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HE A L TH H OM E .

A . H. GUEENSEX,

AND

IRENZEUS P. DA VIS,M. D. ,

AUTHOR OF HYGIENE FOR GIRLS.

NEW YOR"

D . A PPL E T O N A ND CO MP A NY,

1, 3 , A N D 5 B OND S T R EE T .

1 884.

C O N T E N T S .

PA GE

I.—HOME SURROUNDINGS

II. -PRIVIES A ND WATER-CL OSETSIII.—THE HOUSE ITSELF

IV.—THE A IR WE BREATHE

V.—THE WATER WE DRIN"

VI. -TIIE FOOD WE EA TVIL—L IGHTING AND WA RMING

VIII.—DISINFECTANTSIX .—THE BEDROOMS

X .—TIIE CLOTHING WE WEAR

X L—PERSONAL HAB ITSX II.—HOUSEHOLD PRACTICEX III.

—POISONS A ND A NTIDOTESX IV.

—A OOIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES

HEA L TH A T HOME .

HOME SURROUNDINGS.

THE h ab itu al condition of a h om e should be one ofhealth

,and to secure this it is quite as necessary that a

due care be had for its surroundings as that the buildingbe properly h e at ed and ventilated, and its inmates supplied

With su itable food and clothing, accustomed to correct personal habits

,and skillfully treated in case of sickness or

accident.By the surroundings of a home’ are meant all th at per

tains to it lying Without the b u ilding itself. Th e homes ofWhich we speak may be divided into three general classes,Which of ne cessity vary materially in the character of theirsurroundings.I. COUNTRY HOMES.

—In this class the builder is presum ed to have a considerable quantity of land

,so that he

h as a Wide choice in the selection of a site,as well as in the

arrangement of all his immediate surroundings. He mustdo almost everything for himself

,and m ay do it as he

pleases, Without much regard for his neighbors . But, ifthey can not essentially discommode him

,they can do very

little to aid h im . He must, for example, find his own

6 HEALTH AT HOME.

Spring, or dig his own well , build hi s own cistern, an d

make his own system of dra ins. If the water for dome sticpurpose s must be obtained from a natural spring

, th e sele ction of a site for the house, and all the arrangem ents ofthe homeste ad, will be in no sm all me asure shaped by this.Th e spring should b e on a higher level than the outlet ofany drain leadin g from the hou se or barn. If possible

,i t

should be on a higher leve l than the foundation of e itherhouse or barn, to avo id

/th e chance of organic m atter from

the se places percol ating through the soil into it, though , toplace a house on low or marshy ground in order t o cfi ectthis

,is to incur one evil in avoiding another.

Th e natur al drainage of the ground, always an important feature in th e surroundings of a home

,is m ore im

portant in connection with a country home than with an yothe r, because, while much can b e done by ar tificial drainage , any system adequate to supply a natural lack in thisparticular must be more extensive than usually come sWithin the means of th e indi vidual householde r. Naturaldrainage depends chiefly on the slope o f th e surface andthe characte r of the subsoil. Th e most desirable subsoilon this account is a porous one

,as sand or gravel— such a

subsoil as farmers call “l eachy .

” Th e worst is clay.

For farming purposes the relative desirability of thesediff erent soils is nearly reve rsed, so that it often happensthat the spot chosen above all f o r its fe rtility is th e veryworst in point of he alth . It seems as if the ' primal cursehad not only sowed the fertile fields wi th thorns and thistles, but h ad also shadowed with sickness the homes of thetillers of those fie lds in proportion to the ir fertility. Th e

sterile hills of New En gland ar e in general more healthfulthan the fertile valleys of the Middle States, the savannasof the South

,or th e prairie s of the We st.

Commencin g in middle New Jersey, and extendingsouthward near the A tlantic coast

,is an extensive tract

HOME SURROUNDINGS. 7

commonly known as Th e Pines, on account of the timb e r by which it is mainly covered. Th e inhabitants ofthis region, who try to live by farm In g, are wretchedlypoor, and the ir dome stic an imals ar e small, thin, and hungry- looking, but th e region is notably healthful. This factis often attributed to the exhalations from the pine-tree s,and possib ly with some reason, though it is noteworthythat the land, while most of it is low and level, and muchof it swampy, is nearly all sand or gravel. He re and thereare small spo ts having a clay subsoil, and on these

‘ malarialdisorders abound, from which the surrounding districts arecomparatively fre e .

Th e best site is a hillside,with a southern or a western

exposure, rather than a northern or an eastern one. Th e

hill- sid e , beside s othe r advantages, furnishe s facilities forcarrying o ff th e dra inage of the house an d its app u r te

nances. It would seem hardly necessary to say that barnsand other out-buildings, cattle-yards, e tc, should always bea little down the hill from the house, were it not for thefact that these are sometimes seen on the higher part ofthe premises.Supposing, however, that the location is already chosen,

and the house and principal out-buildings are erected, thereare many circum stances relating to the surroundings thatrequire attention.

A n excellent suggestion relative to a house built on ahill- side is made in Building a Home,

” one of A ppletons’

“Home Books.” It is that a trench should be dug, aboutten or fifteen feet above the house, four feet wide, and deepenough to b e lower than the cellar-bottom . It should beabout twice th e length of th e house, so that its ends mayproject some distance beyond the line of th e wall of thehouse on e ach side

,and it should run obliquely down the

hill,so that its lowe r e n d will reach a point as low as the

upper wall of the house . This trench is to be filled with

8 HEALTH AT HOME.

roun d or broken stones, the larger ones at the bottom. It

may then b e covered over. Its u se is to prevent an y drainage from the upper part of the hill from reaching th efoundation of th e house . If the soil in which the trenchis dug is sandy or gravelly, and free from Springs or streamsof water

,it will answer its purpose tolerably without any

outlet,as the water that collects in it will percolate through

the porous soil beneath th e cellar-bottom. If, however, thesoil is clayey or we t, it will be necessary to make a su fficient drain from the lower end of the trench to conduct o ffthe water

,an d discharge it at some point below the house .

Th e latte r precaution is a very im portant one, whateverthe natur e of th e soil, if there is above the house anotherhouse

,a barn

,or any other source of drainage more ob jec

t ion ab le than ra in-water.Th e growth of vegetation outside of a house is generally

favorable to h e alth, as in t h e process various noxious materials ar e taken from the air and the soil to form new andhealthful combinations in the plant. Th e decay of vegetation, howeve r, is exceedingly detrimental to health . Forthis reason it is very im portant in the neighborhood ofdwellings to remove accum ulations of fallen leaves

,rank

growths of grass, etc . , before they have time to decay.

It has been very generally supposed that the cause ofmalar ia exists principally in the rapid decay of the rankand succulent vegetation common to swamps . Certain itis that malarial diseases abound on newly-worked soils containing much vege table matter to decay

,and e specially in

Situations Where heat and moisture,the conditions most

favorable to such de cay, exist. Equally certa in is it thatwith th e progress of agricultural industry these disease scommonly diminish ; that, when repeated turnings of thesoil and successive removals of crops have lessened andchanged the accumulated vegetable mold of centuries

,

when the swamps themselves are drained and mowed,and

HOME SURROUNDINOS. 9

even the leaves fallen by the road- side are raked up andcarted away

,in many localities they alm ost or quite d isap

pear.Th e vicinity of streams or othe r small bodie s of water

is sometim e s unhe althfu l, but not always . Th e water initself is advantageous on many accounts, pr ovided i t is notstagnant or loaded with impuritie s. A stagnant pool in theneighborhood o f a house should be drained

,or the house

should be d e serted. T h e danger to he alth from streamsan d ponds not stagnant arise s principally from two causes.On e is th e de caying organic matter com ing from th e var iousdra ins, swam ps, and othe r unde sir able sources that swe ll thevolume of the wate r, or from impuritie s incidentally introd uced into th e ma in stream or pond. T h e other cause isth e occa sional e b b an d flow of th e water upon its banks.The r e is much organic matter in th e mud at the bottom ofnear ly e ve ry pond or considerable stream . This matte r cand o little or no harm while it is cove r ed by running water,but

,on the contrary

,is useful in supplying food to cer tain

fishes and plants,by which means it is gradu ally removed.

If the water recede s, however, an d le aves th is mud exposedto the warm rays of the sun

,decomposition of its organic

matte r is hastened, while th e noxious particles, inste ad o f

furnishing needful food t o plants or fishes, float out intothe air to poison human be ings .A ga in

,if the water overflows its usual boundaries, it

stops the outflow of many natural and - ar t ificial dra ins,forms pools of stagnant water along its borders

,and occa

sions the death and decay of much vegetation.

For these reasons a pond or stream that varies much inheight at different sea sons, especially if it has a muddybottom

,Is far more unsafe than one that remains always

at about the same level. Inde ed, it will sometim es be ade cidedly he althful proceeding to convert a swampy placeinto a p ond by means of a dam,

and thus drown

1 0 HEALTH A T HOME.

A ll th e in fect ion s th a t th e sun su ck s upFr om b ogs, fe n s, flat s .”

It is necessary,however, to be sure that th e water- sup

ply is su fficien t to keep the pond always full and to pr eventstagnation. T h e end sought will be mor e readily attainedif the pond is stocked with fish or water-fowl, or both, asthese will do much in rem oving the organic m atter thatmight otherwise be harmful. Swans are said to be p ecu liar ly useful In this way .

A few trees are d esirable about a house, but too manyare an injury. Many country houses are rendered very u nhealthful by being too much shaded. Th e trees should beso arranged that there may be a free circulation of air aboutth e house, and that the sun may shine d irectly on everypossible part of its exterior for at least an hour at sometime dur ing the day.

II. VILL A GE A ND SUBURBA N HOMES—In this classthe occupant has less space at his control, and must be ruledvery much by what his neighbors have done or have theright of doing. But

,on the

“

other hand, neighbors mayunite to do many things of use to all, but which no one ofthem could do singly. Thus, for example, a group ofneighbors

,acting either for themselves or through municipal

organizations,m ay erect water-works, which, at a cost small

for each member,shall furnish an abundant and un failing

supply of this prime necessity of life .

Th e considerations relative to the surroundings of acountry home are in m any respects applicable to a villagehome. Th e points of similarity are sufficiently obvious,but there are some varying conditions worth notin g.

There is comparatively little choice in the location ofthe house relative to the character of the soil, the slope ofthe surface , or the points of th e compass. In regard to thelast particular

,indeed

, a choice m ay be insisted on if d esired, for there is no absolute necessity that a house shall

HOME S ORROUNDINGS . 1 1

face the street, or even that its walls shall stand parallel

a n d at right angles with the street, an d frequently comfortand he alth will be subserved by a different arrangement.

Ye t it is gene rally found m ost convenient to build a villagehouse with refe rence to th e direction of the street rathe rthan of th e prevailing winds and the sun, in consequenceof which th e arrangement of tree- screens som etimes becomesmore im portant than it would otherwise b e . For this purpose various evergreens are eminently desirable, becausetheir foliage remains through the winter, when it is mostserviceable in protecting from wind. A s shade-tree s, ofdeciduous varieties

,th e se only should be chosen whose

natural home is on dry uplands. Willow, soft maple, an d

some othe r species and varieties that naturally seek we t

pl aces,ar e often prefe rred on account of their rapid growth,

but,if the se stand within fifty feet of any water-reservoir,

such as a we ll or cistern, the ir roots“ are almost certain to

break their way into it sooner or later, in Spite of all precautions. Consequently, one can rare ly plant these about avillage home without d amage to himself or his neighbor.A lthough by associated e n t e rp r 1 se a village m ay be much

better drained than a farm of equa l e xtent is likely to be,yet it often happens that for want of public spirit, or byrea son of natural d iffi culties such as flatness of surface andinsufficiency of water-fall

,th e problem of drainage is gravely

complicated. In such cases the danger from insufficientdrainage is greater than on a farm

,in proportion as the

source s of sewage are multiplied.

When for any reason the re is no adequate system ofdrainage common to the village

,the householder is often

unable to drain his lot at all,because he can not go beyond

it. Occasionally a stream at the foot of the garden mayfurnish him the needed outlet. If the stre am is n o t ofconside rable size and rapid current, howeve r, h e should not,respect to his neighbors

,discharge into it anything more


than the surplus water from the clouds falling upon or flowing thr ough his soil.In such circumstances a cesspool is needed. A cesspool

is—if such a thing may b e—a necessary evil. It is bette rthan the slimy pool in the grass at the end of an opendrain and within sight and scent of the kitchen-windows

,

that forms the only vent for the waste water of too manyhouses. A t least a cesspool may be better than this

,but it

m ay also be Worse .Th e commonest form of cesspool is a bottomless barre l,

buried, with waste-pipe entering it. This is a very im pe rfee t arrangement, and in many cases it be comes a noisomeand poisonous affa ir, pestilential gases fo rming in it andescaping through the waste-pipe into the house

,or t ran su d

ing through the cove ring soil. Such gases ar e formed moreor less in every ce sspool by the de composition of its contents. T o prevent harm fr om this, it is needful that the

ce ssp ool'

b e lined on th e side s and top with cement, or insome other way mad e quite impervious to wate r and gas,that every drain or waste pipe ente r ing it be provid ed withan e fficient trap

,and that it b e ventilated fr om the top. If

the last precaution is neglected, the gas not only becomesmore dangerous by concentration

,but it is liable to be

formed in such quantities that its pressure will di splace theWater in the trap and it will flow through the waste-pipeinto the house . If th ecesspool is made of proper materialsand the traps are good

,sufficient ventilation m ay be had by

means of a wooden or metal pipe running to the top of ahouse or barn

,a flag-staff

,tree

,or any other object that

will support it to a height above the ‘ level of the air ordin ar ily breathed by human be ings. Th e gas, then, as fastas it is formed, r ises through the pipe to th e upper stratumof air, where it is immediately diluted and floats harmlesslyaway.

If for want of own ershi p or an y other reason it is im

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the ground is low and nearly level, and the only outlet fordrainage is the ocean or some other large body of water ,extensive systems of sewerage ar e undertaken, While th efacilit ies for the discharge of sewage are insufficient. T h e

absen ce of current allows the accumulation of sewage in th ewater near th e sewer ’s mou th, to the de triment of th e sur"

rounding a ir , and twice da ily the tide flows in through th esewer

,stopping i ts outlet and forcing its gas into every

house that has connection with it. If a sufficient h ead ofrunn ing wa ter can be obtained to thoroughly flush thesewers at certain hours each d ay , chosen with reference tothe tide s, th e evil can be largely abated, though even thengreat circumspe ction will be ne ce ssary ; an d , if this watercan not be had

,the sewers will be worse than useless

,and

should be voted a public nuisance .T h e more thickly populated such a place is, the greater

Is the danger from this source . Th e means provided bynature for the disposal of waste matters thrown upon ormingled with the soil are insufficient for populous districtstherefore, where these means ar e chiefly to be re lied on forwant of running water or of sufficient fall for drainage

,a

closely-built village can not be a healthfu l one,however

well kept it m ay be. In such circumstances the house tobe chosen should b e as far from others as practicable

,and it

certainly ought not to stand within a hundred feet of an y .

In a village built on a hillside and not fully sewe r ed ordra ined, the houses near th e foot of th e hill are not suitablefor human habitation . If through ignorance or n ecessitysome live there , let those who live above give them sympathy and access to their well s at all times

,and quinine an d

beef- tea when needed .

III. CITY HOMES.— In this class many of the essential

conditions ar e quite diffe rent fr om those that have be enconsidered. Th e closene ss of th e houses to one anotheraffords much protection from wind, and renders th e warm

HOME SURE OUNDINOS . 1 5

ing of the houses much easier and more regular. Moreattention is commonly pa id to dra ining, sewering, an d th eremoval of garbage than in rur al places, and thus thedanger of unwhole some emanations from th e soil is r educedto a minim um . On the other hand, the air of cities isnotoriously impure from the constant addition to it of theproducts of teemin g animal life , an d of many industrie s.In all these respects certainly, different cit ies vary greatly.

In som e there is such neglect of general sanitary e n gine ering that the mortality rate is high, and ce rtain disease swhich are almost or quite unknown in less populous placeshave their permanent or periodical home there . But inother cities, natu rally no better in position, where th e public sanitary arrangements are better, these diseases find noabiding-place

,an d th e general health is as good as, or even

bette r than, amon g the same classes of people in the surrounding country.

Th e mortality tables of a great city like New York orPhiladelphia are not a good test of its healthfulness as aplace of residence, especially if, as in the case of the formercity, it is a principal port of entry for the country at large,or, like either, a railroad center an d wa iting-place for trave l e rs. The se lists are much swe lled by deaths of immigrants and other trave le rs, who do not properly belong tothe city’s population, an d who

,moreove r, necessarily do

not ave rage as high in strength and vitality as people wholive comfortably at home, free from the vicissitudes, ir r egular it ie s, and dangers of travel. Th e varied indu stries an dmechan ical appliances of the city offer m any casualtie s toswell the death-rate , which yet do not affect the healthfulness of a city home. Every added revolution of the wheelsof trade crushe s out some human life . Eve ry new application of steam to mechanism dooms some artisans to violentdeath . Every opening facility for rapid trave l opens tosome souls the gate of eternity. Th e casualties of a city


bear some relation to th e he ight of i ts buildings,for every

foot of increase in the ir ave rage height means a ge ometrica lly in creasing number of the builde rs hurled intothe grave. When to this is added that th e city is the natura l an d final resor t of a multitude of persons whose habitsare vicious and degraded, and most of whom die early inconsequence of these habits, it is re adily se en that the city

’stotal de ath-rate is not a correct basis for an estimate of itshealthfulness as a dwelling-place .

Moreover , cities at all approximating in Size to th e twomentioned ar e large en Ou gh to include districts wide ly diff e r e n t in the ir influence upon health, so that it fre quentlyhappens that while one par t is ve ry unhe althful ano therpart of th e same city is quite the reverse. This is notablytrue of the city of New York. While a residence in someportions of it is very prejudicial to health

,oth er parts ar e

probably as fr ee fr om unwhole some influence s as any of thehealth resorts within fifty mile s of it

,and certainly much

freer than many of them. Th e reasons for this differenceare to be found partly in the degree of att ention paidto the surround ings in diff er ent parts of th e city

,partly

to th e presence or absence in certain ne ighborhoods ofdele terious industries, such as extensive butchering, ragsorting

,certain manufactures and the like, and partly to

d ifl er e nce s in the character and contour of th e ground, for,notwithstanding an y improvem ents that can be made , theoriginal character of a so il still h a s som e influence , and,while ar t can do much for a natur ally bad soil or location,it can do more for a naturally good one .A l l houses built upon newly m ade ground should be

carefully shunn ed,no matter h ow de sirable in other respects.

This ground is “made by filling in some sunken lots, f requently

,if not usually, with th e sweepin gs of the streets

and the mult ifar ious contents of ash-barrels, not only including ashes and cinders, floor -sweepings and various o lf

HOME SURROUNDINGS . 7

scourin gs,but also often containing a dan ge rous amount of

d e composed and decom posin g vege table an d anim al organicmatte r. Th e foul gases generated from these will maketheir way upward into the air. Nothing which m an can do

will prevent them from pene trating into a house built uponsuch ground, poisoning the air of kitchen and parlor, ofdining-room and be d chambe r. No t a few of the most p alat ial mansions among us are from this cause as unhealthyas are the fever-wards of a hospital. Even if the filling inwe r e of clean ashes and wholesome earth, time must elapsebefore the site is fit for a dwelling-house . No structured esigned for human habitation should be begun upon eventhe best “made ground ” within less th an two years afterthe fi l lin g-in h as be en completed.

Wide stre ets an d large yards are conducive to healthbecause they aff ord more circulation of air and more sunlight than narrow stre ets and small yards. Converse ly

,

house s built back to back, or with any similar extremeeconomy of ground- space, are highly objectionable . Sta

t ist ics show that, in tenement-houses many stories in height,diphtheria and many other diseases ar e more common andmore fatal in the lower stor ies than in the upper ones

,and

the se proportions are in regular ratio and constant,so that

the ne arer to the sky one lives the better is his he alth . Th e

causes of th is curious fact are the greater purity of theupper air among these swarming human hives

,and the

greater quantity of sunlight that reaches the upper parts ofthe tall and closely-built houses. In a

' large " degr ee thesame conditions affect the fashionable flat or apartmenthouses. A s a m atter of health the top flats are to be prefe rred, an d the larger the building and the smaller theadjoining yard or court the stronger will be this preference.

PRIVIES A ND WA TER—CLOSETS .

WA TER is undoubtedly the most convenient vehicle forthe removal of excre ta from a dwelli ng, provide d that th econditions adm it of its u se for that purpose. Th e

,

ch ief ofthe se are that there shall be an unfailing supply, de live redfrom a suffi cient head

,and th at there is a river or lake or

the ocean to serve as a receptacle. These condi tions arerare ly to be found except in large cities ; and in some ofthe se there is the grave objection that the re ceivin g streamsbecome polluted, because they are not sufficient to carry o ffth e imm ense quantities of foul matter pour ed into them .

