote from the
Times account:
The lecturer began by graphically.de-
scribing typical country house, sur.
rounded with dense shade trees thas
produce gloom and mold; with the best
parlor always shut up closely lest the
carpet should. be faded by the sunshine
or the furniture specked by fly; with
small, ill.ventilated bedrooms either IN
the middle of the house or on tho cold
and dark northern exposure; with the
we'll in the house or very near to 1t;
with the outhouses joining the main
building or in close proximity to it;
with cellar uncemented, damp, aud
often wet; with the kitchen garbage
thrown near the one-windowed bed
room, which was the family sleeping
apartment, and contained at night the
father, the mother, and the small children.
The occupants of such houses unlver.
sally complain of illness, from the head
of the family to the youngest member.
They were all ailing and yet it never
occurred to any of them to make
change or that their discomfort and
illness were in any way due to the con-
struction and surroundings of their
habtations. They were ignorant OF the
rudiments of sanitation and universally
sacrificed their health to save their
carpets. The lecturer had personally
visited and inspected 65 farmhouses in
New England, the Middle States and
the Western States, and had collected
data from 100 more domic!les in the
same localities. From the statistics thus
CLEANED she had prepared the following
instructive table of percentages:
In New England the percentage OF
houses erected upor sandy soil was u;
Middle States, IA; Western States. 81.
On loamy soil, New England showed "
per cent. Middle States, ~; Western
States, 60. On wet clay, New England,
IL; Middle States, 81; Western states,
13. Too losely-shaded dwellings bore
the following proportions: New Eng.
land, so per cent. Middle States, a.;
Western States, 62. The average ageof
the houses visited was 40 years in New
England, 40 years in the Middle States,
and 10 years in the Western States. The
situation of the sleeping apartments was
as follows: New England, all on the
ground floor; Middle States, % per cent
on the ground floor; Western States, 81
per cent. on the ground floor. or sleep,
ing rooms not warmed in the winter,
New England showed 72 percent. Mid
die States, "a; Western States, ~. ct
houses with shut-up "best' paror and
general darkness. there was So per cent.
in New England GS in the Middle
States, and 90 in the Western States. Of
damp OF wet cellers there was 10 per
cent. in New England, iI5 III the Middle
States, and so in the Western States. In
half these cases the cellar did not extend
under the entire house.
Of houses with wells in them New
England showed Is per cent; Middle
States, IA; Western States, %. The
distance of the well from the barn aver.
aged 464 feet III New England, III feet
in the Middle States, and llS feet in the
Western States. The distance of the
we'll from the earth closet averaged 2Si
feet in New England, 33 feet in the.
Middle States, aud GG! feet in the Western
States. In New England 81 per cent.
= of the houses had barns joined 70 them.
Earth closets were joined to 80 per cent.
of New England houses. IA per cent. of
those in the Middle States, and ~ per
cent. of those in the Western States.
There was Y per cent. of New England
houses without vault or ventilating shaft,
IA per cent. in the Middle States, 80 per
cent of the Western States. Stops
thsexaa RI fsqa fNsR Ras Rfnsaad f 46 n tie Middle
States, 2G in the Western States.
Of the diseases existing IN these
sbodes. rheumatism was first in preva-
lence, lung affections Especially phth.
isis second, diphtheria third, typhoid
fever fourth, and bowel troubles fifth.
The geographical percentages were as
follows: Rheumatism-10 Eer cent. In
New England, III il the Middle States,
80 in the Western States; lung troubles
% per cent. in New England, 76 IN the
Middle States, G5 in the Western States; !;
diphtheria-y3 per cent. in New Eng.
land, 10 in the Middle States, 10 in the
Western States; typhoid :er-l5 per
cent. in New England, . in the Middle
States, q in the Western States; bowel
afrections-50 per cent. in New England,
33 in the Middle States, and 4 in the
Western States. Besides these diseases
there was an abundance of malaria IN all
the various forms of melanchola, heart
disease, nervous debility, kidney
troubles, throat affections, etc.
The lecturer declared that the average
country housewife was afflicted with q
mama to keep out sunlight. The pale
and ailing women among the Weii-to.d DO
country people exceeded in proportion
those of any other class. These women
take no outdoor exercise of any kind,
and the result was an appalling array OF
pallid daughters and narrow chested
sons. She showed by diagrams OF eX-
isting houses the general unhealthlness
of the prevalent system of building IN
the country, and ec'ared that the
average city house was far healthier than
that of the country. The wins clad,
shade .embowered houses sung of by
poets and raved about by artists were
really the most unhygienic in existence
She suggested as remedy for these
evils that country houses should be Duli'
with large and sunny living rooms, with
shade trees at respectful distance; with
wells safe from the drainage of earth
closets and stables: with all outbu;ld'
ings remotely situated; with bedrooms
on the second floor; with cellars cement
ed and extending under the entire house
with temporary awnings instead of pei,
oanent projecting porches, and with