Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-03-08
a COUNTRY FARMHOUSE.
WEY IT'S OCCUPANTS ARE OFTEN
IN BAD HEALTH.
Dr. Lucy NJ. Halls Presentation OF
Present Evils and Suggestions

us TO oan1tury Improvements
DIR. Lucy NJ. Hall, of Brooklyn, read a
highly interesting paper recently on
"Sanitation in the Country" before n
meeting of the New York Academy Of
Anthropology. We quote from the
Times account:
The lecturer began by graphically de-
scribinS typical country house. sur
rounded with dense shade trees that
produce gloom and mold; with the best
parlor always shut up closely lest the
carpet should be faded by the sunshine
or the furniture spcckcd by fly; with
small, ill-ventilatcd bedrooms either in
the middle of the house or on the cold
and dark northern exposure; with the
well in the house or very near to it;
with the outhouses joining the main
building or in close proximity to it;
with u cellar unccmcntcd, damp, and
often wet; with the kitchen garbage
thrown near the -windowcd bed
room, which was the family sleeping
apartment, and contained ut 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 10 make
change or that their discomfort and
illness were in any way due to the con-
struct;on and surroundings of their
habitations. They were ignorant of the
rudiments of sanitation and universally
sacrificed their health to save their
carpets. The lecturer had personally
visited and inspected 10 farmhouscs in
New England, the Middle States and
the Western States, and had collected
data from 100 more domicilcs 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, II; Western States. 81.
On loamy soil, New England showed G2
per cent Middle States, 10; Western
states, go. On wet clay, New England,
II; Middle States, G7; Western States,
IL. Too closely shaded dwellings bore
the following proportions New Eng
land, 30 per cent. Middle States, Az;
Western States, IL. The average age of
the houses visited was ~ wears in New
England, 10 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. 90 per cent.
on the ground floor; Western States, s
per cent. on the ground floor or sleep,
ing rooms not warmed in the winter,
New England showed - per cent. Mid
die States, II; Western States, 10. Of
houses with shut-up "bcst" paror and
general darkness. there was 81 per cent.
in New England; Is in the Middle
States, and 90 in the Western States. OF
damp OF wet ccllers there was 80 per
cent. in New England, - in 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, Ii; Western States, %. The
distance of the well from the barn aver
aged ld4 feet in New England, III feet
in the Middle States, and lis feet in the
Western States. The distance of the
feet in New England, 80 feet in the
States. In New England % per cent.
OF the houses had barns joined to them.
Earth closets were Joined 10 ~ per cent.
of New England houses. ii per cent. of
those in the Middle States, and 80 per
cent. OF those in the Western States.
There was - per cent. of New England
houses without vault or vcntilating Shaft,
II per cent. i'll the Middle States, 81 per
cent. of the Western States. Stops
thrown from back door showed "a per
cent. in New England, 40 in tie Middle
States. 26 in the Western States.
OF the diseases existing i'll these
abodes, rheumatism was first in preva-
lcncc, lung affections Especially phth-
isis second, aiphtheria third, typhoid
fever fourth, and bowel troubles fifth.
The geographical percentages were as
follows: Rheumatism-10 per cent. in
New England, ST in the Middle States,
80 in the Western States; lung troubles
93 per cent in New England, 76 in the
Middle States, 90 in the Western States:
diphthcria-93 per cent. in New Eng
land, 40 in the Middle States, 10 in the
Western States; typhoid fevcr-j5 per
cent. in New England, 8 in the Middle
States, 27 in the Western States; bowel
allections-50 per cent. in New England,
33 in the Middle States, and in the
Western States. Besides these diseases
there was an abundance of malaria in all
the various forms of mclancholia, heart
disease, nervous debility, kidney
troubles, throat affections, etc
The lecturer declared that the average
country housewife was afflicted with
mania to keep out sunlight. The pale
and ailing women among the well-to- 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 -chested
sons. She showed by diagrams of ex-
isting houses the general unhealthiness
Of the prevalent system of building in
the country. and declared that the
average city house was far healthier than
that of the country. The wins clad,
shade embowercd 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 built
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 outbuiId-
ing, remotely situated; with bedrooms