Th e d efi lem en t of the Thames, near L ondon, is a case inpoint.A dd to this that the plumbing apparatus necessarily

involved in the water-closet is so complicated in de sign,and

not unfrequently so faulty in construction,as to often defeat

its purpose ; unle ss, inde ed, the purpose of th e plumberwas to secure for himse lf a constant supply of fa t jobs inth e way of repa irs . What with traps and valves, siphonsand plungers

,cranks and levers

,elevators and depressors,

and,not seldom

,careless users, th e whole apparatus is con

tin u al ly ge tting out of orde r, to the infinite disgust and nosmall pecuniary loss of the householder.T h e manner in which the water-closet is connected with

the sewer is of vital im portance, as the entrance of sewergas by this means into the house is an exceedingly fruitful

PRIVIES A ND WA TER OL OSETS. 1 9

source of disease. T h e usual connection is through a waste

p ipe, provided with a sim ple trap a foot or so below ther eceiving-pan. This trap is no more nor le ss than a bendin the pipe

,some thing like the letter S laid horizontally.

Th e theory o f its working is that i t will rem a in always fullof wate r ,

‘

an d , the entire d iame ter of the pipe be ing thusfilled for several inches, no gas can pass up from the sewer,while whateve r flows into the pipe from above forces thecontents of the trap onward only to occupy the same position un til it yie lds in its turn to another inflow. Th e p ract ical working, however, is ap t to differ from the theoreticalin two important particulars 1 . If there is not abundanceo f water—and some tim es if ther e is—the trap re tainse nough m atte r other than water to b e off ensive and injur iou s. 2 . Variou s cause s some time s produce unusual pressu r e of gas within the sewe r, e specially if the latter is ofconsiderable extent, and, in such circum stances, the gas isliable to force its way through the water in the trap.

A no the r danger in conne ction with water-closets is thato f untrapped waste-pipes from wash-basins

,bath-tubs

,and

wash- tubs, entering water-closet waste-pipes or sewers withwhich the latter are conne cted. A ll such pipe s should bethoroughly trapped, an d even then they may be comeavenues of dan ger from unusual pressure of gas, as alreadyindicated

,if not from the contents of the traps them

selves.It is a measure of safety to have a small pipe connected

with the main waste-pipe of the house and running up tothe roof

,the u pper end being open . This serves as a vent

to the gas forced in from the sewer, and preven ts it bubbling through the traps.Wher ever a water-close t is in u se , the utmost care should

b e observed that the plumbe r’s work is thoroughly we lldone

,and always kept in perfe ct order, and that nothing

e xcept liquids should ever be thr own into it. A n y solid


matter,rags

,garbage, and the like, may very likely accum u

late at some point and choke up th e wa ste-pipe .

It hardly need be said that in this apartment the utmostcleanline ss is indi spen sable . Whatever other apartment ofth e house is overlooked upon “ cleanin g-day

,

” this oneshould never be neglected.

It should always be built again st at least one outer wall,and have a window

'

opening to the air outside,and thi s

should never be closed except in case of a storm. Th e doorshould always be kept shut, and there should be no otheropening into a hall or any other room in the house . Th e

best covering for the floor is a stout oil-cloth,fitting tightly

to the walls all around, and firm l y laid down . Thereshould be no carpe t of any kind.

Th e dry earth,

” or,better still

,the charcoal closet,

is capable of application everywhere ; and, though at itsbe st inferior to th e “ water- closet ” at its possible best, i ssuperior to the latter as very commonly found. Its efficacyrests upon the fact that earth thoroughly dried, whenthrown upon human excreta

,does n ot me re ly cover, but

forms a com post free from all odor,and having no delete

r iou s properties. Care must be observed as to the kind ofearth which is used. Chalky or sandy soil will not answerth e purpose. Clays, especially those adapted for brickmaking, and loams, are to be chosen. Th e advantages ofcharcoal over d ry e arth ar e that by it the excreta are morereadily deodorized, and putrefactive change s are he ld incheck for a tim e practically unlimited ; and also that amuch less quantity of charcoal than of earth is required.

Th e d ry-earth closet

,or th e charcoal- closet, in its sim

p l e st form, consists merely of a pa il or glazed earthen vessel placed under the pr ivy- seat

,a box to hold the earth or

charcoal, an d a hand- scoop to throw it into the pail. A n

improvement upon this is to have the earth or charcoalplaced in a hopper, so that by a simple mechan i sm it will be


If dry earth or charcoal is constantly used in connectionwith this arrangement, as alre ady de scrib ed, the plan is asnearly perfe ct as anything of the kind can well b e . Th e

next best plan is to use the dry earth or charcoal withoutth e drawe r. Th e vault must then be somewhat deeper

,for

without the drawer it can not be emptied in warm we atherwithout offense unless the earth is used more freely an dmore carefully than will generally be the case . Of cour seevery vault should be emptied every sprin g and fall

,and in

the mean time should be kept thorough ly disinfected withdry earth or by other meansA spot that is naturally wet, or that receives the surplus

of rainf alls, is not a suitable place for a privy. It will b edi ffi cult to empty

,and practically impossible to keep d isin

f ecte d . If on a hillside,the defect may som etimes be

remedied by a drain above , sim ilar to the one recommendedfor the protection of the cellar of a house built on a hillside. If this can not be done, the only safe plan is to linethe vault with some water-proof material, or to have n o

vault, but simply a movable box or drawer above the surface of the ground.

THE HOUSE ITSELF.

STONE, brick , and wood are the materials chiefly usedin this country for the construction of house s . Of eitherof these a perfectly healthful house may be built. On theother hand

,it is possible to construct of eithe r a house that

will almost inevitably induce illness among its inmates.On e of the first conditions of healthfulness in a house

in most climates is imperviousness of the walls to moisture.Some varieties of stone are porous and some others arestratified in such a manner that water readily finds its waythrough th em . Fortunately

,such stone is not durable

when exposed to the weather,and therefore is not much

used for building ; but it is used sometimes, with the certain consequence of dam p wal ls.Bricks are free ly pe rmeable to water

,and a house built

of them is sure to be damp unle ss it is painted on the outside . It is no uncommon thing afte r a rain- storm of twoor three days’continuance, to find the Inne r surface of abrick wall covered with drops of wate r as with sweat

,or to

find on it large patches th at are appreciab ly we t to the eyea n d hand, although there is no crack in the wall or roofthrough which the ra in might enter. This effe ct is oftenmore noticeable in country than in city houses, because thelatter ar e very commonly built in continuous rows, so that,except at th e ends of the rows, only th e front a n d re arwalls of the houses are exposed to the weather, and as such


houses are, for economy of space and mater ial, nearlyalways made very long fr om front to re ar, and very nar row,

the surface so exposed is ve ry small in proportion t o thevolume of dry

,heated air within the house . This propor

tion is still fur ther increased in the majority of cases bythe fact that the sources of heat and dryness of the air aremore numerous and more extensive in the ordinary cityhouse than in the ordinary cou ntry house.In both city and country, however, the moisture ah

sorb ed by brick walls is a common cause of illness. It is acause that m ay read ily b e prevented by painting th e outersurface of th e bricks. It m ay b e held as a un i versal rulein re lation to health that, in any region where the air issufficiently moist to produce occasional rains, no brickhouse is fit for human habitation unless its outside is thoroughly painted.

Fr om an architectural point of view the painting of abrick house is commonly regarded as a barbarism

,and so it

is if the object be to make th e bricks represent stone oranything else than what they are, Since true art is alwaysopposed to Shams. But, since true art has always for itsbasis th e most perfect adaptation of means to end, andsince the purpose of a brick house

,as of any other, u n

doubtedly is to afford comf ortable and healthf ul protectionfrom the weather, a brick house pa inted in a manner notto belie the br icks and mortar is really more ar tistic thanone built of the finest Philadelphi a pressed brick and n u

painted.

Th e healthfulness of a wooden house, as compared withone of brick or stone

,is very commonly considered as d e

pendent chiefly on th e relative heat-conduc ting propertiesof the different materials. It is sometimes said by archite ctsand builders that wood is a quicker conductor of hea tthan brick or stone

,and that therefore wooden house s are

warmer in summer and colder in winter than those built of

THE HOUSE ITSELF. 95

the other materials. Th e fact is, that stone and brick aremore rapid conductors of heat than wood, although betwe enhard wood

,brick

, an d some varieties of stone , there is nota great deal of diff e rence. Th e principal reason of th e difference in temperature between house s built of these diff e rent materials

,but otherwise subject to similar conditions, is

to be found in the relative thickness of the walls. In thecase of wood the outer wall has usually athickness of fromhalf an inch to two inches, to which sometimes is added alining of brick four inches in thickness

,and sometimes

not. If brick is the principal material,the thickness must

be from eight to twelve in ches and if stone,from eighteen

to twenty-four. By reason of these diff erences a stonehouse is longer in ge t ting heated

,and also longer in cooling

,

than a brick one,and the latter longer than a wooden one.

Hence, sudden changes in the temperature of the outsideair ar e more sensibly fe lt in a wooden house than in eitherOf the others. But the same cause sometimes renders astone or brick house uncomfortably

,and therefore u n

he althfully,warm during half a summer night

,where a

wooden house would have been comfortably cool within anhour after sunset.A no ther an d more important consideration regarding

the healthfulness of wooden houses is the liability of thewood to rot. There is this liability to some extent in allhouses

,for all have some wood-work, but there is compara

t ive ly little rotting of the inside wood-work, provided theinside of the house is dry and well aired.

Th e so - called balloon-frame houses that have latterlybecome so numerous at sea- side resorts and in all otherplace s where money is to be made by building on contracta t the lowe st possible cost, or by building with the prospectof immediate sale

,are necessarily unhealthful. Th e slight

fram e is covered with boards generally unsound and u n

seasoned, just suffi cient to aff ord support to the sheathing2


paper which is then n ailed on, an d on which dependen ce isplaced to stay th e wind that would otherwise pass throughthe joints and cracks of the wall almost as through a sieve.This

,again, is cover ed by very thin clapboards, overlapping

each other by a fraction of an inch .

Many of these houses are handsome, an d apparentlycomfortable. In a driving storm, however, the rain findsi ts way under the edges of the clapboards, or even soaksthrough them,

and wets the paper. Once wet, the paperwill often remain so for weeks, or even months, at a time ,causing d amp walls, mold, a musty smell, and rotten boardsand timbe rs. Of course, this evi l is greater at the se aside

,where th e storms are more severe and the rain and

mist more penetratin g than in inland districts,

an d

where very m any of the houses are occupied only for afew weeks in summe r, and during the rest of the yearare unwarmed and unvent ilated. Many cases of so -calledm alar ial fever are due to a residence of a few weeks

,for

th e purpose of health, in one of th ese badly-constru ctedhouses .Th e roof is one of the most important parts of a house

,

and the one most like ly to call for repairs. Its purpose isnot merely to shut out the upper story from the exteriorair, for which a perfe ctly flat roof would do as well as anyother. Its main purpose is to shed o ff rain and snow andits pitch must be suffi cient for this. In those par ts of ourcountry where he avy snows are unknown

,the pitch may be

very moderate . In those parts where the snow-fall is heavy,

the pitch should not be less than 45 ° fr om the horizontal.Th e angle at the ridge will thus be or a right angle .Th e snow will slide down this decline about as fast as itfalls

,so that there will be no leaky roofs from this cause.

Th e framework should be as light as is consistent with therequisite stren gth. For the roofin g

,the old-fashioned

curving tile is probably the best material ; metals—tin,

“

TEE HOUSE ITSELE 2 7

z inc,lead, or galvanized iron —the worst. Between these lie

slate and shingles.A shingle roof is not advisable in a city house, be cause

it IS liable to be set on fire by the sparks and cinders froma neighboring con flagrat ion . T h e same objection applie s,in a less degre e , to its u se in a village or suburban hom e,where

,however

,it is n o t inadmissible . If the shingles

be soaked in oil for two or thre e days before they are laid,an d rece ive a coating of oil directly after, to be repeatedevery few years

,such a roof will remain sound for genera

tions. Th e slate or shingles Should be most care fully laid,with a good overlap, and securely fastened. In no otherpart of the house is poor material and poor workmanshipso b ad economy. If the roof is faulty, the whole houseis bad

,and nothing can make it good.

Wind ows ar e the eyes of th e h ouse ; through themcomes all

‘

the light which it receives. L ight— sunl ight,

that is—is in itself an eff ective hygienic and curative agent.Florence Nightin gale says : Second only to fresh air inimportance for the sick is ligh t. Not m erely daylight

,but

d irect sunlight, is necessary to speedy recovery, except in asmall number of cases. There are endless instances whe rein dark wards, or wards with only a northern exposure , orwards with borrowed light

,even when proper ly ventilated

,

the sick could not, by any means, h e made speedily tor ecover. ”

Dr . Richardson, a high authority, says Th e mindsaddens In a home that is not flushed with light

,and when

the mind is saddened th e whole physical powers soon suffer.T h e heart beats languidly, the blood flows slowly

,the

breathing is imperfe ct, the oxidization of the blood is r ed uced , an d the conditions are laid for the development ofm any wearisome and unnecessary constitutional fa iluresand suff e r ings. Sunlight is also of itself useful to healthin a direct manner. It favors nutrition ; favors the nerva

2 8 HEA Z TH A T HOME.

ous functions ; sustains, chemically or physically, thehealthy state of the blood. In every point of view sunlightstan ds prominent as an agent of h ealth . In sickne ss andin health

,in infancy, youth, middle age, old age , in al l

seasons,for the benefit of th e mind and the welfare of the

body,sunlight is the bearer and the susta iner of health .

Every house should have windows large enough,nu

mercus enough, and so placed as to afford the possibilityof abundant light to every room

,and every corner of it.

There is little danger of going too far in this d irection.

If on a bright sum m er day the light should be too intense,

it is easy to moderate it ; but it is not easy to increase itor introduce it when you have done your worst in tryingto shut it out.In England there is

,or was, a special tax upon win

dows, an d so builders began to put in as f ew of them as

possible. A rtists also find,or think they find

,a special

beauty in small windows,overhanging window-brows,

quaint- looking little dormer-windows,and al l that sort of

thing,which characterize the so -called Q ueen A nne style.

”

We will n o t quarrel with them so long as they confinethemselves to sketching these buildings and extolling theirpicturesqueness

,although to our minds every arrangement

of an obje ct which p revents it from fulfilling its properuses is a deformity. But we do protest against archite ctsputting up buildings for us to live in from which sunlightis excluded. Th e sunlight may inde ed fade our carpets,but surely this is

'

a lesser evil than that the want of itshould blanch the cheeks of our children .

Having, then, abundant windows, let them be freelyopened to the sunlight during a portion of each day in the

year. A n hour or two in every twenty- four is none toolong for the sun to look directly into every room whichwe would have in a healthful condition, and more than thisis desirable except in the very hottest summer weather,

30 HEALTH A T HOME.

to look for it. When that moment came, and suddenl ythrough the gloom of the death- chamber flashed th e sunlight

,and lay in a bright band upon th e wall, some of the

rough,hard men laughed like children, some wept, some

shouted—all were delirious with joy. For a few momentsonly th e golden glory res ted on t h e wall

, and then passedaway. But the next d ay it returned for a longer stay.

A n d there wa s life in the light. From the day when i tfir st shone the r e wer e no mor e de aths

,and no new cases

of sickness, and as d ay by d ay i ts stay grew longe r, the sickgained strength and health, until se e n no name was leftupon the sick- list.Th e stair s of a house require attention in a sani tary

point of vi ew, for th e climbing a badly planned sta irway isirksome to all

,and decidedly injurious to many

,especially

to most women . Th e pitch shoul d not b e too ste ep or therise too high . A rise of six inche s an d a breadth of step ofe leven inches ar e about the best me asurem ent. Curved linesare obje ctionable in an y except ve ry large stairways. T h e

squar er th e stairway is, th e be tte r it is. Winding stairways,in which th e steps rad iate, and are broader at one end thanat th e other, ar e bad in every way . They occa sion quiteunnece ssary tumble s, with the concomitant b ruised shins,spra ined ankle s, and broken bone s.It some tim e s happens that, in Spite of perfect outer

walls and roof,th e pla ster ing of a house will always b e

slightly damp in rainy wea ther . Th e dam pne ss m ay besufficient t o be pla inly se en o r fe lt, or it may be just su fficient to cause wall-paper to blister and peel o ff

, and tomake the pla ster itse lf gradually scale and crumble. Of

course,such houses are unhe althful. They are quite com

mon near the sea-shore,an d we ar e frequently told that

the effect is due to the se a -salt in th e air. This may be inpart true , but probably i n most cases the cause lie s morelargely in the sea-salt in the sand with wh ich the p laster.

THE HOUSE ITSELF. 31

wa s made. For this r eason sand from th e sea- shore or fromthe surface of the ground within a f ew m iles o f th e se a

that is t o say within the area visited by se a - a ir, should

ne ver be used for making plaster or mortar for a dwe llinghouse. Ma sons will te ll us that Such sand is not sharpenough to make good mortar . In othe r localities

,whe r e

sand that is not very sharp is sometim e s for economicalreasons used in building, it would be well to see whe the ri ts want of “ sharpness ” does not mean that it hold s som eimpurity that will cause the mortar mad e from it to absorbmoisture.Th e painting and papering of a house often have a rela

tion to the health of its inmates. For the outsid e,it mat

ter s little, in a sanitary point of view,what is the color or

th e m ater ial of the paint. If the object of th e painting b eto pr otect from th e we athe r, it is im portant to u se material s that will give a good body, and that will not re adilyscale ofl . A lso it i s well to remember that a white or lightcolored hou se will be cooler in summer than a dark o n e ,

b ecause the former will reflect an d the latter absorb muchof the sun’s heat. If the house is of wood, oiling will answer the purp ose of protection as well as painting or evenbette r. A sid e from these cons iderations, questions of tasteand of e conomy should govern the matte r.For the inside of the house, however , there is more to

be said on this point. Most of the mate rials used in pa inting are more or less injur ious to he alth, and many of thema r e highly poisonous. Th e lead and zinc paints in common use are decidedly so . When applied mixed with oil

,

these paints form a surface that soon acquires an alm ostm etallichardness an d coherence, and h as little or no effe ctupon the air of a room. Before this point is r eached, howe ve r , the y aflect th e air ve ry sensibly. Th e smell of freshpa int indicate s the pr esence in the air, not only of the vola

t ile parts of th e oils that have been used in painting, b u t also

32

of particles of the coloring-matter itself, albeit these p ar-l

t icl es are in general near ly or quite inodorous. It is therefore very detrimenta l to hea lth to occupy a painted room so

lon g as the odor of the paint or of the oil can b e perce ived.

Th e case is quite di fferent as regards wa ll -paper and kal

som l n e . Th e coloring materials of these never become socoherent as do oil-paints

,consequently if they are poison

ou s the air of a room decorate d with them must always beun healthful . For some years the injurious eff ects of arse n ical colors thus used have be en clearly recognized, andcerta in shades of green have been therefore condemned. Itshould b e generally kn own , howeve r, that arsenic is a common factor in the pr oduction of some other colors

,notably

of some shades of gray whi ch are now quite fashionable inwall -pape rs and kalsomine . Indeed, most wall-papers andkalsomines contain substances that are more or less in ju riou s, even if they are free from arsenic. This matter h asn o t yet been ful l y investiga ted, but it is doubtless true thatmany headaches, disorders of di gestion, and various vagueailments ar e caused by occupying papered and kalsominedrooms, where there is no arsenical poisoning, and where thetrue cause is not even suspected.

A nother objection to wall-paper is that the paste withwhich it is put on is liable sometimes to ferment and giveopportunity to unhealth y fungous growths. Be sides, th epaper being porous and remaining in place for year s, fr equently absorbs the germs of ce r tain diseases, an d so b ecomes a spread er of infection.

It is better that the walls throughout the interior ofthe house should be painted in oil

,or else that they should

be simply whitewashed . If neither of these plans is con sidered practicable, it become s more im portant than ever thatthe circulation of air shoul d be abundan t an d constant.

THE A IR WE BREA THE.

