St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1891-04-11
HoT.eArH STOVES.

ne Japanese Get Warm n fuhe-Thelu
Fear - Fresh Am Makes Them Saall.
II IL universally admitted by foreign
visitors that the Japanese are the most
truly courteous and kindly people in the
world, and that whereas the insinuat-
ing politeness of Frenchmen and Span
iar1s is often mere surface polish, that
lof the japanese springs from true kind
illness Of disposition, which shows itself
constantly in their bearing toward eaeh
other, and still more toward foreignerA
A recent traveller relates this incident:
Zone day, while at Otaru. in Yezo,
went with . friend Just outside the town
limits to take bath in the sea. There
was no sandy beach. but the shore
was rocky, and some workmcn were
digging away the hillside to make
room for more houses. When we had
had our swim and returned TO our
clothes we found thst these worlemen
had spread . clean new mat over the
rocks 20 that We might have place 70
dress comfortably" In what other
,ountry would such an act of gratui-
tous courtesy enter the minds Of com
mon worlmen? nt.5T rf<
There are certain things in and about
japanese houses which can not be SUM-
ciently commended, such as the invsria-
bic cleanliness not only within, where
no shoe is ever allowed to soil the
matted floor, but without where the
police enforce . daily sweeping Of the
street; the tasteful screens and floral
ornaments, painted or real, in tho
rooms; and, especially the lovely little
backyard gardens, with ponds, fishes,
bridges, trees and flowers, that present
such . delightful contrast to our own
iingy, ugly back yards But in other
respects they are q delusion and snare,
because they promise shelter from the
weather and comforts which they do
not yield. s
There are no stoves or fireplaces to
Try your clothes ON the 40 rainy days
each year, or TO get warm on the nu-
merous cold days and chilly eveningA
On such occasions the inha abitants crowd
around q miserable little firebox in the
senter Of the room filed with glowing
charcoal, that roasts their hands and
!eet (while the rest Of the body is frees-
ng) and fills the air with poisonous gas.
Sometimes quilt il fastened to pole
md spread around the group like tent
% keep the warmth in; and it is . sober
sact that one reason why the japanese
;ake 80 many hot baths, sometimes four
" ave . day, is because that is the only
way they can get comfortably warm all
Sver
japanese houses afford no comfort in
winter. For summer use they are bet
,er adapted, with their sliding lattice
'ramed screens Of translucent paper,
which can be bodily removed, so that
.wO sides of the house are completely
to the air. But the benefits
;hus derived from this arrangement in
he daytime are completely neutral
zed BY the absurd custom of hermet-
cally scaling up the houses at night BY
means of the thick wooden amados or
9uter sliding doors.
These are put into place at eleven
o'clock p. m. with . most Internal noise,
which wakes every sleeper in the house,
ng 1t four o'clock, when they are put
lway again. But this noise is not the
worst part of il. There are no windows
n these sliding doors, SO that not . |
breath Of air gets into the room on hot,
'ultry nights Nor is this the worst
ret.
A nalodorous oil lamp Is kept burn
ng all night in each small room, and
n cold weather . charcoal frebox. both
Il which poison the unrcnovatcd air.
And In such . poisoned room from |
:wo to six and even ten japanese will
pend the night No wonder they are
% small and many 80 delicate.-N. Y.
Journal. sf.- ~F