Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1889-01-30

can only NC SATISFIED Dy putting IOftf
conscious effort.
A man may be hungry, but if III
is too lazy to seek out food and rails,
it to his mouth he will starve. Blu
it is not so with oxygen. We bav,
the power, it is true, temporarily t.
stop our breathing or to increase it.
rapidity by an act of will but ever
when we forget all about it the breath
ing continues. This is one of tn,
many mysteries of our being, always
before us, but seldom thought of, and
yet il is very striking. This frequent
and important act of our daily life
has not been intrusted to our care
but has been so arranged for that il
is performed every three or -four
seconds from the moment Of birth
until death without requiring one
thought from US. The breathing ap.
paratus never sleeps. Again, oxygen
is so closely connected with the great
vital processes upon which our growth
and daily energy depend, that food
itself is useless unless accompanied
by a large supply Of it. Indeed
when the quantity of oxygen which a
man consumes in his lungs daily is
calculated, it is found to be greater
in weight than all the dry food he re-
quires during the same period. Yet
again, if we wish house and clothing
and food we must work for them, but
for oxygen there is nothing to pay.
1t is free to all and lies around us in
such abundance that it never runs
short. Here, then, we see every
means taken to insure that our de-
mands for oxygen shall be freely and
full met, and yet we are assured by
medical authorities that very large
proportion-some say one-fourth-of
all the. deaths that take place is
caused, directly or indirectly, by oxy-
gen starvation.
Now, what unfortunate circum-
stances prevent so many persons hav-
ing sufficiency of this all important
gas? The chief one undoubtedly is
congregating in towns, instead Of liv.
ing in the country, where every house
hold might have a large free space of
air around it, we draw together, for
the convenience of business, to great
centers. There the houses are crowd
ed closely together, often piled one on
the top of the other, so that, instead
of an overabundance, there is only
limited quantity Of air for each.
This is made unfit for the support of
life by the very act of breathing the
impurities are increased by the waste
products of manufactures and oxy-
gen is destroyed by every fire and
lamp or gas light. The winds and
certain properties Of the atmosphere
constantly remove much of the i'm
pure air and bring in pure supply );
but the crowding together in many
parts Of town is so great, and the
production of poisonous matter goes
on so continuously, that instead of
each breath containing its full pro-
portion Of oxygen, the place of that
gas is taken up to some extent by
what il actually hurtful to life.
When this is the condition of the at
mosphere outside the dwelling, it is
necessarily much worse within it, for
there the displacement Of impure air
by pure cannot take place so rapidly.
The consequences are already stated.
Large parts of our town populations
never have sufficient oxygen their
lives are feeble and full of suffering,
and numbers die before their time.
Such facts are painful to contemplate,
but knowledge of them puts the
wise man on his guard, and he may
do much for himself. In the choice
Of a house he will remember the adj
vantage of a great air space around
it, and Of plenty Of space witkin it,
so that bed rooms may not be over
crowded. Or, if large house is
beyond his means, he will take care
that the rooms are not crowded with
furniture, for every piece of furniture
excludes an equal hulk of air. When
he enters the house he will see that
at all times Us much fresh air from
the outside is admitted. by means of
open doors and windows, as can be
without inconvenience from
cold and rs often as possible he will
have blow through, 10 clear out odd
corners where foul air may linger.
Pure air aud good food make pure
blood, and only pure blood will give
l. ii