THE am Is composed of two gases, nitrogen and oxygen,i n the proportion of 77 parts by weight of the former to2 3 of the latt er, with a small quantity of carbonic acid, ame r e trace . of ammonia

,and an extremely variable propor

tion of water in th e form of invisible vapor. In someplaces and at som e tim es air is liable to contain variousothe r gases, as impurities derived from various sources, butthose which have been named are constant elements of it.T h e carbonic acid an d the ammonia may, indeed, be consid e r e d as im pur itie s, though the ir sources are so wideSpre ad that they ar e never absent, and it is only withr espe ct to the u se of the air for breathing that they can beregarded as im pur ities

,for in some other uses they are a

ne ce ssary part of it. Th e watery vapor, on the other hand,is in no sense an im purity

,as som e por tion of it is necessary

to make air fit for respiration as we ll as for other uses .For our present purposes the main use " of the nitrogen

of the air is to d ilute the oxygen so as to rende r the wholefit for breathing by the human lungs. Decrease the proport ion of nitrogen in a certain ratio

,and we have the

e lements of nitrous oxide laughing-gas which may bebreathed for a short time

,but would soon we ar out the

system by the increased action which it occasions. De

crease th e nitroge n still fur the r, an d the re sult is th e pro

p ortions of the two gases that form nitric acid, which will

34 HEALTH A T HOME.

eat into the flesh like fi r e , and will devour almost everyme tal except gold. Decrease th e ratio of oxygen

,and we

diminish its adaptability to breathing. When the d im in ution of oxygen re aches a certain point, the a ir become swholly unfit for fulfilling its functions in the human econ omy, and death ensues, more or less speedily according tothe ratio of this d iminution.

On e great -we m ay say th e great—problem of securin ga healthy hom e is to make such provision that the atmos

ph er e within the house shall always be ve ry nearly in itsnorm al con dition. That is, practically, that the air vitiatedb y

-having parted with a portion of its oxygen by passinginto and out of the hum an system

,or othe rwise, shall be

d riven o ff, and its place taken by pure air from without.

When the air from the house (m ore or less vitiated) h asbeen expelled, it cease s to be injurious except in extr aord i

nary cases for all gases have a strong tendency to commingle,and the quantity thrown out is usually so small, when compared with that into which it is thrown, that its noxiouspower is imperceptible . There are inde ed som e kinds ofmanufacture s, the waste product s of which vitiate the airth rou gh a wide circuit— it m ay be for miles ; but such asite will be sedulously avoided by any on e who has a healthyhome in view, just as he would avoid the vicin ity of a malar ia l swam p .

T h e spe cial function of th e act of breathing is to ke epthe blood constantly supplied with its due amoun t of oxygen. Day and night, sleeping or waking, th e chest alte rn at e l y contracts and expands some twenty time s a minute,drawing in at each inhalation about h alf a pint o f a ir ,

which at each exhalation is expelled in an altered condition .

Physiologists call this atmospher ic ebb and flow thetidal air . ” But the air is not wholly expe lle d from th e

system. A bout 1 00 cubic inches remain in the bronchialtubes and in the millions of air-cells within the lungs.

THE A IR WE BREATHE 5

This residuary air has be en depr ive d of a portion of i tsoxygen

,giving it up to th e blood and re ceiving therefrom

in return carbonic acid. Th e blood in its passage throughthe system give s to the various tissues of th e body m ost ofthe oxygen which it h ad rece ived in the lungs, an d takesfrom them carbonic acid ; an d when at last it is collectedin the pulm onary artery, h as a dark-purplish h u e inste adof th e bright scarlet with which it began its r ounds. It ispou red into the right side of the heart—o r rathe r the rightheart—whose strong contractions force it through innum e r ab l e capillary tube s distributed throughout the lungs

,

where it re ce ive s a fresh supply of oxygen, par ts with itscarbonic acid

,is poured into the left heart, whence it is sent

again through the aorta and its myriad branching ar terie sto every part of the system in one unceasing round. Thisround begins at the mom ent of birth, and continues untilth e last instant of life . T h e fir st and the last earthly acto f a human being is to breathe .

Th e act of breathing is the one which must be kept upconstantly and continuously as the prim e condition of life.We may live without eating for days, perhaps some tim esfor we eks. We may live for hours, perhaps sometim e s fordays, without dr inking. But we can live for only a veryfew minutes without breathing. So essential is this function that its exercise is placed mainly beyond the control ofthe will ; at most we can suspend or somewhat modify itfor a short tim e. We eat or d r ink by an act of the volitionwe breathe without at all willing it. When the m an hasabsolute ly ceased to breathe, he is dead.

Now,it is essential to the proper function of breathing

that the inhaled air Shall be measurably pure. T o whatever extent it is vitiated— that is, lacks its due pre portionof oxygen or contains any noxious material—just in thatpropor tion must the function of br eathing be imperfectlyperform ed.

36 HEALTH A T HOME.

Th e evil effects of breathing a vitiate d atmosphere are

manifold,even though in the outse t we scarcely notice

them,or by long habit become only partially sensible of

them . In general terms, it lowers the whole tone of thesystem

,although within certain limits this lowering is not

perceptible from day to day, or week to we ek but,from

se ason to season, the person is sensibly in worse health thanin the same season the year before .

There are other means of vitiating the air of a n u n ve n

t ilat ed room than the mere bre athing it over and ove ragain. A mong these are the heating of it by the ordinaryfurnaces or by close stoves and more especially the lighting by gas. A n ordinary gas-burner will consume fourtimes as much oxygen, and consequently generate fourtimes as much carbonic acid, as will a single pe rson bybreathing. There can not we ll be a more unhealthy an ddebilitating place than a close hall packed with auditors,and lighted by n umerous jets of gas. No wonder thatmany a preacher or lecturer finds himself addressing an au

d ie nce growing more and more unsympathetic or sle epy.

Th e object of ventilation Is to keep the air of a buildingor apartment in its normal condition . This normal condition is aff ected in two ways : 1 . By the abstraction of a

p ortion of its'

e lem en ts ; 2 . By the introduction of in gr ed ient s positively injurious. Both these mode s of vitiation oc

cur in the case of inhabited rooms. From the pur e outsidemorning air, enter an ill-ventilated bedroom which hasbeen occupied through the night

,an d you will at once b e

come aware of a disagreeable sensation . Th e air appearsto be close, and there is also an odor -more or le ss oflensive . Th e closeness ” arises from the partial absence ofoxygen and the presence of a considerable quantity of carb on icacid. Th e foul smell has a quite different cause (forcarbonic acid is absolutely inodorous) it arises from exh a

la tion s from the body and other sources, and varies in in

38 HEA LTH A T HOME.

which is the colde r, and therefore the heavi er . Th e colderair will always drive out the warme r, provid ed there is anymeans by which the warmer air can escape not othe rwise .

Thus,in a room provided with an ade quate o u tlet, if the

air within b e colder than that without, the current consisting of cold air will be ou twa r d until an equality of tem

p e ratu r e is reached, when the current will cease .

But practically the a ir wi thin a room is almost invar iably warmer than that without, and so th e currentof fresh air will b e i nwa rd , provid ed, as before, thatthere be a sufficient outlet by which the warmer air cane scape .There is no d iflicu lty in providing means for the inle t

o f the colder air from without. There is indeed somequestion whether it is best to adm it it at the top or thebottom of the room

,or at some point interm ediate between

them. If it is admitted at the bottom (which in itselfappears to present the most advantage s), an opening ofproper size is made in the outer wall ; from thi s outer opening a pipe runs under the floor, through which it opens atsome desir able point—underne ath the stove if there be onein the room. If the cold air is to be admitted ne ar thetop of the room , a partial opening of the wi ndow by letting the upper sash down an inch or two is as good as anyother possible method.

Bu t som e re asons have been adduced for admi tting theair at a point be tween the tOp and th e bottom of the room.

A very good author ity says A substitute for the sashventilating plan is to introduce into the room one or mor eof the so -called ‘T obin’s tubes . ’ The se tubes pierce th eouter wall horizontally about waist-high

,and upon reach

ing the interior turn upward at a right angle,discharging

fresh air into th e room some two or three fe et fr om th e

ce iling. Th e air ascends, and is distr ibuted gently andwithout dr aught throughout the room. There are many

THE A IR WE BREATHE. 39

d evice s for concealing the tubes, or giving them an ornam ental aspect. ”

But most of the advantages of the Tobin’s tubes may b esecured by a slight modification of the ordinary mode ofwindow-ventilation. L ower th e upper sash about ten inches,an d fill the opening at the top with a tightly fitting board .

A space of about an inch thick, and as long as the widthof th e window,

is thus left betwe en the panes of the uppe ran d th e lower sash. Through this will flow an inwarda scending current of cold air, which will d iffuse itselfthroughout the room

,while it is at the same tim e gradually

sinking by its own compar ative weight to the floor. Thismodification is e spe cially adapted f o r use during the nigh tin sleeping- rooms

,since , should a storm arise, no rain can

e nter th e apartm ent by it, " a s might be the ca se were theOpening above th e sa sh left unclosed. In the morning theboard should usually be removed, the lower sash ra ised andth e upper one lowered, for a more thorough

“ airing ” ofthe room.

If an apartment b e withou t a chimney-flu e (wh ichshould never be the case when it can possibly be prevented) ,some thing may still be done by means of a ventilator opening

,directly or indir e ctly, near th e ce il in g,

'

in to the outerair. Be tter than nothi ng at al l is a mere transom -windowover the door

,Opening into a cool hall. When th e sash of

th e transom (which swings upon pivots) is inclined outwardand upward

,a current of air will be creat ed on each side

the warm air of the room passing out on the uppe r side,th e cooler air from the h all flowing in upon the lower side .

If,however

,th e air of the hall is warmer than that of the

room,and is vitiated by exhalations from the kitchen or

otherwise, this transom is worse than use less ; for th e airwh ich ,com e s in is more impure than that which goes outan d is replaced by it.In very many cases i t is impossible to make use of any

40 HEALTH A T HOME.

means for ventilation oth e r than th e doors and windowsand the chim neys. Usually these can b e made t o

‘

se rve

a very good purpo se,although their positions and othe r

conditions vary so greatly in diffe rent case s that it is impossible to lay down any strict rules for their use . Commonsense in the application of the pr inciple s already broughtto view is required. It should always be remembered thata single openin g is not enough in ordinary circum stances.It is bett er that there should b e several, and ,

that theyshould be at different heights. Thus

,a window opened a

little way at top and bottom is commonly more eff e ct ivethan a window opene d to twice the extent a t e ither top orbot tom. If, however, the temper ature within the room isthe same as that outside

,there will be neither incoming

nor outgoing current unless advantage can be taken of abree ze or of som e artificial m ovement of the air, and inth e absence of these it becom es necessary to throw the window wide open at e ither top or bottom and trust to thelaw o f diffusion of gases for preservin g the pur ity of thea i r .

If there is a fire in an Open fireplace or grate,or in a

stove that has a direct and power fu l dr aught, air will bedrawn from the room so rapidly to feed the fire that theouter air will rush in abu ndantly through any openingthat m ay exist, and frequently when the fi r e is brisk enoughair will thus find its way through the joints of the door sand windows even whil e the se ar e closed . For this rea sonit is often possible by building a light fi r e to ventilate in a

f ew minutes a room that h as be en shut up a long time andsm ells close an d musty, and, if the fire burns with a freedraught and is not continued too long, the air of the roomis sometimes decidedl y cooler after than before the operation.

THE WA TER WE DRIN" .

NEX T in im mediate importance to pure air is water.Water dissolves or takes up, to a greater or less degree,almost every substance with which it comes in cont act.Rain-wate r is perhaps its purest natural form. But in itspassage through the atmosphere it carries with it some ammonia and more or less of th e minute animal and vegetableorganisms floating in the air. These are often present insuch quantities that the ir decomposition renders rain-watermore or less putrid after it has stood some time . Moreover

,in thickly populated districts, and in the neighborhood

of many manufactories, th e rain in its de scent absorbs var iou s impur ities from the a ir . It is also liable to acquireorganic matte r from le ave s and other substances on theroofs from which it is commonly collected

,and in some

cases from the mate rials of the roofs themselve s . Fromthese causes the water of cisterns f r equ en tly b ecom e s offenSIve and unfit for drinking. Even though these impuritiesar e not obvious to an y sense, they ar e always to be guardedagainst, for water m ay be perfectly cle ar , colorless, andsparkling, with n o unpleasant taste or odor, an d ye t containa dangerous am ount of organic matte r. The re is a verysimple te st for this : Put into a clear, colorless, glassstoppered bottle , a pint of th e suspe cted wate r, with a f ewgrains of white lump- sugar expose th e bottle to the daylight in the wm d ow of a warm room. If within a week or

42 HEALTH A T HOME.

ten days th e water becomes turbid, the re is organic pollution of some sort

,and it is almost certainly unfit for drink

ing, as it is.If water has any taste or smell

,it should always be

boiled before drinking . It is well to filter it also . In fact,

it is a wise precaution to filter all drinking-water,even

though it be n o t thought necessary to boil it. There is noend to the number and size of the filters off ered for sale.In lack of any of these, one which will answer e very p ractical purpose may be readily extemporized anywhere.Take a common unglazed earthen flowe r -pot of large sizecover the hole in the bottom with a bit of clean flann el ;put in three inches of gr avel, and as much of white sand,and over this four in ches of charcoal pour in the water atthe top

,and le t it filter through the hole in the bottom into

a glass or earthen vessel below, and what with the antisepticquality of the charcoal

,and the mechanical filtering power

of the sand and gravel,the water will come out pure and

innocuous . Th e charcoal in time will become clogged withthe impurities, and should be cleansed by heating it upona shovel over a hot fire . Th e sand and gravel must also becleaned or renewed from time to time. This simple andinexpensive filter ing

,and the boiling of all suspected water,

will be a great safeguard against such diseases as typhoidfeve r, cholera, and dysentery, which are to a considerableextent propagated by drinking-water.Th e water of lakes and large ponds is generally nearly

as pure as rain-water often purer than tha t of springs andWells, for the reason that, while these natural reservoirsderive most of their water from un derground streams whichar e more or less affected by the soil or the rocky stratathrou gh which they pass, lake s re ceive also no small amountof ra in-water directly from the clouds

,which is ne arly pur e .

T h e same is true of the water of large rivers , except thatit conta ins in suspe nsion considerab le quantities o f m u d,

THE WATER WE DRIN" . 43

which is deposited as ear thy sediment when the water isa llowed to stand for a while in a suitable vesse l. T h e waterthus clarified is usually excellent that of some large river s

,

as th e Mississippi and t h e Nile, pre-eminently so, as isvouched for by al l voyagers upon those streams.

T h e water supplied from lakes, ponds, and rivers is thatwhich is generally supplied to large cities by means of public water-works. Under proper condition s it is u n except io n ab le excep t that in summer it is usually too warm tobe agreeable for drinkin g ; but this defect is remedied bythe addition of ice . With us this icing is usually carriedtoo far. Th e temperature of our ice-water is usually seve ral degrees lower than it should be, in a sanitary point ofview. Th e best temperature is that of the water from aco ol spring or deep well , and this will range through severaldegrees as indicated by the thermometer. Mor eover

,the

ice itself not unfrequently conta ins more or less of impurities from various sources ; hence it is advisable that thevessel for holding ice-water should consist of two cylinders

,

one within the other, and not communicat ing with eachother

,so that the ice an d wate r do not come in contact.

Th e Ice i s placed in the inner cylin der, th e wate r in theouter on e . If the relative size of the se is judiciously proportioned

,th e water will be kept at a proper tem pe ratur e

,

an d a considerable saving will be made in the quantity ofice required.

But,if the water of rivers flows through a densely peo

pled region,especially a manufactu ring one, or thr ough or

near large ci ties,it is invariably more or less polluted by

th e re fuse of the manufactories, and the various im puritie sfrom dwellings, barn-yards

,stables

, e tc. ,for which the rive r

furnishes the readiest means of drainage . Th e water shouldalways be taken from a point above any of these pollutingso u rces an d stringent legal provision should be made thatn o such injurious establishments shall be so placed that

44 HEALTH A T HOME.

their drainage may enter the river above the p oint of sup-“

f

ply.

Moreover, it happens sometimes that the water in pondsand reservoirs is affected by what appears to us to b e a

Spontaneous growth of microscopic vegetation, in suchquantities as to seriously impair its purity. This evil, usually temporary ih its duration, may b e obvia ted by boilingthe water before it is used. This will e ffe ctu ally destroythe dange r ous vitality of the vegetable growth and a subsequent filtering will render the water perfectly salubrious .

Th e water of springs an d wells is always somewhatmod ified by the characte r of the soil or rocky strata throughwhich it percolate s. If the n eighbor ing rock is of graniticformation

,th e water takes up very little from it

,and is con

sequently very nearly in its natural state . If the - rock belimestone or magn esian

,the wate r will be large ly

,and often

injuriously,impregnated with these minerals. If the soil

be alkaline, the water will often be utterly unfit for drinking by man or beast. Th e water of wells is essentially thesame as that of the Springs of the region

,only it is more

likely to be polluted by admixtures f rom without —th ed rain in gs of dwellings, barns, manufactories

,and the like.

Water containing carbonate or sulphate of lim e in solut ion is called hard That which is fre e from these saltsis said to be soft. In many parts of this and other countrie s the se substances ar e so abundant in the earth that allthe water of th e region is hard except ra in-water. Peoplewho are accustomed to drinking hard water do n o t generallyfind it unhe althy, but it is apt, when drunk fre ely by thosewho are unaccustomed to it, to cause di arrhoea. Its mode rate use for a f ew days will generally overcome this tendency. If the hardness of water is due principally to th epresence of carbonate of lime, it may b e made soft by boiling

,the carbonate of lime bein g thus made to adhere to th e

bottom and Sides of the vessel .

46 HEALTH A T HOME.

Many persons in good he alth habitually drink and dischargefar le ss than the ave rage quantity of water and wate ry fluids

,

while othe r s, se emingly e qu ally healthy, gr e atly exce ed tha tquantity. Occupation also has a large influence in the m at

ter. Some kinds of labor, carried on in great heat, cause asmuch perspir ation in an hour as comm only occurs in a day

,

and this must be balanced by drinking an equivalen t quantity of water

,so that it is n o t unusu al for glass-blowers,

foundrymen,etc . , to dr ink water at the rate of half a gal

lon or a gallon per hour.Th e quantity necessary, therefore, becomes largely a

matte r of circumstances and individual habit, and each onemust in this respect be in great measure a rule u nto himself.

THE FOOD WE EA T .

IT follows, from the nature of the case, that the food,taken as a whole

,must contain, and in d u e proportions, all

the elements which go to make u p the body whose wasteit has to repair. A n d it must also be presented in such aform as to render it dige stible . A piece of the dry bark ofa tree contain s in it ne arly all of the elements of the humanbody

,but not in a digestible form. It is sometimes eaten

unde r extreme stress of famine but it must first be brokeninto small pieces, and boiled in water to soften the toughfiber and cause the starch-vessels to burst. A fle sh l e ss

bone contains a large proportion of highly nutritive matter,

but in such a form that the digestive fluids can not ge t atit. A m an might take into his stom ach bone-dust containing enough nutritive matter to make a full meal

,and yet

starve to death. Yet, if the bones had been subjected toproper boiling, the nutritive matter would have been extracted, and have become excellent food.

Th e various processes of cooking, besides gratifying thepalate

,soften th e food, and thus render it more easy of di

ge stion. Some of the be st articles for food can be used assuch only after they have been cooked.

Th e kind of food suitable for one age of life may bewholly unsuitable for another. In an infant the digestivefunctions are performed so rapidly that he must feedevery two hours. Th e adult n eed not eat oftener than two

48 HEALTH A T HOME.

or three times a day. T h e inf ant’s food must be of a kindthat can be rapidly dige sted a t first

,milk only. No t one

infant in ten would survive many days if he w ere givenonly bread, even though soaked in water, to say nothi ng ofvege tables and meat.It is an often-mooted question whether man should live

on vegetable or animal food, or both, but, as a matter offact, eve rybody who can ge t it eats both animal and vegetable food . Th e structure of his teeth and digest ive organsindicate that man was intended to be an eater of bothanimals and vege tables. So was he in the first beginningsof his re corded history, so is he n ow, an d so we doubt not hewill be While the world stands . Th e pre portions in whi chhe wil l use these two kinds of food depends much uponcircumstances, notably on climate. When both kinds a r ereadily procurable, vege table food will usually predominatein the diet of the inhabitants of the tropics

,animal food

in that of the peoples of frigid zones.Vegetables, taken coll ectively, con tain in varying pro

portions all th e elements contained in the human fr ame.Wheat probably contains them in the best proportionsunless, indeed, maize may be placed close by its side ; insome respects a little above, in others a little be low.

