The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-12

Nmch more than gold, which don't cost
nuthin,
Worth more than anything exsep the Sole
of Man,
j meme peWer Are"
Every man and woman who is in nor
NAL condition breathes at least sixteen
times minute, and takes in nearly a
pint of air at each breath, or about two
gallons every minute, or 1870 gallons every
hour and ESQ gallons every day of TWEEN
ty-iour hours. Unless a person breathcs
this amount of air he or she is not physi-
cally strong or in good health; but it is
essential that the amount of air be pure
cir.
A pint of fresh air contains about Is
ounces of nitrogen, 419 ounces of oxygen
gas and .OOS ounce of carbonic acid gas.
The air that we expire is changed in char
acter, for while it still contains the same
amount of nitrogen, it has but 1926 ounces
OF oxygen and "a ounce of carbonic acid
gas. 1t is quite evident, therefore, that
man shut up in a Theoretically sealed
room would soon die, for air that has
been once breathed is poisonous, and the
man IN the closed room would soon suf-
focate himself.
Sanitarians, speaking of a house and its
rooms. refer to the cubic space or cubaee,
meaning thereby the cubic area. and il
has been found that at least 1000 cubic
feet are necessary for health. In a room
OF 500 cubic feet man would exhaust
the air in twelve minutes; in one of only
thirty cubic feet he would exhaust Tho
air in thirty-siX seconds Some means IS
therefore necessary to renew the air; to
elioW Tor the escape of initiated air and
Tor the entrance of fresh air to reuovate
the residual air in tn Groom. This is the
purpose of ventilation.
IN the olden days, when our forefathers
builded strongly, but not always with
close joints, more or less air entered the
rooms through the chinks and crannies,
and the wide-mouthed chimney furnished
a place OF exit. The house was uninten-
uonally ventilated. AS building has ad-
Vanced in precision, ventilation has been
cut OIL although a very small amount #
air passes through the pores of the build
Ing material, more so through wood than
brick or stone. Hence the subject of
Nehtlators has engrossed the attention
of sanitary engineers.
Naturally the best mode of getting fresh
cir into a room or house is to open the
doors and windows to their full extent
but that creates a miniature whirlwind
or cyclone within, and unless the room
Is temporarily unOccupied it is an i'm
possible method on account of the
draughts. Opening the window slightly
at the bottom is also Objectionable, be-
cause while hot air rises to the top Of
the room, cold air enters at the bottom
and chills the feet and legs.
ventilation even by the open window
method demands several things if it is
TO be effectual. One of these is an open
staircase with a ventilator at the top for
this acts as a chimney or fue up which
Vluated and oVerheated air ascends and
escapes, dragging in cold air to take it's
place, for it is good deal like rope
you can pull it but you can't push it,
But if the stair wall is closed at the
top the heated and Initiated air collects
at the top and the whole wall is
filed with foul air that soon fills the
looms. This may be overcome in
part if there is no ventilator by
opening window in the attic at least
night and morning. Then by opening the
bedroom windows in the morning and
leaving the doors open the fresh air is
drawn in and the foul air escapes by the
staircase. It's like a robber and murderer,
this foul air, but instead of putting it
out of the door, you simply make it go
out at the roof.
During the day, in the living rooms Of
the house there is more or less acct
dental ventilation, but at night when we
need fully as much air we usually go to
the opposite extreme; we shut the win
doWs tight and perhaps have weather
strips to still further seal them and shut
and when We rise in the morning we feel
unrefreshed by sleep; the head aches: the
mouth tastes bad, and there is a sense
of languCr far different from the sense of
buoyancy that one should feel after a
nights rest. We have in reality been
poisoning ourselves. Normally there are
about four parts of carbonic acid gas
in 10000 parts of air, and when the
proportion reaches six parts in 10000 the
air becomes foul and noxious Hence,
when il becomes saturated with our
breath, the air in a room is foul and
injurious, and it is only a question of
time ere death results. In other words, a
man might commit suicide by tightly
closing every crack and hole where air
might enter a room, and then remaining
in it until he had exhausted the air of
its vital constituents, while with every
breath he adds an absolute poison.
Even in jails and prisons a certain vital
cubical space is planned for every in,
mate, say at least 500 cubic feet, or a
floor space of about twenty-five square
feet. In soldiers barracks there is al
lowed floor space Of eighty square
feet, and the average floor space to an
individual in dwelling house should be
at least fifty square feet. A room inhab-
tied by two persons should have a floor
space of at least 10 square feet; that is.
it should be 10 by 10 feet, and at least
compatible With goood ventilation, and
as the floor space increases, so should
the height of the room.
Every room should have its air changed
several times in an hour and for everv
person in the room there should be an
airhole having the diameter of a gallon
MEASURE or its equivalent area allowing
the entrance Of fresh air at the rate Of
two feet a second, or 1000 feet an hour
ana for every inlet there should be an
outlet of equal size. And those inIets
and outlets must be properly placed that
no draught may result and that the air
may be renovated throughout the whole
extent of the room.
No complicated or expensive ventilators
are needed for this purpose. Have
board three inches wide and as long az
the width of the window sash. Omen
the lower sash, put the board on the Sill
and shut the window down upon it, Air
Will then enter at the middle of The win
dow and be diverted toward the ton o+
the room, thus avoiding drafts upon the
occupants Of the room and directing the
current OF air in the best way to set nm
circulation of air Keep this in the
window all the time, especially in the bed
room window at night. l know this win
shock some people who believe that
night air Is death-bearing in its breath
put II is really just as good as any other
Ifesh air, only perhaps it may have a
httle more moisture; but it can never
be so pad breath as that of the indi-
Nlduai sleeping in closed room
II you object to the board, fasten
strlp OF burlap across the top of the win
COW frame and then lower the upper
sash a few inches and Won will eftefn
the same end but remember that tbic