Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1905-06-22
THE IMPORTANT CELLAR.
This Portion of the Establishment
Should Be Thoroughly Cleaned
and Well Aired.

Nothing about the house and home
is second in Importance to the cellar,
and the we'll from which drinking wa
ter is drawn. Yet how often we see
rooms prettily furnished and as neat as
pin, kitchen and cooking utensils
spick and span, fragrant flower beds
adjoining the front garden, and every
thing else cleanly and beautiful, while
at the rear of the house there are heaps
Of Objectionable debris, such rs decay
Ing. leaves, manure. Stops, ETC., in close
proximity to the family well. And in
the cellars one could probably find cab
bages, potatoes, apples and such things
stored, each with its quota of decaying
matter, productive of bad germs, and
cause of many diseases!
Now this is all wrong, and If you are
ignorant or wilfully negligent, there is
absolutely no excuse for you, and you
certainly deserve all that's coming to
you-diphtheria, typhoid, ETC., etc. II
you would retain good health for your
self and family strictly adhere to this
simple rule: Nothing foul smelling or
decaying must be kept in a cellar or left
anywhere near a we'll.
If, because you have absolutely no
other place, you are obliged to store
Sarm products in the cellar, have dry
bins, with wooden floors of stats, raised
4 foot or more from the ground, so as to
admit of the free circulation Of air. The
walls of the bins should also be Slated
and the contents of the bins frequently
sorted, and every bit showing incipient
decay Immediately removed.
Dampness in the cellar is another
prevalent evil in many of our country
dwellings. This could have been pre-
vented in the first place by having the
walls and floors properly built and
coated with thick layer of plaster, To
remedy the damp condition, put at least
q bushel of unslaked lime in one corner
Of the cellar-on the earth, not in the
bin, as it generates heat If slaked rapid
ly, and has been known to cause fire
when confined in wooden receptacle
The lime will absorb the moisture and
keep the air of the cellar dry. Charcoal
hung up in wire bag is also good abb
sorber of gases and dampness, but must
be changed at intervals and cleaned by
boiling or heating in a very hot oven.
The proper ventilation of the cellar
Is Of the greatest Importance. How
often we see the windows of the cellar
blocked up with chaps of cornstalks or
manure, every particle Of fresh air shut
out, not q ray of daylight allowed to
penetrate the place where eatables are
kept, especially milk, cream, butter, ETC.,
that are so highly absorbent of disease
germs!
Provide your cellar with wire screens,
and have the windows hinged. Open
these and thoroughly ventilate the eel
lar every day Keep the butter in a
closed crock, and cover the milk pans
with thick, close-grained muslin, which
should be scalded frequently.
Then remember the coal bin. 1t
should have been thoroughly cleaned
before putting in the coal, and it is
best to have it in tightly boarded place
off from the main cellar. Coal gives off
gases, and being generally went when
put away, is prolific source of damp
ness.
Our ancestors believed in the virtues
of whitewash, and how cheerful is cell
lar with it's walls and woodwork bright
ened and sweetened with a generous
coating of this cheap and healthful sub
stance With all our modern ideas OF
sanitation, we can yet learn few les
sons from the past.-Farm and Home.