Wh en wheat is made into flour, a ce r tain portion of its

nutritive value is lost. That is to say,a part of its gluten,

which is its principal fle sh -forming elemen t, an d which liesnear the surface of the grain, adheres to the hull or skinwhen it is ground, and so is lost in the bran. By the oldmethod of grindin g and bolting

,the finer and whiter the

flour is made the more gluten is lost.These facts of themse lves woul d be sufficient to warrant

the theory that bread made of superfine flour would not ofitself suffice to maintain human life

, Since it lacks severalof the components of the body. Partial experiments uponman, an d complete on es up on animals, ful ly established

THE FOOD WE EA T. 49

the theory. It has been found that a dog, fed exclusivelyupon bread made from superfine flour, will not live morethan a month. Though furnished with an abundance ofthis, it is literally starved to death . Th e other food whichwe take, however, contains the elements wanting in whitebr ead

,thus supplying th e deficiency ; so that for us the

whitest of bread is not positively unwholesome .Still, taking all things into account, bread made from

flour that contains the full proportion of gluten is,on sani

tary grounds,to be preferred. Fo r this reason many h ave

advocated the use of unbolted flour,making the so - called

“ Graham - bread,” while others recommend the use of

middlings instead of fine flour. Both of these preparations, however, are le ss agreeable to most people than fineflour, and they contain more or less indigestible materialtha t irritate s som e stomachs. Flour made by what iscalled the “ new process

,

” however,obviates all these oh

j ect ion s, for, while it contains all, or ne arly all, th e glutenof the wheat, it is perfectly fine

,white, and free from

bran. It is therefore on all accounts to be preferred,

and is well worth the extra price which it costs. Onlyce rtain varieties of wheat are capable of being made intoflour by this process, and these varieties are rich .in gluten.

Such is the hard, spring wheat of Minnesota, from whichit is said th at not only the finest but the most nutritiousflour in th e world is now made.Flour

,as it comes from the miller

,is some times adulter

ated with bean-meal,for rendering the dough more tena

cions when kn eaded. Damaged flour is correc ted by theu se of alum and of carbonate of soda— the latter to rem oveth e sourn e ss occasioned by decom position of th e gluten.

Bakers n o t unfrequently add alum to white bread,” in

order to make it still whiter and alum in any con sid e ra o

ble quantitie s acts injuriously upon th e digestive organs.In the makin g of bread or biscuit two things are of

3

5 0 HEA LTH A T HOME.

paramount importance, namely, that it shall be light an dsweet. If it is heavy the dige stive fluids ca n not act r e adilyon it

,an d , while some str ong stomachs will dige st it with

out much inconvenience, many will only d o it painfullyand a t th e expense of wearyin g efi o r t, that if fr e quently r e

p eate d must induce disease. If it is sour, it is not only difficu l t of dige stion, but its nutritive value is lessened. Th e

sourness of bread is a certain Sign that putrefactive changehas commenced in the gluten . This is sometimes due toth e fact that the dough or the Sponge h as stood too long, forthis change will always occur when flour is kept moist andwarm for a considerable time . Sometimes it is d u e to th eu se of “ yeast- cakes or “ leaven made of flour or mealin which the change is already begun . Soda or saleratusis often used to correct such sourne ss by combination withthe acid that has been developed in the dough. It can dothis

,but it can not r e st or e

'

th e decomposed gluten, and if,as frequently happens, it is added in excess of the acid inth e br ead, it will neutralize some of the acid of the gast r icjuice in those who eat of it

,the reby impairing dige stion

and fre quently causing pain an d illness.Frequently the lightness of bread is secured by mixin g

with the flour baking- soda and cream of tartar. Th e chemical action which takes place between these substances whenwet, causes the discharge of carbonic-acid gas, which, b eing confined by the dough, puffs the latter up, or raise sit. A Similar result ' follows if sour milk or some othera cid substance is used instead of the cream of tar tar.Bread made in this way may be perfectly healthful if theacid and a lkal i are used in moderate quantity and in dueproportions. In domestic practice

,however

,the propor

tions are rarely accurate ly observed,the alkali being usually

somewhat in excess. If it is con siderably so,the digestive

function must su ff e r .

A l l baking-powders are combinations of acid and alkali

THE FOOD WE EA T. 5 1

similar to the one mentioned. They have th e advantage ofbe ing gene rally accurately proportioned, and th e d isadvantage of be ing very frequently adulterated with substance smore or less de le te r ious.

Prepar ed ” or “ self-ra i sing ” flour is Simply flour inwhich th e acid an d alkali ar e already mixed, needing onlyto b e we t in orde r to develop the ir action . Su ch flour

,

when prepar ed and sold by responsible parties, is usuallyperfectly wholesome .

T h e starch contained in wheat and in many other vegetables is in th e process of digestion converted into sugar

,

an d as such serve s an important purpose in nutrition.

When bread is toasted this change in its starch is greatlyforwarded, an d ther e fore toast is much more readily digested than plain bread.

Warm bread is somewhat diffi cult of digestion,partly

because it forms a close, adhesive mass, partly be cause thebutte r, which is commonly eaten with it in larger quantities than with bread that is not warm,

melts and soaks intoit,both of these causes interfering with the action of the

digestive fluids upon it.Of the meats com monly used by us

,n one are of them

selves other than whole some . Each has some good qualitiesto a greater extent than others. Good beef combinesprobably more of these than any other. Good mutton isn o t far behind. Every now and then a senseless outcry israised against pork. So far as this is directed against theflesh

,of swin e fed upon garbage

,distille ry- slops, an d the

like, kept in close pens, and forced to wallow in filth, thedenunciation is well deserved. But the swine in his natural state is very cleanly in his h abits. His wont of “wallowing in the mire is not at all uncleanly. He does so inorder to rid himself of certain insect annoyances. Th e

mud only touche s his bristles,and comes o ff when it ge ts

dry. Th e flesh of corn-fed pork is perfectly wholesome,


and for several reasons is be tte r adapted than any other forthe main meat of those who ar e engaged in laborious outdoor occupa tions. Th e lumberman

,fo r example

,prefers

pork to be ef as a regular diet.There are those who fin d a special de licacy in ven ison

and the fle sh of other game . But probably this arisesfrom the comparative rarity of the meat, an d from its

being usually eaten u nde r circumstance s when the appetiteis keen, rather than fr om any real superiority. Poultryand wild birds are unexceptionable a t any time ; butrather by way of change than as a constant diet . Theycloy upon the appetite . “ Turkey every d ay

” is wha tno man can endure. So also with quails an d Similar smallbirds.Boiling renders meat more digestible than an y other

mode of cooking, and is more economical, Since a less propor tion of the nutritive matter is lost. It has be en e stimated that, in boilin g, beef and mutton lose about 2 3 percent of their we ight ; in bakin g, about 31 per cent ; inroastin g

,about 34. p e r cent. Some kinds of m eat—e specially

the fle sh of young anim als—are unsuited for boiling, Sincethey contain a large percentage of gelatine an d albumen

,

which are readily dissolved in hot water, and are con sequently “ boiled away ” and wasted.

In baking,roasting

,and broiling, the heat Should be

strongest at first,and then diminished be cause th e quick

heat at the beginning close s the pores of th e m eat, preventing the juice s from escaping, and en abling them to permeate the entire pie ce .In stewing and hashing

,the meat is put into a more

convenient form for dige stion than by any other mode .Th e minute subdivision requisite for digestion, and whichotherwise must be done by the teeth, is to a good degreeperformed by the cooking. Stews and hashes are therefor eespecially adapted for those whose teeth, whether froma ge


alimentary material in the same bulk than fresh fruits orvegetables. A n y estimate , therefore , of the total quantityshould state also the kind of food used ; otherwise it willbe altogether without value . From experiments performed while living on an exclusive diet of bread, freshme at, an d butter, with coffe e and water for drink, we havefound that the entire quantity of food required duringtwenty-four hours by a man in full health, and taking freeexercise in the open air, is as follows

1 6 oun ce s, or 1 0 0 pou n d avoirdup o is .1 9

3%°

2 2

5 2 flu id oun ce s,

That is to say, rather less than two and a half pounds ofsolid food

,and rather over three pints of liquid food.

”

Dr . L e th eb y e stimates that an adult male, engaged inordinary active labor

,requires each day about 5 ounces of

nitrogenous food (meat, fish, eggs, and 2 9 ounces ofcarbonaceous food (bread, butter, sugar, potatoes, inthe forms in wh ich they are ordinarily used. Those eugaged in very laborious work may need half as much moreof nitrogenous food

,and something more of carbonaceous

food those engaged in comparatively inactive occupationsrequire considerably less.

Th e dietetic scale can in some respects be better arrangedby army surgeons than by any othe rs, Since soldiers areusually men in the prim e of life

,and in sound physical

condition ; and th e e stimates are made from SiIch largenumbers that individual idiosyncrasies will about balan ceeach other. Dr . Playfa ir h as collated the die taries furn ish ed for soldiers in the Crimean War

,th e A ustro- l tal ian

War, an d the civil war ih' the Unite d States, th e general

result being that for each day about 8 ounces of nitrogenousand 1 8 ounces of carbonaceous food were allotted to each

soldier.


Th e comparative ly sm all am ount of carbonaceousfood required is expla in ed by th e fact tha t th e vegetablesprovi ded were to a great e xtent “ desiccated,

” that is,de

p r ived of much of the ir water.These proportions are considerably less than those given

by Profe ssor Horsford in his table of the rations of themore important armies of the world when in active service

,

which is as follows

FOOD.

Flou r 2 2 o z . o r

(‘

o rnm e a l . 2 0 oz . or

W h l t ebr e ad . 2 2 o z . or

Har d b re ad 1 6 oz . or

Fr e sh b e e f 2 0 oz . or

Salt be e f. 2 0 oz . or

Sa lt po rk 1 2 oz .

Potato e s 1 6 oz.

3 t im e swe ekly .

4 1 6 oz .

Ba r le yPe a s .Be an s L 0

'640

g0

illl

De siccated o r 1 oz

vege table s 2 tim e swe ekly .

Cabbage o rsau e rkrau tC o f f e egre e n . 1 6 oz . o r

C o f f e er oaste dgr oun d .

1 °2 80 2 .0 r

2 4 oz.

Bran dy .

W in eBe e r

Toba cco . .

Su gar 2 4 oz .

Vin egar gill.L im e -jmceMu stardH o r s er adish .

Pe ppe r .

S a lt

Fre nch .

1 °6 5 oz

2 30 oz 2 4o z or 1

1 6 oz .

oz. or

o z . o r

3 5 gills.

0 9 oz .

02 5 o z . oz .

0 04 3 0 2 .2 gills gill.

06 5 5 2 . o°3l 0z .

oz. oz . 1 oz . oz.

Th e health of a hom e depends in no small degree upon


the kinds of food chosen,th e quality of each kind, the

proper cookin g of it,and th e manner in which it is e aten.

With us there is practically no limi t to the choice of kinds,and it is ve ry rare that articles of perfectly unexceptionablequality ar e not to be had.

It is for many reasons de sirable to have variety in ourfood why else is such a varie ty of edibles provided for us,on the d ry land and in air and water " A n d the re aremany ways in which, by cooking, each material may bemade into many quite diffe rent dishes . Th e person whosaid,

“ I eat only to live, said a very foolish thi ng. Wear e so constitut ed that the pr oper exercise of every bodi lyfunction gives us pleasure and the right ful gratificatio nof every sense is an in nocent gratification . It may sometimes b e a duty to “ mortify one’s body ” for the sake ofsome higher e n d but to mortify it just for the sake of itsbeing mortified is Sheer folly. It is worse than folly ; itis an implied slur upon the Maker and Former of ourbodies. There was little saintliness i n the action of thatold saint who Spread an abundant and varied table for hisguests

,but made his own dinner of a crust of bread and a

radish .

Th e good housewife need by no means d evote her daysand nights to th e study of th e profound gastronomicalworks of famous cooks nor ne ed she ke ep a scrap-book inwhich to paste the recipes floatin g about in th e newspapers . He r theoretical knowledge o f that art which manalone is said to practice can be much more easily acquir ed .

Sh e Should, of course, be able to do h e r own marketing,even though Sh e need not always do it in person . Sh e

should know from what part of th e animal any particularcut is taken

,and for what purpose an y particular cut is

be st adapted. Sh e should be quite able to di stinguish thebody of a young turkey or chicken from that of a venerable

gobbler or ancient Chanticleer ; a freshly -caught fish from

THE FO OD WE EA T. 5 7

on e that has rested many days in the ice-box, and all that.But

,when it comes to th e matte r of actual cooking, a little

volume which sh e can Slip into h e r pocke t is sufficient fora l l the re cipes she n e eds. It will furnish var iety ampleenough for a ll the taste s of a he althy home, and for suchdelicacies a s the wants of a possible invalid may require .

Nor ne e d sh e lay out all h e r knowledge in the preparation of a single meal. Th e varie ty should b e that fromd ay to d ay, n o t from course to course in one m eal. It willbe all th e better that the bill of fare Should not b e thesam e on any two succe ssive days ; nor th e same from dayto day week afte r we ek. If, in compliance with quite ge nera l usage , Friday is fi sh - d ay,

” th ere is no good reasonwhy Sunday should always be roast-beef- d ay,

” Monday“ hash-d ay ,

” and so on . Th e husband,when h e come s

home to dinne r,will re lish t h e me al a l l th e more from not

knowing of what it is to consist still be tte r, if it is quited ifferent fr om what he expected. A surprise

,when not a

d isagreeable o n e , is always a pleasant thing. T o do thisin the best way

,she should plan in a general fa shion - the

bill of far e for a month ahead, noting beforehand whata rticles will b e in season from we ek to week, what suppliesSh e will have in store , an d what Sh e must lay in from timet o time.Very many article s have their special seasons when they

a r e most plentiful,and conse quently cheapest ; and they

a r e always in the ir best condition during this season . T h e

person who choose s to have the first strawberry, the firstpe ach

,or the fir st Shad of the season, must make up his

mind to pay a very high price for a ve ry poor thing. In asanitary as well as an e conomical point of Vl eW, he maytake to himse lf the epithe t de scriptive of the one whosemone y soon ceases to bear him company.

Potatoes ar e always in season, though some varietie s arebetter at one period of the year and some at another, a n d a


potato that has not ripened sufficiently to cook mealy, orthat by keeping has pa ssed th e me aly stage and is waterywhen cooked

,is hardly fit for human food. Th e best p o

tato m ay b e spoiled in cookin g, but much depends on using

e ach var iety when it is in its prime . With Some varietie sthis stage is reached as soon as the potato is fit to b e takenfrom the ground

,with oth ers it does not arrive until after

th e potato has been stored for some months with some itlasts only for a few days, with others for months. Th e

potato known as the Ear ly Rose has for several years he ldprecedence on account of rema in ing in its pr ime longe rthan m ost other var ie tie s . Ne ar ly every var iety degenerates

,however

,after a few ye ars

,and new ones are constantly

be ing introduced, so that the choice must vary somewhatfrom year to year. With us, potatoes ar e almost as staplean article of food as bread, and take the place of that andof other starchy foods to a very great extent

,hence the great

importance of having them always good . They are moredigestible boiled or roaste d than fried, because when friedthey be come more or less soake d with grease, rendering themsomewhat cohesive and not easily acted on by the digestivefluids in th e stomach . Th e same condition aff ects friedfoods in general. Fat is a very nece ssary article of food,notwithstanding much foolish prejudice against it

,but the

manner of its digestion differs somewhat from that of mostother substances

,an d it is accomplished chiefly throu gh the

agency of other fluid s than those which ar e most active inthe ca se of starch, gluten, lean meat, etc . ; therefore it isbetter that the fat should be taken in the form of butter

,

cream,fat meat

,etc . , in connection with other food, but

not incorpora ted with the other by frying.

Sweet-potatoes are much more nutritious than Irishpotatoes . Pound for pound, the former contain nearlytwice as much ava ilable nutriment as the latter.

Turnips,beets

,parsnips, and some other roots contain


less nutrimen t than potatoe s, an d in a somewhat diff erentform. They are in gene ral ve ry whole som e, howeve r , andafford a pleasant and use ful var ie ty in food.

Pea s an d beans are sa id to contain more nutr iment inproportion to the ir we ight than any othe r vegetable s incomm on use. They ar e par ticularly rich in nitr ogenouselements, the reby more nearly approaching in character tothe flesh of anim als than most vege tables do .

Gre en vegetables ar e generally quite wholesome, notwi thstanding much that is thoughtle ssly said to the cont rary . It is

,indeed

,sometime s gravely asserted that Na

tur e never intended any vegetable to b e used for food b efore it i s r ipe, and that no unripe or immature fo od can b ewholesome. But Nature certa inly intended a large class ofanimals to live entirely or chiefly on green vegetables, an dmany of those vegetables which are eaten green by man ar e

utterly unfit for food when they ar e ripe . For example,

no one would think of eating ripe cabbage , Spinach, or l e ttuce , un less driven by extreme hunger, but all of these intheir gre en state are grate ful to both palate and stomach,albeit they are not so qu ickly diges ted as some other foods,and are therefore unsuitable in some forms of illness or offe ebleness. Perhaps the cucumbe r is the only vegetablecommonly eaten green

,of which it m ay re asonably be sa id

that it would b e better not so to e at it and, although t h e

cucumber is ce rtainly the product of a vege table,it is

d oubtful on which Side it Should be placed of th e linedividing what are known in common parlance as vege tables from what ar e k n own ’

in comm on parlance as fruits .”

Moreover, the m uch-abused cucumber itself, though not a

very useful food, is quite a harmle ss one to a large p r opor tion of people if used with ordinary judgment. On e

cardinal rule to be observed in th e se lection of green vegetables is that they Shall not be stale . They are a ll liableto fe rment, and when they ar e stale this process m ay have

60 HEALTH A T HOME.

already begun, or, if not, it is quite likely to begin in th estom ach, to the hindrance of digestion.

Melons conta in a grea t deal of water, some sugar, and avery small pr oportion of other nutr iment. They are

,how

ever,exceedingly grateful to most persons

,particularly in

warm weather, and if ripe and fresh may generally be eateneven in enormous quantit ies with impunity. This is part icu lar ly true of the watermelon. Th e muskmelon

,if eaten

largely,is more apt than the watermelon to cause diarrhoea ,

and during some summers has a decided tendency thatway .

Fruits in general are nutritious and healthful, and theirfree use should be encouraged. With us they are generallyeaten at the latter end of a me al and at the close of the day.

Probably the reverse .of both of these practice s would bebetter. In warm countries it is common to preface theregular breakfast with oran ges or other fruits

,and the

Spaniards have a proverb, doubtless founded on expe r ience,that “ fruit is gold in the morning

, Silver at noon, and leadat night. ”

Sugar is a vegetable product and ave ry necessary articleof food. It is especially need ed by childr en, and the craving that nearly every child has f or sugar and sweet thingsis not a mere fancy

,but the expression of a gr eat ph ysio l ogi

cal need that ought to be satisfied. It is a popular notionthat sugar injures the teeth. A S sugar it can not do so

,for

so long as it remains unchan ged by ferm entation its tendency is to prevent decay. If it ferments in the stom ach itmay give rise to an acid that will injure th e te eth and impair digestion

,but in a healthy Stomach it is not likely to

ferment un less taken in excessive quantity or in connectionwith somethin g e lse that is in a state of fermentation.

Very m uch of the sugar now sold is adulte rated withglucose . This is a substance, not at all unwholesome n orin itself objectionable, in chemical composition very closely


added. A better plan is to skim th e cr e am from milk thath as stood for a f ew hour s an d is perfectly sweet, an d ad d toon e part of this cr eam

‘

two or thre e parts of water and alit tle sugar. Of course, th e cream so taken will b e mor ethan half milk

,an d the mixture re commended will very

closely re sem ble the natural food of infants . It is very d esirable

,and should h e insisted on whenever possible

,that

the sugar to be used shall be sugar of milk an d not canesugar. Th e form er can be procured at most drug- store s.It is much less liable to ferment in th e stomach than thelatter.Milk is frequently adulterated with wate r, and some

times,i t is said, with chalk and other substance s. Th e

lactome ter, which is an instrument commonly used to d ete e t adulteration of milk by ascertaining its specific gravity,is by no means a certain test, f or in the first place the specificgravi ty of milk from d ifi e

‘

r en t cows varies con side rably,

an d in the second place, if th e cream or a part of it be r emoved from any sample of milk, its specific gravity will beincr eased, an d , if water be added to it, its specific gravitywill b e lessened, so that a sam ple of milk may be bothskimmed and wate red, and yet the lactometer will recordthe weight of purity.

Ve ry little impure milk is now sold in NewYork city, onaccount of the stringency of the law. Th e sale of skimm edmilk there is entir e ly interdicted, u nder a heavy penalty,and consequently many pe ople have gotten the ide a thatskim med milk is unwhole some. It is

—

ce rtainly not d e sirable for babies, but for olde r pe r sons, who take other kindsof food

,i t is a very healthful dr ink.

T e a an d coff ee a r e not strictly food, for they supply nothing to the tissue s of the body, e xcept in th e small quantityof milk and su gar sometimes taken with them, but by diminishing th e waste of th e system they le ssen the quantityo f food required. A t th e same tim e they cause a Slight

THE FOOD WE EA T. 63

n ervous excitement, t o b e followed by re a ction, and this inm any per sons, when long continued, cause s a considerablen ervous d epression.

Ground coff e e is very generally adulterated , but ve ryrare ly with substan ce s that a r e a ctually d e leterious. Th e

most common adulterant is chiccory, which is perfe ctlywhole some .

T e as are alm ost sure to b e adulterated. In this art th eChinese have attained a marve lous degree of skill. Event h e varietie s of black t e a are mixed with othe r kinds ofleaves. They have also what they call lie- te a

,

” composedo f a little t e a -dust and for e ign leaves, with more or less ofsand, quartz, and magne tic oxide of iron, all made u p bymeans o f a solution of starch into little masses in im itationo f different kinds of te a . If this l ie - t e a is used for theadultera tion of black t e a , it may not be positive ly in ju r ioUsif used in green t e a th e masse s are u sually “ faced withPrussian-blue

,indigo

,and other poisonous matters, t o give

them the desired color. T e a s not unfr equently undergoa further process of “ doctoring after they leave the hand so f the im porter, an d be fore they com e to the consumer.Of condiments, th e only o n e that is a necessary article

o f food is salt. That it is ne cessary has been shown by r e

p e ate d experi m ents, as well as . by its presence as a component part of every tissue an d fluid of the body except theename l of the te eth. Beside s its direct nutr itive value , itpromotes appetite and digestion

,and is reputed to have

ve ry decided anti-m alarial properties.Th e various Spices ar e used simply to please the palate .

By th eir irritatin g prope rtie s they stimulate the flow ofsaliva, an d it is possible that in th e sam e way they maypromote the flow of othe r digest ive fluids an d thus aid indige stion whe n used in mode rate quantitie s, but when usedlarge ly the y ar e ap t t o irritate the stomach too much, andthus disorder dige stion.

LIGHTING A ND WA RMING.

THE advantages of gas for public illumination are

great and unde n iable . For the lighting of private dwellings it is in many respects

,and to a considerable extent

,

more convenient than an y othe r material. But,in a sani

tary point of view, it may well be doubted whether its u sehas not produced more harm than good.

No t to dwe ll upon minor evils— such as the prolongingof working hour s far into the nigh t

,thus giving to work

many hours which properly belong to Sleep, and to sleepmany hours which belong to work

,the actual escape of

gas into rooms by the leakage of the pipe s,or by car eless

ness in shutting ofi the je ts when th e light is to be ext in gu ish e d , an d such like

“ accidents —th e great sanitaryevil connected with the use of gas for household lightingarises from the fact of its enorm ous consum ption of oxygen. A sin gle gas-burne r vitiates, while in ope ration, asmuch air as is vitiated by th e bre athing of several pe r sons.That is, it takes from the air so much of th e oxygen, converting it into forms in which it is irrespirable

,an d thus

compels a greatly increased care in ventilation in order tom ainta in the atmosphere of a room or a house in a state ofpurity. But it is vain to expect that the u se of gas forhousehold illumination will de crease—will not

,in fact

,

increa se—unless it should b e to a greater o r le ss extentsuperseded by som e of the modes of electric lighting which

LIGHTING A ND WARMING. 6 5

are now u n d e rgom g th e processes of experiment an d

trial .Th e most which we can now do is to obviate, as far

as we may,the undeniable evils attendant u pon lighting

by gas. On e sweeping measure , which would, if practicable

,go far to this e n d , h as be en pr e posed . We are grave ly

assured that “n o gas

-burner should exist in any roomunle ss a tube of zinc or iron is placed over it to carry o ffthe de leter ious products of combustion, and convey themat once into the open air. ” There are few case s in whichthis would be practicable even in large buildings in ordinary hou sehold lighting it is wholly out of the question ;as much so as if in our houses we were directed to breatheon ly through

‘ a tube one end of which should be in themouth and the other in th e open a ir outside of the walls.In either case the products of combustion would be e fi ectn ally carried from the room. Chemists

,in their laborato

ries,do this in effect, to get rid of the noxious emanations

often evolved in their experiments and operat ions . But,

practically, the air vitiated by gas- combustion, as we ll as bybreathing, must go into the room,

and be thence dischargedby the ordinary mode s of ventilationNo gas-burner, there fore, should be allowed in a room

that is not —we ll ventilate d , an d th e number of burners tob e allowed in any room should b e limited by the size of theroom and its facilities for ventilation . That is to say

,for

each ordinary gas- jet as much fresh air must be suppliedas would be needed by three or four persons.Th e flickering of gaslight is a ve ry objectionable feature

,

especially if it is used for re adin g or writin g. On thisaccount refined ker osene-oil is pr efe rable to gas for thesepurpose s. T h e higher grade s of this oil

,commonly known

as“astral ” o r

“ head-light ” o il , give a clear, steady light,they ar e m ore manageable than gas, and with ordinary car eare alm ost, if not quite, devoid of danger. Th e lower

6 6 HEALTH A T HOME .

grades Should never b e allowed in the house, since they arealmost as explosive as gunpowder and mo re inflammable

,

they give very poor l ight wi th an offensive smell,and

their sole recommendation o f cheapness is largely d eceptive

,for they burn much more rapidly than the highly

refined oil.Candles are now so little used for general illuminating

purposes that their im portance is quite secondary. Th e

same general principles are applicable to their u se as to thatof gas or oil. Some lights consume more oxygen in proportion to their intensity than others

,but practically the

amount of fresh air required may be approximate ly estimated by the degree of light. That is to say

,the number

of candles or lamps necessary to furnish a light as powerfulas that of a gas- j et will need about the same amount ofventilation as th e latter.In reading

,one should sit, if possible, with the face

turned from the light,allowing it to fall over the shoulder

upon the paper. In wr iting, if the light Stands upon thetable, this is rarely practicable, and, if it we re, wou ld castthe shadow of the hand on the paper. There fore, in suchcircumstances it is always best to protect the eyes of thewriter by a shade either worn like a vi sor ove r the eyes, orelse par tially covering the lamp in such a way as to interpose between the flame and the eyes and yet l e t the lightfall fr e e ly upon th e paper. It is always bette r, providedthe light is strong enough

,that it should come from above

,

as the 'eye s a r e then protected by their natural curtains.In tropical regions there is no need to make artificial ar

rangements for warming a dwelling Nature has done thatin su p erflu ity but

,as we recede from th e equator in eithe r

direction ,this necessity begins to manifest itse lf more and

more,so that there are within the temperate zone s few

places in which a fi r e in th e house is not at times desirable. Th e farther we go from th e equator, the more press

LI GHTING A ND WARMING. 67

in g does this demand be come, until it is absolutely im perative for greater or less portions of the year.Th e original mode of house -warming was doubtless to

build a fire in the center of the hut or tent, leaving thesmoke to find its way out as best it could after pervadingth e whole interior ; and this is the me thod still pr acticedamong savage tribe s. Some inventive genius added achimney for carrying o ff the smoke . It was found thatthe chimney not only carried off the smoke

,but added

greatly to the activity of the fire itself. Th e primitivemode of warming in time became deve loped into the greatfireplace with its ma ssive andirons, which we know so wellby observation or description.

To be sure, the great fireplace demanded an enormoussupply of fuel to produce a tolerable amount of warming.

But,so long as fuel was abundant

,this was of comparative ly

li ttle importance, although the mere work of felling thetrees

,hauling the logs to the wood-pile

,cutting and split

ting them into manage able Size and shape,formed no

inconsiderable part of the year’s work. But fortunate lythis part of the work could be best done—at least on ourside of the A tlantic - at a season when the farmer had

,or

thought he had,little else that he could do .

T h e worst of these great chimney-fi r e s was that, be theyas large as they might, they only warmed a small part of alarge room

,while the ke en air from without found abun

dant means to enter and hold sway over the rest of the apartment. Sitting before the fire, one

’s face and ribs might behalf-roasted, while his neck and back were half-frozen. T o

go from the fireplace to the door was like passing in aninstant from India’s coral strand to Greenland’s icy moun tains. Moreove r, the chimney itse lf se emed at times to setitse lf at work to give an exem p l ificat ion of

“ th e total depravity of inanim ate things . ” Som etimes, without an y

apparent reason , it would not“ draw ” at all, and no per

68 HEALTH A T HOME.

su ad in g of the be llows would keep the fire burn in g.

Sometimes it would draw th e wron g way, send ing thesmoke down and out into th e room in dense clouds, to theno sm all discomfort of eye s and lungs. It is probable thataround these fi r e - sides more tears have be en shed by reasonof smoky chimneys than for the loss of friends and kindred .

S t ill, in spite of al l drawbacks, the old-fashioned fireplaceanswered its main purpose—that of warmin g the roompretty fairly

, except on the very coldest days ; and as forventilation

,nobody thought of that

,or

,indee d, had any occa

sion to think of it. So for generation after generation thesons built their fireplaces and ch imneys just as their fath e r s h ad done, quite content to let well enough alone .

Th e grate had its origin when coal began to take theplace of wood as fuel, and of course in England. T h e coalwould not lie upon the andirons, and so there must be aniron cage to hold it. Th e open grate shares with the openfireplace the obje ction that in very cold weather no Singlegrate is sufficient to heat a very large room. In the bestconstructe d grates more than three quarters of the heatproduced goe s up the chimney, and is lost for all warmingpurposes . For those to whom the savin g of expense is noobject, this defect .m ay be remedied by having two grate s,at opposite ends of the room

,which will thus b e sufficiently

and quite uniformly warmed throughout. Nothing can b emore pleasant than a large apartment thus warmed ; andwith the provision of me ans f o r th e admission of fr e sh air,the chimneys furnish ventilation as perfe ct as could b easked for.Th e so -called “Franklin stove was a great improve

ment u pon the common grate . In Franklin’s tim e coalh ad not begun to be used in this country as fuel. Th e

or iginal Franklin stove was designed so lely for burningwood. He rightly inferred that the heating power of a fireof a given size an d intensity was just in th e ratio of th e

70 HEALTH A T HOME.

cold. A considerable im provement in the ordinary closestove would be to make th e side s d ouble , as in the

“Fir e onthe Hear th just de scribed. T h e cold air a t the floor wouldth en r ise into th e he ated inte r space, and being heated therewould ascend, thus establishing somewhat of an equilibr iumbetwe en the temperature at the floor an d at the ceiling.

Two prominent evils are frequently con nected with theu se of close stoves. On e is the excessive drying of the airin the rooms where they are used. This is a common causeof d ryness of the lips and throat

,thirst

,headache, languor,

and general m a la i se, in pe rsons who sit in room s thuswarmed. It can very easily be prevented by keeping a littlewater in an urn or other vessel on the stove . Many stovesar e provided with urns for this purpose . It is only n ece ssary that th e water should be kept Slightly warm to facilitate evaporation . It should not be hot enough to producevi sible ste am .

Th e other evil is the escape of noxious gases from thestove into the room . This may occu r from imperfectionof the chimney-dr aught, from too great length of stove-pipe,from the closing of damper s to che ck the activity of thefi r e

,from imperfect joints or cracks in the pipe or in the

stove itself,or sometimes

,if the stove is of cast- iron , by

permeation of the gases through the hot iron. A littleobservation will com monly determine the cause, an d theremedy is then obvious.

There is always need of greater care in ventilatin g aroom heated by a close stove than in one heated by an openfire . A well-ventilated room, with a faulty stove, m ay be atolerably healthful one ; an ill-ventilated room, with thebest conceivabl e stove, m u st be an unhealthf ul one .

Th e common hot-air furnace is essentiall y a large inclosed stove placed in the basement, and havi ng flu e s leading to th e different rooms to be wholly or in part warm edby it. These fines are provi ded with registers and valves

LIGHTING A ND WARMING. 1

by which the entire amount of heated a ir m ay, if wished,be thr own into e ith e r of these rooms. A furnace is a veryconvenient adjunct t o th e ordinary hea tin g apparatus of ahome in o u r nor thern latitude s, whe r e , during very colddays, there is not sufficient fi r e to fully heat th e variousrooms an d pa ssage s to a pr ope r temperature .A h o t -a ir furnace is, however , by n o means an unmixed

ble ssing. Th e hot a ir delive red by it is nearly always moreor less contaminated with de leterious gases, and in manycases it is much too d ry to be suitable for breathing. Be

sides,the mode of d ifi u sin g the he at is entirely by con vec

tion,the am ount radiated from the metal of the register

an d conducted through the walls from the flu e s be ing soSm all that it may practically be disregarded. Th e hot airrise s at once to th e top of th e room , and, unless ther e issom e unusual me chanism for distr ibuting it, remains thereuntil it is cooled . In the absence o f any considerable ra

d iat in g surface the floor and the lower stratum of air inthe room remain cold. In short

,the evils of the close

stove ar e intensified by the hot-air furnace . A d d to thisthat the furnace is liable

,like an y stove, to get out of order

and be temporarily unfit for use,in which case a longe r

time must com m only e lapse be fore repairs can be madethan in th e case of an ordinary stove

,and in the mean time

the whole house is cold. If a Stove gives out unexpectedly,th e want of it u sually affects only one or two rooms

,and

can readily be supplied .

These considerations have, of late years, produced awholesome revulsion of feeling against the use of hot-airfurnace s, at le a st as th e ma in dependence for house -warming. In the mean time the improvements in self-feedingstoves render it possible to obtain most of th e advantage sof furn ace-he at with comparatively few of its disadvantages.If a furnace is to b e used at al l , it is of the utmost im portance to provide for a sufficient supply of moisture in th e

72 HEALTH A T‘

HOME.

air. This can be done by placing sufficient water where theair can ge t at it. Pu t water in the room to be heated, an deven in the interior of th e furnace itse lf, bear ing in mindthat the quantity of water taken up by evaporation is in proportion to th e amount of surface exposed to the air, not tothe quantity of water contained in the vessel. Pu t thewater

,therefore, into large shallow pans, renewing the sup

ply as often as necessary. Do this judiciously,and one will

have no further occasion to complain of the dryness of thefurnace- air.

There are various methods of heating by steam, inth emselves pre fe rable to any which have been de scribed ;but th e size and cost of the necessary apparatus prevent,and probably will prevent, its introduction into ordinarydwellings

,and will confine its use to large mansions

,pub

lic buildings,manuf actories

,and th e like .

T h e prope r temperatur e to b e mainta ined,in all rooms

where pe ople sit, is from 6 5° to 70° Fahr enheit, or about

1 8° to 2 1 ° centigrade . Every su ch room should be fur

n i shed with a thermometer,and this Should hang or stand

at a considerable distance fr om the source of h eat, andabout midway betwe en floor and ceiling. It should not be incon tact with the wall

,or with any obje ct that is liable to be

of a different tempe rature from the air of the room . Th e

heat Should then be regulated strictly by the thermometer.There are occasions

,as

'

in ce rta in form s of Sickness, when adiffe rent temperature is d esirable , but these com e unde r thecognizance of the physician

,and should always be deter

m i ned by him.

It is often said that the temperature of Sleeping-roomsshoul d be considerably lowe r than that of Sitting-room s.It m ay be so with safety, and perhaps with profit, in manycases. For those who ar e strong, however, it is not a m at

t e r of much conse quence , and for those who are weak thedanger from dressing and undressing in a cold room is con

LIGHTING A ND WARMING. 73

siderab l e . For the latter class of persons, if the bedroomis at a l l cool, there should be always a warm dre ssing-roomadjoining.

Probably the chief advantage of a cold bedroom is theabsence of th e unhealthful gases and d ry a ir that a i e f re

quently found in heated rooms. Th e partial cooling, atnight

,of a room that has be en he ated during the day, also

tends to purify the air by changing the direction of itscurrents and by the introduction of a larger quantity. Inrooms that ar e imperfe ctly ventila ted

,therefore

,it is bette r

that the temperature Should be lowered at night, and thisrule applies in some degree to other rooms as we ll as bedrooms. On this account i t is better that such rooms shouldnot be warmed by se lf-fe eding stoves. A pr eferable arrangement is one by which a little fire can be made just beforeth e room is to be used, and then a116wed to die out. Suchrooms, howeve r, are never fit for sleeping-rooms, and shouldn ever be used as such except in the direst necessity. Pro

vid ed the air in a Sleeping-room can be kept reasonablypure, the temperature may be determined entirely by thesense of personal comfort.

4

VIII.

DISINFECTA NTS .

DISINFECTA NTS are certain substances or forces whichhave the prope r ty of neutralizing or de stroying contagionsand miasms. A contagion is a product of disease

,capable

of communicating the dise ase to a healthy body by actualcontact. Such are the virus of small-pox and that of h yd r oph ob ia , etc . A miasm is an emanation capable of ihd ucin g disease in those to whom it is carried in the air orby som e other vehicle . Th e miasms against which d isinf ectan ts ar e commonly directed are, like contagions, th eproducts of certain diseases

,and capable of communicating

the same disease s. Both contagions an d mia sms m ay beabsorbed

,and he ld for a considerable t im e without losing

their virulence, by garments or other porous substances.Th e chemical constitution of contagions and miasms is

not known . It is thou ght to be of organic characte r, however, and in eve ry known instance seem s to be capable ofdecomposition in much th e same manner as organic compounds in general. Such d ecomposition takes place usuallyby means of oxidation . A l l agents, there fore, which favorthe combination of oxygen with other substances are d isinf ectan t s, more or less eflicien t in preportion to the activitywith which they promote oxidation .

A nother mode of disinfection is by dilution of the poison ou s principle. Th e matter containing this principlemay becom e so attenuated, by admixture with air, water,

DISINFECTANTS. 75

or almost any other substance through which it can bed isseminated, as to be practically innocuous, while, conve r se ly, the danger o f infection is always greater in preportion to th e concentration of infect ious material, as exem

p l ifi e d in many crowded hospitals, ships, prisons, tenementhouses

, e tc. Th e practical application of this for home u seis tha t fre quent washing of the bodies and clothing of thosewho a r e Sick of inf ectious diseases and of those also whoare exposed to the infe ction, and the freest possible ventilat ion, are valuable disinfe ctant measures. A t the same timeit must b e borne in mind that these measures are but pall iat ive , that the re are some infections which an ordin arywashing will not r emove

, an d that the very steam from awashing or the current of air t hat h as passed over an inf ected obje ct often carries th e infe ction in a suff iciently conce n trated form to reproduce the dise ase.A mongNature’s disinf ectants are cold and heat

,and she

often employs these upon a grand scale. Thus malaria,the

local cause of yellow fever and of ague, is deprived of itsnoxious power by a single hard frost. Cholera

,however

it m ay have been introduced into temperate regions, usuallydisappears on the approach of winte r. Practically we canmake but little use 'of cold as a disinfectant

,while we can

make large use of heat.Th e ancients were well aware that heatWas antagonistic

to infection so they built large fires in the streets to wardo ff or drive away the plague. Pliny says

,In heat itself

there is a certain medicatory virtu e. Th e experiments ofmodern science have more than confirmed the ancient speenl at ion s. In 1 82 4 Dr . Henry foun d that the virus of smallpox in clothing was de stroyed by exposing the garments toa temperature of fr om 1 40° to 2 00° Fahr . In 1 85 1 Dr . vonBusch, of Berlin , made trials of he at in a large hospital ofwhich he had the charge

,where an infectious fever was

alarmingly prevalent in some of the wards. A f ter trying

76 HEALTH A T HOME.

in vain all the usual methods of fumigation, he caused th epatients to be removed, and the wards heated to a tempe rature of T h e patients we re then brought back

, an d

not a single new case of the fever occurred.

Sim ilar successful experiments have be en made for ext irp a tin g the virus of yellow fever in large vessels. Th e

h atches were closed, and superheated steam was introducedinto the hold . Good use was also made of superheatedsteam in New York hospitals during the cholera season of1 866 .

Heat is beyond doubt the very best means of d isin f ection ,

where it can be thoroughly applied. But in ordinarydwe llings the adequate employment of this great d isinf ectan t must be very limited, and recourse must be had tomore convenient methods, which, while they rare ly whollydestroy the noxious element that produces disease, will, tosome extent, do away with the conditions favoring its furthe r increase and di ssemination, and thus will effect somegood—although probably much less than is generally supposed. But it must be borne in mind that mere perfumes

,

as such,are in no sense d isinfectants . They merely hide

the presence of noxious efli uvia, but do nothing t o destroythem. They only replace an unpleasant od or by a pleasantone .There are almost innumerab le artificial disinfectants,

bear ing high-sounding names. Some of these have a certain value others ar e worse than useless, because they induce a false feeling of security

,and thus prevent th e use of

more appropriate means of disin f ecti on.

Dr . Richardson, of London, who is high authority uponsanitary questions

,after d escribing some of what he con

siders the best methods of di sinfe ction, adds emphaticallyWhile these di fferent mean s of purifying the air are putforward as of immediate servi ce, it should always be rememb ered that they are temporary measures—nothing more.

78 HEALTH A T HOME

this or the chloride of lime should be used in larger quantities than is generally done to get the best effects .For the disinfection of sewers and pr ivies, a pound of

the sulphate of iron or chloride of lime,diffused in a gallon

of water, will answe r for a large amo unt of foul matter.Rooms which are occupied may b e disinfected by placing alittle fresh chl oride of lime in saucers in convenient placesin the

‘

room. A rt icles of clothing which are not ve ry muchcontam in ated may b e disinfected by exposing them to a

high temperature , or by boiling them in a solution of permanganate of potassa, one ounce to three gallons of water.Garments and bedding which have been greatly contamin at e d , especially by small-pox, should, however, invariablybe bu rned.

Sulphurous acid, in the form of vapor, is an ext remelyeffi cient and prompt di sinfectant. It acts

,like chlorine

,

by combination with the hydrogen of organic substances.It is an irrespirable vapor, however, in small quantitiescausing choking and coughing

,and in quantities su flicien t

for disinfecting purposes bein g destructive of all an imallife. It is, therefore, incapable of service in a room thatis occupied

,

“ but is invaluable for the final disinfection ofr ooms that have been vacated . It is produced by burningsulphur in the air. Th e room to b e disinfected shouldhave all the windows closed and all doors but one. Then,an iron or earthen pan containi ng coals of fire being place din the room, a few sm a ll pieces of brimstone or roll- sul phurare scattered upon the coals

,and the person who doe s this

immediately leaves the room and closes the la st door. Inthe course of ”two or three hours

,the fire having in the

mean time exhausted itself, doors and windows are to bethrown open to admit fresh air, and remove the rem ainingvapor and the sme ll of sulphur.Furniture,clothing, e tc. , may be disinfected by being

le ft in th e r oom du rin g this fum igation. It Shou ld be re

DISINFEOTA NTE. 79

m embered, however, that sulphurous acid is a powerfulbleacher, and that many fabrics will therefore be ruined byits action.

Of late years carbolic acid (which is obtained by th ed istillation of coal- tar) has become th e most common disinfe ctant, and is be lieved to posse ss more than an y otherth e property of de stroying minute anim al an d vegetableorganisms in the air an d e lsewhere . But Dr . Richardsonis earne st in his recomm endation of iodine , which he considers better than any other means for disinfecting th e airo f water-closets and other small rooms. He also gives avery cheap and simple me thod of usin g this disinfectantGe t from the apothecary a common chip ointment-box,

o f about an inch and a half in diameter take o ff the lid ofth e box, and remove the top of it, so that th e r ing partonly rem ains ; put into the body of the box two drachms

’

weight of pure iodine (that is, th e m etalloid itself, not itstincture or spirituous solution) stretch a bit of muslingauze over the top of the box, and over the muslin pressd own the ring of the lid, so as to make the muslin tautover the top o f the box. Then cut away the loose muslina round th e ring,

“ and then,complete and re ady f o r use

,

you have an iodine deodor izing-box which will la st in actionfor six or eight weeks, even in hot weather. T o bring thisbox into practical application it is only necessary to placeit in the closet or on a she lf or any othe r resting-place.T h e iodine will volatilize Slowly into the a ir through themuslin gauze, will diffuse itself

“

through the air,which it

will deodorize, and after a time communicate freely anodor like that of fresh sea-air. In case s where an instan te ff e ct is require d , the iodine m ay be volatilized in a mor erapid manner . A little of it may be placed on a plate

,and

th e plate held over a spirit-lamp within the closet for am inute or two. Th e iodine

,diffused by heat, will pass off

as a violet -colored vapor, an d as it passes through the air

80 HEALTH A T HOME.

will exercise a rapid purifying action. Th e vapor as itcools will condense upon the walls, and there will continueits work of purification .

”

Dr . Richardson also devised a very Simple means ofpurifying larger rooms by means of diffusing deodorizingand disinfecting substances through the air in th e form offine Spray. T h e fluid used was made by adding iodine toa solution of the peroxide of hydrogen. Th e wate r wasalso charged with two and a half per cent of sea- salt, andwas set aside until it was saturated with the iodine. T h e

fluid was then filtered and placed in a spray-apparatus, bywhich, when required, it was diffused in the finest state ofdistribution at the rate of two fluid ounces an hour. In abedroom or sitting-room of ordinary size, one ounce of thefluid was sufficient to render the air—as tried by the bestchemical tests—perfectly pure

,and that in the course of ten

or twelve minutes. Th e apparatus,” says its enthusiastic

inventor,“was so Simple in action that any nurse could put

it into operation at once,and could deodorize a room hour

by hour on the direction of the medical attendant. In

fact, there was produced a sea-atmosphere in the room.

Every one perceives at once the difference between apure inland-breeze and a pure sea-breeze. This ari sesmainly from the fact that the latter contains some admixture of salt and a little iodine. Now,

i f one could at willintroduce into his city or country bedroom

,parlor

,or ofi ce

the atmosphere of the sea- Shore, it could not fa il to be ofhigh advantage . Instead of going to the se a -shore, hewould practically

,for the time being, brin g

- the sea-Shore to

A word of caution is necessary in - regard to this use ofiodine

,and it will apply in some degree to the use of chlo

rine and of m any other disinfectants. Th e oxygen whichis set free by the se means is eager for a new combination.

This is precisely what makes it valuable as an oxidizer of

DISINEE OTANTS . 81

d eleterious organic matter, but it is equally ready to a t

tack some othe r substance s, including me tals. T h ereforemetallic fixture s, ornament s, instruments, etc. will be rapidly rusted in a room where disinfectants of this class areused, an d especially whe re the iodine volatilizer describedby Richardson is in u se for weeks together. They shouldtherefore be first removed, or e lse protected by some coat ingthat will prevent rust.

THE BEDROOMS.

THERE are those wh o profess to con sider every hourspent in sleep as so much lost time. For aught we kn ow

,

the Creator might have so constituted man that he shou ldnot requi re any regularly re tu rning intervals of repose .But he h as not done so . Th e physical laws which governour earthly life pr escribe sleep and it is only by obedience to these physical laws that bodily health can be maintain e d .

Th e time required for sle ep varies much in differentindividuals more in the same individual at different ages

,

in different states of health,and at diffe rent seasons of the

year. Dr . Richardson says We require in the cold season of winter, when the n ights are lo ng, much more ofsleep than we do in the sum m er. On the longest day inthe year

,seven hours of sleep is suffi cient for most men and

women who ar e in the prim e of life . On the shortest d ay,nine hours of Sleep is not overmuch and, for those who ar eweakly

,ten or twe lve hour s may be taken with r eal advan

tage . In winter, children should always have ten or twelvehours of sleep . It is not idleness to indulge to that extentbut an actual saving, a storing up of invigorated existencefor the future .

”

Perhaps this may hold good for Great Britain, wherethe lon gest days and the longest nights are longer thanwith us and where the people are of a somewhat more

THE BEDROOMS. 83

ph legm atic temperament. But for us, and in our climate,the e stimate is probably somewha t too high, taken a s awh ole. Infants, inde ed, pass almost the ir whole time forseveral months in sle ep old age some tim es demands moreSle ep than do youth an d matur ity sickness asks f o r moreSleep than health doe s . T oo much sleep is injur ious as

we ll as too m uch e ating. L eaving infancy, old age , an d

sickness out of view,probably eight hours out of the twen

ty-four for Sle ep is a fa ir average for men and women in ourcountry, who are in ordinary health and engaged in theo rdin ary occupations of life . That is, about one third ofthe time during the most busy period of our life must begiven up to Sle ep.

Ou r Sleeping hours ar e exposed to many perils fromwhich our waking hours a r e exem pt. When awake we canclose the windows if the draught is excessive put on moreclothing if we ar e cold lay aside some if we are too warmreplenish the fire if it burns too low, and do in numerableo the r things which it is de sirable should be done . In

Sle ep our actions are withdrawn almost wholly from our owncontrol. Whatever preparations are to be made for healtha n d comfort dur ing sleep must be made while we areawake . Were it not that the vital functions of th e lungsa n d heart go on independent of our volitions, every sleepwould be one from which there is no waking— sleep anddeath wou ld b e words of the same import.

Then, a lso, th e condition of the body an d of all its surroundings is most unfavorable durin g the hours speciallyd evoted to sle ep— say from midnight to daylight. Duringthese hours the life-giving influence of the sun h as be enlongest withdrawn from us

,and the vital processes are a t

the ir lowest point. Deaths— especially of those who ar esuffe ring from protracted illness—occur far more fre quentlyduring the se hours than during a like period of an y otherpart of the day. These hours are regarded by all physi

84 HEALTH A T HOME.

cian s, and others who h ave constant care of the sick, as critical hour s. On e of our old writers styles ‘them th e “ hoursof Fate .

” For all o f us, an d especially for those who aretreading the downward slope of life, sle ep is deepest anddeath nearest in these hours of Fate .Imagine a case, whi ch sh all not be exceptional, but a

fair type of many which are of constant occurrence : A man

somewhat declin ed into the vale of years, but in good o r

d in ary health for hi s age, h as.passed a winte r evening in his

parlor,heated to a pleasant summer temperature. A t eleven

o’clock he goes to h is bedr oom, in whi ch a fire h as beenkept up . This is still burning, although it is b eginning towax low. But the room is yet warm ; so he does not r eplenish the fuel

,but lies down to re st, and soon falls into

sound sle ep . Four or five hours elapse, du ring which a

great change h as be en gradually going on in the room .

Th e fi r e in the grate has burned out and the temperaturewithin has sunk almost as low as that without—say thirtyor forty degrees lower than it had been. Th e sle eper liesunconscious of all this. Perhaps the bedclothing may besufficient to prevent him from feeling cold. Bu t he h asbe en rece iving cold air int o his lungs

,long accustomed on l y

to the inhalation of warm air. Th e minute blood-vessels ofthe lungs are more or less paralyzed by the unwonted cold air .

They become congested,and thi s congestion may resu l t in a

bronchial irri tation and obstruction,whi ch constitutes one

of th e most fatal diseases in cident to age d people, and whi chmanifests itself most espe cia lly when winter comes on.

Now,h ad the sleeper been awake during these few

hours, nothing of the kind would have happened. He

would have replenished the fire in due time,and would

thus have kept up a uni form temperature thr ough thenight. Un i formity of temperature during all the hours ofsle ep is, for a person not in robust health, of much moreconsequence than mere warmth .

86 HEA LTH A T HOME.

location and arrangement ar e the re fore of the first im portance. Th e pleasante st and sunniest rooms in th e upp e rpart of the house should be devoted to this purpose . A

basement bedroom is neve r to be tolerated on any account,nor should on e exist on th e first floor unless there is underit a high and dr y basement.

Th e floor of a bedroom can not be too good, and th ebe st floor is one of wood, well seasoned, smooth, care fullyfitted and properly laid ; not painted, but stained, if d esired, to a light oak color. If, however, as is most likely,th e floor is not good enough for this u se , it may be cove r e dwith oil-cloth or str aw-matting. Each of the se materialspresents some Special advantages

,and they about balance

each other.Oil-cloth is impermeable by water or dust

,is easily

Swept and cleaned, an d very durable , so that it hardly n eedsto be taken up until quite worn out. It shou ld thereforebe a ccurately fitted to every line , angle, and turning of th ewalls of th e room, we ll laid, and securely nailed down . Itshould be of some on e color, agreeable to the eye in itself orin connection with that of th e walls and ceiling. If these

,

as is to be suggested hereafter, ar e bluish, the oil- cloth

should be of a reddish-brown tint,thus following Nature,

our best guide, who spreads an overarching canopy of blueabove the blooming of the land whose prevailing t ints arebrownish .

If matting b e chosen for the flo or -cover ing,the same

general rules are to b e observed as for oil-cloth . It shouldbe of the natural delicate yellowi sh hue of the rushe s ofwhich it is made . Straw-m atting is pleasanter to the treadand less resonant to the foot- fall than oil-cloth . It is e asily swept, and may be washed o ff when in any way soiled.

Whether oil-cloth or matting be used as a flo or - covering,strips of carpeting—rugs, in fact—should be laid over it inthe places most frequently trodden upon : as in fr ont of

THE BEDROOMS. 87

the fi re—if there be one by the sides of the bed, and infr ont of the wardrobe

,dressing-table, and wa sh stand.

These strips are not to be tacked down at all. They shouldbe taken up whenever the room is swept, carried out-doors,shaken and be ate n , brought back and laid down again. Inthese carpe t- strips or rugs, some license—but n o t overmuch—m ay b e taken as to color. Darker colors and more brillian t tints than are admissible elsewhere in the room maybe used here .

Th e practices which should prevail in the use of carpetsin bedrooms may be summed up in two rules : 1 . Havecarpet str ips in every part of the room Where th e fee tare regularly and frequently placed. This will include al l

the places specified above . 2 . Have no carpets in any par tof th e room where th e fe et are not regularly and frequentlyplaced.

"

This will exclude a space of two or three fe e taround the room next to the walls, and most especiallythe space under the bed. Th e reason for the la tter rule isthat every unnecessary inch of carpe t adds to the impur ities floating ih the air of th e room by accumulating dust.Much of the dust thus collected in bedrooms in spite of themost careful sweeping, is of organic origin, an d , if not originally noxious, soon becomes so bymeans of fermentationan d decomposition.

If wall-paper is to be used, the following directions ofDr . Rich ardson are eminently worthy of observance 1 .

Th e paper selected should not be a flock -paper. ’ 2 . Itought not to have a raised or

'

rough surface . 3. Th e pattern should be of the plainest kind—so to speak, patternless. 4. Th e color should be gray, se a -green

, Or sky-blue .

5 . It Should be renewed every three years at le ast. 6 .

Th e old paper should be entire ly str ipped o ff , an d th e wallbe well cle ansed of d ry paste. 7. Th e new pape r shouldb e put o n with paste fresh and pure

,into which a li ttle

alum has been introduced.

83 HEALTH A T HOME

But better than to use paper at all, and cheaper in the longru n , is to have the walls hard finished an d painted in a delicate tint—say sky-blue or sea -green. Some of the silicate paints are in some respects the best but th eir use israther costly, owing to the fact that they do not “ cover

”

well four coats may be required where two of the ordinarylead or zinc paints would be sufficient. A fter all, perhapsthe old mode of painting walls in distemper ” is about asgood as any, taking th e comparative cheapness in to account.A t least, there are no sanitary objections to it, as in thecase of wall-paper.Th e general rules applicable to the walls apply equally

to the ceiling. It should in no case be pure white,but of

a tint approximating to the wall, preferably a little lighterin shade.Th e fittings of a bedroom Should be simple rather than

ornate. B r i e-a-Ora e , to any great extent, is quite out ofplace. Th e room is mainly

,

designed for a place of rest anda “ cluttered-u p aspect is suggestive of anything ratherthan repose. A f ew good pictu res (if they can be afforded )or engravings should hang upon, not cover, the walls. Butthe pictures should not be of a very bright tone, and thesubjects should always be pleasant ones.It matters little whether the bedstead be of metal or

of wood. It should stand upon casters, and be l ight enoughto be easily moved for sweeping under it, and for otherpurposes.

Th e great feather-bed, the pride and glory of housekeepers o f former generations, is now, fortunately, prettynearly a thing of the past. It was not favorable to health.

Spring-mattresses, of various devices, are excellent. Ma t

tresses of curled hair and the like are unexceptionable .Th e great evil of a very hard bed is that it supports thebody of a sleeper at only a few points

,namely, the shoul

ders and hips. A n y b ed whi ch is suffi ciently yield ing to

THE BEDROOMS . 89

give to the body at every point—t o adapt itself to thehollows and protuberances of the frame—is in so far agood one. A soft quilt may properly be placed over themattress. -A very thin feathe r-bed is not inadmissible incold weather

,although th e quilt answe rs every purpose .

Feathers, though to a good extent banished from use asbeds

,are still

‘

m ost commonly retained for pillows. Now,

feathers require to be cleaned from time to time, and muchm ore frequently than i s generally practiced. It is too oftenassumed that

,as long as the pillow has no decided musty

smell, all is right. Th e feathers, af ter cleansing, should bethoroughly dried

,or mischief will happen.

For sheets and pillow-cases cotton is in many cases prefe rab l e to linen. Th e outer bedclothing should be as lightas i s consistent with a sufficient amount of

,protecting

power. No clothing,whether for the bed or the person

,

p r oduces an y heat. It merely acts as a non-conductor , hindering the heat generated by the vital forces within thebody from escaping. Woolen blankets

,of a fle ecy texture,

a r e undoubtedly the best bedclothing. If a comforter ”

be desired, one of cotton is quite as good as on e of the cos tliest cider-down. It should consist of not more than threeor four pounds of smooth cotton bats ” quilted betwe ena cloth covering on each side . It is advisable that no Sin

gl e article of bedclothing be very thick, but , that there beat least two of each kind

,so that the thickness of the whole

m ay h e graduated according to the weather ; an d so thatthey can be changed frequently. Moreover

,a thin cove r

ing affords less lodgment for the exhalations of the bodythan does a thick one .It is sometimes thought to be a token of

"

neatness thatthe occupant of a bedroom tidy it up by making-u p thebed be fore bre akfast. But this is not advisable . It is

‘

h e tter that the b ed be smoothed up until the morning ablut ions and dressm g have been performed, so that the exhala

90 HEALTH A T HOME.

tions of the night shall not e scape into the room . Then,

the last thing be fore leaving the room,take off al l article s

of th e bedclothing, h ang them as separately as m ay b e

over the foot of th e b e d and upon cha irs, and open th e windows

,so that everything may be thoroughly aired before the

bed is made up .

Th e windows should be le ft open in ple asant weatheruntil the sun begins to decline , when they should be closed,since late in the day the air

, except on very bright days, h egins to be charged with sensible moisture— that is, it ismore or loss “ dam p ” and to sleep in damp air is near lyas bad as to sleep in dam p sheets .Th e common except ion to Sleeping in night air

,

thou gh not very well expressed, is pe rfe ctly sound in fact.T o be sure, air in the night can, in a strict sense , h e nothing else than n ight air ” but what is meant in the oh

jection is air unduly charged with sensible moisture. T o

breathe such a ir during the day would be just as deleterious as to breathe it dur ing the night, onl y that duringsleep the physical system is in a condition le ss fitted t o r e

sist its evil influence . This does n o t apply to malariousdistricts

,where noxious exhalation s are thrown from th e

soil into th e air much more abundan tly during the nightthan during the d ay . Thus one may pass the day in th ePontine Marshes n ear Rome, or in th e rice- swamps of SouthCarolina

,with tolerable safety, while it is almost fata l to

sleep the re for a single night.It is ve ry de sirable that only one person Should occupy

a bed . In no case, if it can possibly be avoided, Shouldtwo persons very diff erent in age , temperament, an d habits,sle ep together. Th e evils resulting to a young person fromsleeping with an aged one are universally recognized. Th e

child is almost sure to become enf eebled whether the agedperson is benefited thereby, as is commonly supposed, is notso certain. Th e common opinion is, that th e old person in

9 1

some mysterious way draws out vitality from the youngo n e

, and absorbs it into his own system .

But,leaving this out of view,

the r e are evils more o r lessinseparable from double -b e d Sle eping. Ve ry rarely willtwo persons sle ep toge the r whose system s require just thesame amount of bedclothing ; an d , if a compr omise is e ff ecte d , one must have too little , th e othe r to o much . Ifon e of them be restless, the other must be annoyed if onebe wakeful

,he will disturb t h e sleep of the other. A n d in

any case each must in som e degree inhale the vitiated airwhich has ju st

'

b e en breathed out by the other. Two single beds of course occupy somewhat more space than a doubleone. A n d in case the size and shape of the bedroom

,or

the uses other than Sleeping for which it may be required,

pre clude two ordinary beds,a “ trundle-bed

,to be run

beneath th e other during the d ay, is preferab le to a doublebed, especially where one of the occupants is a child.

A bedroom should, as far as possible, not be used asa store-room an d

,in case it is necessary to have a trunk

or two in it,these may be utilized as couches or seats

,by

covering them with cushions made for the purpose. Mostespecially the space under the bed should not be used as arepository f o r things to be kept out of Sight. Whereverelse Shoes, bundles, and odds and ends m ay be placed, theyshould never b e found under the bed.

In a he althful home,no bedroom to be occupied by a Sin

gle person will contain less th an eight hundred cubic feetsay t en feet long, eight feet wide, and t e n feet high . Fortwo persons its cubical contents Should be greater by atle ast one half ; say twe lve fe e t lon g and te n feet broad ;and a still more liberal amount of space is desirable if theSize of the h ouse will permit.

THE CLOTHING WE WEA R .

GREA T is the S igni ficance of clothes, says T eufe lsdrock-Carlyle. By “ clothes he indeed means those institu t ion s, forms, habits, and customs which man, the spi ritu al ity, has hung upon or wr apped around himself as aninvisible environment for his visible existence. But

,in a

hygienic point of view, we may take the word in its literalsignification.

Th e chief materials used by man for clothing are skins,furs, the bark and leaves of trees, or fabrics made fromthem, Silk, wool, cotton, and linen. L eaving the othermaterials out of view

,it may be said that, especially for

under-garments, silk is the best but its comparative costprecludes its very extensive use for that pu rpose. Thencome wool, cotton, and linen ; wool bein g the best an d

lin en the worst of the three for this use.A s far as health and comfort are concerned

,the i n h ab

itan ts of warm regions, taught by instinct or experience,prefer either as little clothing as is consistent with decency,or loose and flowing garments while the inhabitants ofcold regions prefer garmen ts which fit somewhat close ly toeach part of the pe rson, and, when loose and flowing onesare added

,it is mainl y and especially for the sake of adorn

ment,not for health or comf ort. Oute r garments, or

wraps, such as Shawls and cloaks, are an exception to this.No attire is beautiful, or will ever be considered so, except

94 HEALTH A T HOME.

pulling down upon muscles which have enough to do toperform their own work, impairs the .whole proce ss ofbreathing—that vital function upon whose proper performance every other function depends . A ll the organs be lowthe tight band which upholds th e Skirts are dragged stillfarther downward by a steady, constant pull ; and each ofthem, one ofter the other, begins to complain.

First, perhaps, the stomach gives out its monitory voice.There are fluctuating pa ins here

,there , and everywhere,

but seeming to find a common center at the middl e of thechest, accompanied by an uneasy pulling down ward at thepit of the stomach . Th e sufferer tries to describe this sensation by designating it as a fee ling of

“ goneness. ” Itclosely sim ulates the sensation of faintness occasioned bywant of food. Sometimes, indeed, the irritation of thestomach thus caused produces a factitious hunger, so thatthe suff erer is always eating

,

” and perhaps congratulatesherself upon her excellent appetite. But b y-and-b y, al

though the appetite appears to be so good,the food, be it

what it may,does not “ agree ” with her. Th e stom ach

either rejects its burden or passes it on undigested, or th e h e rr or s of dyspepsia are added to the misery a lready endured.

In other cases the same irritation causes—loss of appetite .Th e mere displacement Of an y one organ involves a dis

placement o f adjacent on es, each of which must in turntake possession of some of th e space belonging to its neighbor. T h e liver can not do its work properly, and so biliousaffections are promoted. Meanwhile the passage of thefood

,after it has left the stomach, is interrupted in the

bowels,producing constipation and occasionally violent in

flam m a tiOn and ulcers. Th e heart also—that toughest ofall the organs

,which has been compared to an animated

India -rubber bag—flags in its u nceasing work, and sendsout its plaint in the form of palpitations, flu tte r in gs, andsinking feelings.

”

THE OLOTHING WE WEAR. 9 5

Worse even than any or all is the eff ect produced uponth e organs belonging specially to th e female sex, wh o notunfrequently unde rgo from this cause tortures equal tothose of the rack or the stake . A n d the in timate relationsbetween the se organs and the bra in and entire nervous syst em induce untold agony, both of body and mind.

Many years ago Miss Bee cher, in her L etters to A merican Women,

” put forth statistics, drawn from wide ob se r

vation an d inquiry, to the startling eff ect that among A merican women, in good circum stances of life, hardly on e in tenwas fitted to pe rform th e functions of mo therhood. Itm ay be hoped that this est imate was e xaggerated butthe r e can b e no doubt that it embodie s a fearful am ount oftruth. A n d there can be as little doub t that m uch of thisis owing to faulty modes of dress, and notably in the r e

spect of which we a re speaking.

On e of the worst things in this case is th at this abusein dress begins at a quite early age . Very tight lacing wasn o t

F

u s

’

u al ly systematically begun until the girl had enterede arly womanhood and was of an age -to go out

,

” by whichtim e th e bones had become su fficiently “ set ” to off e r a

stout an d partially successful opposition to the pressure.But th e heavy unsupported skirts are hung upon the schoolgirl before Sh e has fairly entered h e r teens.

This long train of evils m ay be avoided by a m od ifi

cation in the manner of supporting th e skirts. Have ajacket made, fitting well to the figure, like the waist of adress it may be best fitted over a corset. It is to be lacedbehind, but not so tightly that a full breath can not beeasily drawn while in a Sittin g position. It is imm aterialwhether there ar e Sleeve s or not ; in eithe r case , the armh ole s should not be so sm all as to im pe de th e fr e e movements of th e shoulde r- joint. Th e jacket may be stiffenedby thin slips of whalebone, which yield re adily to eve rym otion of the body, and the corset should be dispensed

96 HEALTH A T HOME

with, all its valuable uses being perfe ctly supplied by th ejacket. No stiff corset-board ” is ia ro n t

,no unyie lding

“ ste e ls at the back, to interfe re with the graceful, swanlike curve which the many- jointed Spine assumes whenstooping

,if its action is not interfered with. A t the bot

tom of the jacket are buttons to which are fastened all th eSkirts, etc . , be they more or less in number. Their weight

,

within any reasonable limits, is of little consequence it isall suspended from the Shoulders, which are abundantlyable to sustain it.Th e best mode of und er-dr essing for all females, and e s

p ecial ly for the young, is to wear next to the person aclosely-fi ttin g waist of flannel or soft cotton, to which thed rawers are buttoned over this the chemise

,and over th at

the jacket. Then comes the dress itself,of any material

,

shape, or fa shi on which may be chosen by the wearer.Th e usual full dress of ladies, as far as the clothing

of the chest is concerned, is most defective . Dr . Richardson, whom we have already frequently cited, says em ph at ically that men would be suff ering every day from coldsand bronchitis if they went as women go with the u pperpar t of the body practically unclothed and it was his ex

p e r ience that, in the large majority of cases of people ofconsumptive tendencies, the di rect cause of the evil wasthe exposure of the chest. Clothing

,h e says, should be as

porous as possible, and there is no substance for dress asgood as light, loose woolen cloth . In a sanitary point ofview

,color is of considerable importance . For cle an l i

n ess,eff ect of light upon the body

,and warmth, gray is the

best color,black the worst

,for the outside dress.

Drawers should be depended on for securing warmth tothe lower limbs

,and they should be of material sufficient

to accomplish this without aid, skirts being added as desired for the sake of appearance, since the latter do not fitclosely enough to give adequate protection against th e cur

98 HEALTH A T HOME

impeding the circulation of the blood,inducing coldness of

th e fe et, and causing the veins of the legs to swell an d inmany cases to be com e varicose . It is better that the suppor t Shou ld b e by means of an elastic band attache d to th edrawers .Just now the shoes, whether for males or females, are

literally th e great stumbling-blocks in the way of healthfuldressin g. A long and narrow foot h as come to be con sidered a great point of beauty. So we have the sharp-pointed,n arrow-soled shoe of the tim e . If one could onl y look upona foot which has been distorte d by the long wearing of suchshoes

,h e would have a spectacle of extrem e de form i ty. T o

say nothing of painf ul corns,unsightly callosities, and bun

ions,the great-toe is deflected from its place, and li es partly

across the other toes,which

,as feebler members, have to

adjust themselves as best they may to the confined quartersinto which they are for ced. It will be fortunate if an ingrowing nail or two is not added to the inevitable corns andbunions.

Th e great-toe is a member of much more importancethan is generally supposed. It is the great pivot uponwhich th e body moves at one period in the act of walking.

It is to the human foot very much what the thumb is to thehand. In olden times, when a somewhat merciful capt orwished to rend er his prisoners incapable of further off ense ,with the least personal injury to them

,he cut off their

great- toes an d thumbs. A person thus mutilate d is p r actically a cripple. Cut OR the thumbs and gr eat- toes ofeve ry person, and in a generation or two the human racewould be extinct, simply because without the constant useof these members the various works necessary to humanlife can not be adequately performed. In respect to thehand the experiment may be ea sily tried without am p u

tating the thumb . T ie it firmly down,so that it can not

be used, and see how many implements you can manage

THE CLOTHING WE WEAR. 99

with only the other fingers . I f one could treat th e greatt o e in the same manner, th e result would b e quite corresp on de n t .

Sir Charle s Be ll, in his adm irable“ Bridgewate r T r eat

ise ,” has set forth th e construction of th e human hand as a

striking instance of the divine adaptation of means to ends.A like treatise might b e written concerning the foot. In itsnatural state the different bones and cartilages of the f e e ta r e so arranged as to form an e lastic arch, of which th ehe el and ball of the foot are the base of the support, sothat

,when we tread

,the weight of the body doe s not come

down plump at once as it does upon th e stum p of a woodenl eg. Th e im pact is broken by th e momentary yielding ofth e arch . When the natural structure of this arch

,or the

play of its parts,is interfered with in any way, its uses are

in so far frustrated. Th e male Shoe is b ad enough in thisrespect but in th e female shoe

,as now fa shionably made

,

everything is as wrong as it well can be. Th e he el is soh igh that it takes nearly the whole im pact, of which itsh ould bear only half it is brought down to a point toosmall to

'

furnish a good part of a firm ba sis and the muscle s of the ankle are st ra ined in the vain attempt to ma intain the equipoise ; they give way upon one side or theo ther , usually upon the outer side the heel of the shoe isworn away more u pon that side

,and the muscle s of the

ankle ar e more and more wrenched by the lopsidednesso f th e tread. A n d

,worse than all

,the heel of the Shoe ,

instead of being directly under the heel of the foot, isbrought forward until it is almost unde r the insertion ofthe ankle-bone, with which it forms nearly a straight line.Th e consequence is that

,when the wearer walks

,it is al

most as though she were mounted upon a pair of woodenstumps. Sh e minces in her ga it

,an d this is commonly

se t down to affectation . It is no such thin g in most ca ses .T h e poor creature is doing the best she can under d i fficu l


ties for which she and the shoemaker are jointly,though

perhaps ignorantly,responsible.

There is as much reason for th e shoe being fitted to th ethe foot as for th e jacke t being fi tted to th e bust. A n d

this can b e done only by measurement as thus Le t on e

foot be placed firmly upon the floor,while standing er ect

an d bearing one ’s whole weight upon it. If the toes havebeen distorted from their proper positions

,it is better to

put between them soft pledgets of cotton or th e like, tobring them as near as may be to their right position.

These will b e cover ed by the stocking,and so th e m easurer

need know nothing of them . A sheet of paper will havebeen laid upon the floor

,under the foot upon this l e t the

orthopedic artist trace the outline of the foot,all around

from hee l to toe. This outline gi ves the form of the sole,and it will be quite different from that of the readymade Shoes displayed in the show-windows. If one wishto have one’s shodden foot appear a little longer, and consequently n arr ower, than it really is, there is no objectionto the sole be ing somewhat prolonged, and brought nearerto a point beyond the toes.But fe et diffe r considerably in other respects than

length and breadth of sole. On e foot will diffe r froman other, of the same length an d breadth, in thickness atvarious points

,and especially in

”

height of instep . T o

insure a “ good fit,

” measur ements must be taken , by a

tape-measure,at several places, and carefully noted d own .

If one could be quite certain that the shoem aker would bestrictly guided by his measureme n t s, no furthe r directionsneed b e given but it m ay be well to te ll him that you wisha “ loose fit

,rather than a “ tight ” one .

Ready-made shoes be ing made to scale, or perhaps totwo or three scale s, will not fit all feet, an d in o st likelywill not be a perfect fit to an y one foot. If, however, onechances to find a ready-made shoe that is a tolerable fit in

HEALTH A T HOME.

Gloves, to be warm , should be loose and come well upon the wr ist

,over lapping the sle eve of

‘

the under shirt.Silk, wool, cotton, any woven stuff, is preferable to skin,because it does not confine th e pe r spiration, can b e mor ethoroughly air ed and clean sed

,and i n case of wetting is

less uncomfortable. Driving-glove s must, on account ofthe wear to which they ar e exposed, b e wholly or partly ofskin . A common fault with gentlem en’s driving-gloves isthat they are either t oO Short or too flaring a t t h e wrist .In e ithe r ca se they afford in su fi cien t protection from wind,and shoul d b e supplemente d by wristlets.Hats Shoul d be worn for the reason given in reply to

the old conundrum,Why does a mill er wear a white

hat -the correct answer being, T o cover his head.

”

They are worn by m en ,comm only

,for this reason—b y

women,not always. It is a common remark among phy

sician s that neuralgi a of the face and head is much morecommon am ong women than amon g men

,and the cause of

th e diff erence is thought to l ie large ly in the fact that thehead- coverings of women ar e fr equently insuffi cient. Th e

entir e top of the head should b e cover ed, and in coldwe ather th e covering should be warm and Shoul d includethe tem ples and the back of the head.

For males the narrow-brim med,high- cr owned, u n yi e ld

ing beave r ” is adapted to no good u se . If not quite tightit is sure to be blown o ff at th e slightest provocation andif tight i t touche s the head only at a f ew points, whe re itproduces ir r itation if not di scolor ation and the brim is toonarrow to afford any shelter t o the eyes. A soft felt hat

,

with a brim of moderate width, the crown rising three orfour inches above the top o f th e head, is graceful and conven ie n t, and leave s little to b e de sire d in a sanitary point ofview. If light in color

,and light in texture, it is better

for summer we ar than any fabrication of straw.

Th e overcoat is the part of our present male att ire

THE CLOTHING WE WEAR. 1 03

which most needs improvement. Of the mere dress ove rcoat nothing ne ed b e said. For the purpose of protectionfrom cold an d storms, all overcoats except the

“ ulster,

”

or something like it,are very deficien t. While they prote ct

th e chest an d arms, the skirts afford little protection t oth e legs eithe r while walking or Sitting ; and, moreove r,what with linings and paddings, it is n o t e asy to dry on ethoroughly Should it chance to get wet th rou gh.

Th e Peruvian poncho,” with certain modifications

,is

perhaps the best form for an outer wrap to be put on orlaid aside as th e occasion require s. In its Sim plest form i t

consists merely of a square piece of cloth with a hole in thecenter large enough for the head to pass through

,the size

of the cloth being such that, when thus placed upon theshould ers, it will reach nearly to the fee t. Now slit thiscloth down through th e middle on one Side

,and upon th e

opposite edges of this slit sew a f ew hooks- and- eye s (whichare preferable to buttons and button-holes, as more readilyfastened and unfastened), and you have a garment whichcovers e ve ry part of th e pe rson, and m ay b e put on orthrown o ff in a moment if the e dge s of the Slit are left n uhooked. Make arm- slits of su flicie n t length (which shouldhave narrow flaps

,capable of being button ed ove r when de

sired), and th e arms will be pe rfectly free when thrustthrough

,and they will be warm ly wrapped up when their

use is not required. Hook th e edge s of the Side- slit togethe r

,button down the arm-hole flaps, and you have, in

effe ct,one pie ce of cloth. Fold this in the middle , and

you have a Scottish shawl ; fold it again, and you have aheavy carriage -rug

,which may be thrown over th e kne e s

when driving. When riding,roll it into a bund le , an d

strap it to the saddle, a n d it can b e unstrapped an d put on

in an instant,should a sudden storm ar ise , and its long

folds will cover the whole person,limbs and all, like a mili

tary cloak.


It should b e made of a single thickness of cloth, without linings o r pockets to form water-bags during a storm.

Should it get we t , al l you have to do is to hang it over a

line , an d it will dry in a quarter of th e time which wouldbe needed to dry an overcoat. In traveling by railway orsteamer, it may be strapped to the valise , an d so be at handfor instant use or

,if packed into a trunk, it will not cc

cupy half the space of an overcoat of half its protectingpower. Su’ch a garment is always graceful and becom ingto all persons.In fine

,as far as regards clothin g in a sani tary point of

view,every article of dr ess should b e of proper mater ials

fer its purpose ; Should be so fitted and fashioned as t opresent the least possible obstruction to the free action ofevery member and organ of the body and the Whole Shouldbe capable of easy and re ady adaptat ion to the ever-varying changes of season, climate, and the physical conditionof the wearer. A n d in all these respects it is just as easyto be dressed properly as im properly. A ll the rest may b eleft to the choice of the indi vidual .Every garment should be removed from the person an d

thoroughly aired at least once in twenty-four hours . Manypeople retain at night a part of the clothing that has beenworn during the day, changing on ly the outer garments,e specially in cold weather. If the bedroom is cold

,there

may be wisdom in this, at least for elderly people, youngchildren, and those who are n ot robust

,but in all such

cases there should be an entire change of clothing at sometime du rin g the d ay, in a warm room .

From one day to seven is as long as any und er-garmentshould be worn without bein g washed, th e differ ence h avin g relation less to the amount of visible impurity whichthe garment h as gathered from dust, etc . , than t o the closen ess of contact b etween the garm ent an d the wearer’s skin,an d the freedom with wh ich th e wear er p erspires. Thu s,

PERSONA L HABITS.

BY personal habits we mean eve rything which pertainsto the regular routine of our usual daily life. These willof necessity vary much i n accordance with the differencesof sex, age , and physical condition ; much also with theemployments which fall to our lot. But

,within certain

and not ve ry wide limits,the same general principles will

apply to all.First and foremost comes P er son a l Clea n li n ess. Eve ry

act,no matter what, involves the contraction or production

of more or less of personal uncleanliness ; and this, so faras the surface of the body is concerned, can be got rid ofonly by washing. A daily bath is, in general, a promoterof health. Th e high importance of frequently and the roughly washing the entire body is apparent when we consider some of the functions pertaining to the Skin . It is nota mere covering stretched over the body to Shi eld in n e r

i

an d

more important parts it is one of the most de licately organized parts of the whole system and among its functions i sthat of acting as a great excre tory. It is e stimated that anadult in full health takes daily into his stomach some eightor nine pounds of food and drink. Now, everything thatcomes into the system must go out of it in some way, andalmost invariably in a condition so changed that its furtherpresence within the body would be deleterious. Of thisamount of food and drink some three or four pounds a day

PERS ONAL HABITS . 1 07

are thrown o ff by the Sk in, about a pound by the lungs,and th e rem ainde r by the intestines and kidneys .

T o enable th e Skin to pe rform this work it is providedwith a system of minute perspiration tubes, o r ducts, openin g from within th e body, an d terminating at th e surface .

Th e total length of the se ducts is set down at ne arly thirtymile s. If the se ducts by an y me ans be come obstructed o r

closed up,the matter which Should have been thr own Off

through them must eithe r rema in festerin g within the sys

tem ,or be thrown o ff by the bowels, kidneys, or lun gs,

which thus have extra work imposed upon them . If theseorgans a r e in a strong and healthy condition, they may beable to perform this superadded work. But, if they areweak

,they begin to flag, and in many case s they break

down with disease caused by the extra duty imposed onthem.

Now,the orifice s of these ducts are continually silting

up,so to Speak, wi th portions of this effete m atter in a

solid or semi-flu id state ; and it is this which is washedaway by ablution.

It is only the efi e te matter lying upon or very near thesurface that is thus removed. This

,indeed, usually consti

t u t e s th e greater part of it. But there is almost alwaysmore or less of such d eposit throughout the entir e lengtho f the ducts. This may be removed by what m ay be called“ flushing ” the ducts ; that is, by temporarily incre asingth e flow of perspiration by means of a warm bath, and stillmore thoroughly by an occasional hot- a ir bath, vapor-bath,or any form of the Russian or Turkish bath.

Th ese baths, however, should be used with m uch caution, and rarely wi thou t the advice of a physician . Th e

intense heat causes an increase of the he ar t’s action, whichin some conditions o f the cir culatory system is dange rous.Th e general and special exhaustion consequent on excessiveaction of the Skin

,also constitute sources of d ange r, par


t ie u larly if very frequently repeated. There is no harm inth e occasi onal use of such a bath as a luxury by persons inperfect health, provided that suitable reaction and rest imm ediately follow, and in some cases it is very useful as a

r emedy for disease , but it is rarely necessary for the purpose o f cleanliness, which is sufficiently accomplished bythe ordinary methods of bathing.

For infants a daily bath is very necessary,as the action

of the skin is with them even more important than withadults. For those who ar e not infants an d who ar e in goodhealth it is ve ry desir able , and in warm clim ate s, as we ll asduring th e heat of summer in temperate climate s, is almosta necessity.

This does not of necessity involve that on e should takea plunge-bath every day, though that is desirable . But

,

outside of the few large citie s abundantly supplied withwater by aqueducts, ther e ar e few ord inary dwellings whe rethis can b e attained. But in almost all places the generalend can be re ached by means of a bathing-tub . T h e En glish portable bathing-tub consists of a shallow me tal basinin which the bather can stand. Th e center, or we ll,

’ ofthe ba th is about twelve inches in diam eter, and a b out nineinches deep. This well is surrounded by a broad r im ,

fromeight to t en inches wide , which slopes toward th e cente r allaround. In this bath the ab lu t ion ist can stand, and canwash himse lf from head to foot without wetting the floor

,

since the broad, sloping r im catche s th e water. T o stand insuch a bath as this, and from th e water of the wa sh-handbasin to sponge the body rapidly over, and afterward to d ryquickly and thoroughly, is everything that is wanted, if theproce ss be carried out daily ; and after a little while it b ecomes no more trouble than the mere washing of the face

,

neck,and hands which so many are content to accept as

fi

a

perfected daily ablution .

”

A n improvement on this bathing tub is common

1 1 0 HEALTH A T HOME.

very robust,will not b e

'

b en efi ted by a daily bath, at leastin cold weather. Thrice, twice , or even , once weekly is asoften as some can take a full bath with advantage . Inmost cases this is often enough to secure su flicie n t clean l iness of person provided the clothing is aired and changedfrequently, and the extremities are often wa shed.

When th e daily bath is an injury, it may be advan ta

ge ou sly replaced by a brisk rubbing of th e body with a d rytowe l, with a brush, or with the hand . It is be tter that thisshould be done by another person, if possible. Indeed

,

there ar e very f ew ca se s in which a daily bath woul d doharm ,

if the re cipient would submit to b e bathed anddre ssed by another, as is done in the case of an inf ant or asick person, and if ordinary judgment were used in r egu lat

ing the temperature of the water and of the room.

Th e proper temperature f o r the water of a bath is thatwhich is most agre eable. For a vigorous person, in whomreaction is prom pt and energetic, a cold bath is refreshingand useful. A cold bath is one in which the temperatureis between 32 ° and 60° Fahr. A t less than 5 0° the bath isvery cold. Most persons will find pleasure and profit inthe use of a cool bath

,that is, one of 60

° to duringwarm weather

,though for some a temperate bath of 75

°

to 8 5 ° is preferable . In cold weather a tepid bath, 8 5° to

is generally agreeable and safe for those who can notwell bear the lower temperature s.From 92

° to 98° a bath is said to be warm. Th e reaot ion f oll owin g a warm bath is somewhat d ifi e r en t from thatwhich foll ows one at the ordinary temperatures of wate r. Itis not exhilarating, but, on the contrary, induces languor,promotes perspiration, an d disposes to sleep. It is therefore be tter than a cold bath just before going to bed

,but

should seldom be taken immediate ly on rising in the morning, and neve r just be fore seve re exercise or expos

’

ure tocold. Th e hot bath, f rom 98

° upward, is similar in eff ect

PERSONAL HABITS . 1 1 1

to th e warm bath, but more intense , and should be usedwith some caution.

T h e temperature of the room in which the bath is takenis important. T o secure be st reaction it Should be about

70° for a tepid or warm bath, and never much below 60

°

for a cold on e .

Th e best tim e for bathing is when the stomach is emptyor ne arly so , the worst is just after a full meal. Just afte rrising

,then

,just befor e one of the principal meals

,and

just before bed time , are the most favorable times. A coldbath

,in particular, should never be taken very soon after

eatin g.

Exerci se should have a prominent place in the list of one’spersonal habits. Many of our daily occupations and em

p l oym e n ts enforce an abundance or supe rabundance ofphysical exercise . Th e farme r whowo rk s

'

al l d ay in his fields,or the me chanic who toils all day at h is bench

,h as exe rcise

enough,so far as mere amount is concerned but most of

these acts must be performed in a stoopin g position of thebody, whether the person be sittin g or standing. Th e

farmer stoops while hoeing and digging,while planting or

ear ing ; the mechanic stoops over his work-bench, and so on.

Now, this stooping position impede s more or le ss the vitalfunction of breathing. L e t the person whose labor involvesmuch stooping straighten himself up every n ow and then,throw back his arms, and draw a few full breaths, and thengo back to his work.

Bu t many employments involve very little physical excroise. Th e accountant or Student does not exercise at hisdesk or tab le the woman d oes not exercise in h e r sewin g.

For such persons exercise,i n i tself and for itself

,is indis

pensable an d the modes of taking it ar e innum e rable.Walking, especially in the open air, first suggests itself.

When one walks for exe rcise h e should not plod along, withhead bent down ; but, with form erect and shoulders well


thrown back, h e Should step out with free and easy stride,th e gait being very near ly the natural on e , bet ter somewha tquicker. If the walk have , moreover, some special purposebe sides that of mere exercise , so much the bette r. If it isthrough a region not familiar to one, he is constantly on thelookout “ to see what he can se e

”

; if it be th rough a f amiliar region it is pleasant

,and therefore health ful

,to se e

how old things look in their new and ever-changing aspects .If the walk is along a city street

,do not scruple to stop and

look at the shop-windows.Horseback-riding br ings into play a se t of muscle s quite

too little used. Th e me re act of keeping one’s balance inth e saddle bri ngs into active though not violent u se mostof the muscles of legs, arms, back, and chest ; while th egentle jolting of the most easy-goin g steed puts the abdomin al muscles into more active play. For mere exercise asomewhat hard-trotting horse is to be preferred to a moreeasy-going one. It is none the worse if the horse is not on ewhich the proprietor of a livery- stable would recommendas “ perfectly trained,

” one that may with perfect safe ty beleft to follow his own ways ; one that would not start orshy if a Shell Should explode between his legs . Th e mereact of controlling and guidi n g a “ lively horse br ings intoconstant and ever-varying exercise many a mu scle, whilethere is exhilaration in the consciousness that one has th epower of controlling an animal whose strength far exceedshis own .

While , however, this form of exercise is admir able in verymany cases

,it requires much judgment in its use . Very

rapid riding and leaping are attended with too much danger to be commended on the score of health . On e " whowas certainly well qualified to speak on the subje ct of riding says

,indeed

,that every horseman must expe ct, sooner

or later,to be thrown .

”Th e probability of this accident

He rb e r t,“Hin ts to Horse -" e ep er s.

1 1 4: HEALTH A T HOME .

Especially Should due caution be use d when the element ofcompetition enter s into th e exe r cise. In order to outdo acompetitor

,or to avoid bein g outdone by h im

,o n e is i r e

quently led to go beyond his strength . In such case theexercise not only defeats its own purpose

,but is positively

injurious. It breaks down the physical system instead ofbuilding it up .

Th e impor tance of system and r egu la r i ty in all thingsbelonging to the daily round of life is very great. A l l theoperations of mind and body are subje ct to the laws ofhabit

,and one can on ly ma in tain th e highest condition of

health by so systematizing the acts which necessar ily occurevery day that the influence of habit will be secured toeff ect the natural recurrence of each of these in its propertime and place .For instance, eatin g Should be done at regular intervals.

It does not, perhaps, matter ve ry much whether two, three,or four meals are taken in the twenty- four hour s

,provided

that su fiicien t regularity has be en obse rved in the matterto fix a habit, so that a t the tim e of e ach of these meals thesystem demands a ce rtain quantity of food and the digestiveorgans are ready to take care of it.Sleep is so necessary that it comes to us whether we will

or not, yet it is only by observing great r egu l ar itv in r e

gard to it that we can enjoy health . Habit may even havesom e thing to do with the num ber of hours spent in sle ep,and it ce r tainly is all-powerful in dete rmining wha t thosehours Shall be. Th e be st way to regulate this is to beginin the morning that is

,to rise a t a regular hour. Physi

cian s, nurses, and some othe r s whose work is very irregul aras to tim e

,can not always do this, but th e gre at majority

of people can and should. Ear ly rising Should be a habitwhe rever it is practicable , for many re asons, an y o n e ofwhich would b e suffi cient. It prolongs the day

,so that

artificial light will .b e needed f or com paratively few hours

PERSONAL HABITS . 1 1 5

-very few indeed excep t in winter. Daylight, even on acloudy day

,is far be tte r for the eyes th an the be st ar tificial

light. If on e rises with the sun, or at most not more thanhalf an hour later , he will soon le arn at what hour to re tir efor sle ep. He should retire early enough to afford himselfa l l th e Sle ep h e ne eds, be it six hours o r twe lve .

Work and recre ation Should b e we ll system atized, notonly in order to avoid overdoing at ce r ta in time s, but inorder to obtain the best results a t al l tim e s, and in orderalso to favor regularity in other things. Pr e sident Day, ofYale College, lived to b e nine ty ye ars old, although h e hadheart-disease during the greater par t of his life , and it issaid of him that when he was lecturing and th e bell struckdeno ting the expiration of his hour

,if he was in the middle

of a sentence he would always stop as soon as that sentencewas finished, and if it was not a ve ry short one he wouldstop without finishing it. A nother instance of his extremeregularity, wh ich extended to all things, was related by astudent who used to make the fire in th e college chapel onwinter mornings, and who was accustomed, afte r doing so,to pace up and down the room until th e president arrived,in response to the tolling of the h e l l, to conduct th e morning devotions. He was accustom ed to say that after thefirst stroke of the bell he could invariably walk across th eroom a certain number of times a n d a h a lf , before thepresident enter ed the door.Regularity in the movement of the bowels is perhaps

more important to he alth than in any othe r one thing, notexceptin g eating. Many painful and dange rous disease s,and a va st am ount of physical weakness and misery notSpe cified as dise a se , ar e the dir e ct result of irregularity inthis re spe ct. Once daily the bowels should m ove, an d ,

ordinarily, at no othe r tim e . This can re adily be aecom

p l ish e d by any on e in ordin ary he alth who will set apar tsome on e hour in the day, or rather some one period in the


ord er of the daily routin e,such a s th e time of rising

, im

mediately after some o n e meal, o r imme d iate ly afte r someact which take s place at about the sam e tim e every d ay , goprom ptly to stool at that time e ach d ay, whether the desireis felt or not

,and, if it can b e avoided, not go during the

intervening time . In the course of a few days, or at mosta few weeks

,a habit will thus be form ed that is invaluable .

Gh eerf n ln ess, as the pervading state of the min d, shouldbe assiduously cultivated an d maintained as one essen tialcondition to bodily health . A mind continually depr essed,sooner or late r induce s bodily ailments. T r oubles will, indeed

,arise ; let them b e borne as best they may. They

should not be aggravated by brooding over those which arein the past

,or looking gloomily for those which may be in

the future . Cheerfulness is to be cultivated as a constanthabit, and by all innocent means by amusements, by socialintercourse, by reading ple asant books, and, in du e moderation

,those which are simply funny

,and not in any way

“ instructive,

” in th e ordinary use of the word. Or,to sum

up all,one should look most upon the bright

,not upon the

dark side of things .Whateve r the exigencies of one’s business

,certain times

and places Shou ld be fre e from it. Especially Should itnot be taken to the tabl e , nor to bed. Ne ither should anyunpleasant matter h e suffer e d to intrude here . Me al- timeshould always be a time of cheerful leisur e , if possible ofple asant social intercour se . T o make it a scen e of p r e occupatiou an d anxiety, of grudging haste, or of unpleasantinquiry and admonition, is to place a premium upon dys

p ep sia, while to line one’s bed with balance- shee ts or t o

m ake it a place for contriving ways and means,is to rob it

of its office,to m ake it a rack of torture, fr om which on e

rises exhausted in mind and body.

8 HEALTH A T HOME .

scribe for a large circle of patients, and m any things whichwould be vainly looked for in a well-equipped druggist’sshop .

Ou r family medicinechest shall b e upon a much morem oderate scale , and shall contain nothing wh ich any welltra ined person need be at a loss how to apply. It shall contain a vial of each of the following sweet-oil

,hartshorn

,

spirits of camphor, tincture of arnica, soap-liniment,cam

phor-liniment,sirup of ipecac, tincture o f ginger, sweet

spir its of niter, essence of peppermint, a mixture in equalparts of laudanum, spiri ts of camphor, tinctur e of capsicumand tincture of rhubarb, labeled Cholera Mixture ,

”an d

a flask of good liquor (to be used only for strictly medicinal purposes) . There Shall be a package of ground mustard (be sure that it is unadulterated), of chlorate of potash,of carbonate of magnesia or of soda, two of flaxse ed (groundand whole ), and a few seidlitz powders . Each of these articles should be kept in a close ve ssel of gla ss or tin, and th eseShould be distinctly labeled so that there may be no m istaking one for another. There Should also be a piece of sticking-plaster

,a roll of soft . rags for bandages and plasters

,

a little cotton-wool, a spool of stout thr ead, a soft sponge,a pair of sharp scissors, a graduated medicine-glass and adropping tube. Every article b elon ging to the medicinechest should be kep t in it, and nothing else should be putthere.A list is here presented, arranged in alphabetica l order,

of the most common ailments in which the constant oreven occasional services of th e physician may not be r e

quired . It should, however, be borne in mind that alm ostevery di sea se, however slight in its beginnings, may assumean aspect So serious as to require the doctor. But in suchcases the treatment suggested is advisable until hi s attendance can be secured .

A qu a—During the cold fit keep the patient in bed,

HOUSEHOLD PRA OTI OE. 1 1 9

warmly covered ; try to restore warmth by rubbing thehands an d fe et, and by givin g hot dr inks, such a s t e a,

cofl e e , barley-wate r, etc. Durin g the hot fit, after th e p atient has be en re lieved by perspiration, check th e p e r sp iration gradually by Spon ging the body with lukewarm water,wiping the sweat o ff with h o t flan n e ls ; then, in order torelieve the thirst, give cold drinks . Be careful that thepatient is not exposed to a draught of cold air. Th e useof quinine and other medicines Should be under the d irection of the doctor.B Oi l8 .

—In their very beginning these can often be dissipat e d by gently rubbing them for five minutes, two orthree times a day

,with the end of the finger d ipped in

camphor-liniment. There is a common notion that boilsare healthy

,

” and that they should be encouraged as purifi e rs of th e blood rather than repressed . This is a mistake.They im pove rish instead of purifying the blood

,and the

more they can be prevented, or the more quickly they canbe cured

,the better. If a boil does not yield to the treat

ment alreadymentioned, it should be encouraged to cometo a head,

” or point, and suppurate as quickly as possible.With this view a hot bath may be taken— a vapor-bath ifpossible. Th e boil should be dressed with a poultice m adeof ground flaxse ed , of Indian-me al

,or of anything else that

is not i rritating and will r e tain 'h e at and moisture. Th e

poultice should b e changed often enough to avoid its b ecom ing dry, as this renders the boil more painful and r etard s its pr ogress.

A n old remedy, and one that is very efficacious in haste n in g the development of the boil, although from th e irritat ion it causes it is much more painf ul than an emollientpoultice, is a pas te made of soap and sugar and spre ad upona pie ce of lint or soft rag to cover th e boil, a hole be ingcut in the center of the covering to allow the escape of th ematter.


A boil should never be squeezed or pressed. This isoften done after it has broken or been opened

,with the oh

jcet of discharging the matter which it contains,and par

t icu lar ly the“ core . It always increases the in flam m a

tion,however, and causes th e formation of more matter.

Th e better plan is simply to retain a poultice upon it for aday or so after the opening appears, to promote and receivethe discharge.If a boil assumes the malignant form of a carbuncle

,do

n ot trifle with it, but send for the doctor. Th e most ob vious characteristics of a carbuncle are a somewhat darkercolor and greater hardness than be long to a boil

,a tendency

to increase in size without fairly pointing,a want of free

evacuation of its contents after opening,and considerable

fever and general exhaustion .

Golda —On e should avoid exposure,as far as possible

,

by means of proper clothing about the neck and chest. If,however, he has caugh t cold,

” let him cover himself upwarm ly in bed, putting a bottle of hot water at his fe et, toinduce pe rspiration . If he has “ cold in the head

,

” so asto impede the breathing, he may cove r the whole face witha blanket , breathing throu gh it, which will most likelyremove the obstruction . T h e essential thing is to induceperspiration . A n excellent remedy for a cold in the headis to smell of camphor continuously, or near ly so, for several hours. Th e most convenient way of doing this is totie up in a rag, like a sugar- teat

,

” a piece of camphor thesize of the end of the little finger

,and hold this to the

n ose . If this is persever ed in for the greater part of aday, it will rarely fail to cure a recently contracted cold .

Cr amp s—Pu t the patient a t once into a hot bath

,or

,if

that is not to be had on th e spot, sponge him all over withwater as hot as he can bear. Unclasp th e hands if they arem uch contracted. Pu t a smelling-bottle to the nose

,and

give a little weak whisky-and-water. Pu t the patient into


milk, rice-pudding, or arrowroot ; but no meat or vegetables .Ea ra e lze .

—Turn the head well over on the Opposite side,

an d having warmed a little swee t-oil in a spoon, let a drop ofit run into the ear . Or , roast an onion in the oven, andwhen it is quite soft take out the heart and put that

,warm

,

into the orifice of the ear then put on a bandage to retainthe h eat. If earache occurs frequently

,consult a physi

cian .

Hea dach e .—This comes from a variety o f causes, and

diff erent cases require different treatment. T h e great ma

jor ity of cases, however, belong to three principal classes,commonly known as nervous h eadache, sick headache, an dn euralgic headache. Th e first variety is usually caused byfatigue or excitement

,and may often be cured by a cup of

moderately stron g t e a an d a hot foot-bath . T h e tea wi llhave little eff ect

,however

,on those who use it habitually.

If the head is h o t and throbbing, cold applications to it willbe useful . Rest

,in a darkened but well-ventilated room

is very desirable.Sick headache is caused by indigestion or by some Stom

ach disorder. It originates som etimes in an error of diet,

some times in cold or fatigue impairing the power of th estomach to perform its work. In perhaps nin e cases out often it can be cured or greatly relieved, in from five minutesto half an hour

,by Swallowing about as much red pepper

as can be taken up on the point of a penknife, mixe din two tablespoonfuls of water. If the fe et are cold theyshould b e put into hot water an d afterward quickly drie dand warmly wrapped up. It is best to lie down . Th e bodyshould be kept warm

,and it is a good plan to put a mus

tard-plaster over the pit of the stomach . A pp lications tothe head will generally be of very little use .Neuralgic headache may be known by its occurring on

one side of the head. It frequently afi ects one eye, some

HOUSEHOLD PRA 0 TIOH 1 2 3

t imes causin g it to overflow with tears. Cold applicationsto the head will do no good

,but hot ones— as hot as can be

borne—frequently give great re lief. Th e red pepper also,

a s re com mended for sick he adache, often acts like a charmin these cases . Mustard, if used at all, should be appliedover or near the se at of pain— of course not about the eye,but on the forehead, tem ple , or back of the neck, according to circumstances. Ne u r algicheadache occurs generallyin debilitated persons, and indicates a low condition of thesystem, requiring tonic treatment, for which a physician

’sservice s should be had.

There is a form of headache caused by a cold in thehead . It consists in a dull

,wearisome

,sickening pain

across the brows, lasting usually from one to three days,d u e to an accumulation of mucus within a cavi ty in thef rontal bone that communicate s with the nose . No external application has much effect on it

,and the best tr e at

ment for it is that recommended for a cold, particularlythat of camphor.Hives —This disorder is usu ally caused by irritation of

the digestive organs resulting from the presence of undigest ed food. In many persons it always follows the eatingo f certain kinds of food

,such as she ll-fi sh , honey, etc.

There is scarcely an article of food known that does not insome persons invar iably produce it. Others are affectedwith it wheneve r

,from overeating

,fatigue

,or any cause,

they suffe r indigestion. Th e proper treatm ent is to emptythe stomach by an emetic. Sirup of ipecac may be givenfor this purpose

,in doses of one or two teaspoonfuls every

fifteen minutes until it acts. A f ter the vomiting is finished,if any irritation rema ins

,a Sedlitz powder will commonly

be all that is necessary to remove it.Sor e Th r oa t —In Slight cases, rubbing the throat exter

nally with a mixture of hartshorn and sweet-oil,in the pro

portion of one part of the former to three of the latter, will

1 2 4: HEALTH A T HOME.

usually suffice . A very useful gargle for an ordinary sorethroat is made by dissolving about a teaspoonful of chlorateof potash in a glass of water. This Should be used as oftenas once in two hours. In case of inability to gargle , a d e sse r tsp oon fu l of the mixture may b e swallowed every twohours . Slight soreness of the throa t is sometimes aecom

p an ie d by a tickling, irritated, or dry feeling, which givesrise to an annoying an d almost constant cough . This canfrequently be allayed by letting small pieces of gu m -arabicor extract of licorice (black licorice) dissolve upon thetongue . In all cases of seve re sorethroat, and in thoseaccompanied by any considerable fever or exhaustion, aphysician should be called.

S tom ach -ad i a —In infants this is u sually owin g towind ” in th e stomach or bowels. Before giving an y med

icin e , try gentle and steady rubbin g with the palm of th ehand, then throw the infant over your shoulde r, so that thestomach will press closely against it. Very rarely will anymedicine be required. Stomach-ache in old er children isfrequently occasioned by the ea ting of un ripe fruit, or something of the kind. When this is known to be the case , adose or two of sirup of ipecac will be the most pr ompt andefi ectu al remedy. If the pain is not cause d by the presencein the stomach of improper food

,it m ay often be relieved

by taking a few drops (five to ten drops f or an adult, an d aproportionate dose for a child) of essence of peppermint ona lum p of sugar. A t the same time a mustard-plaster orflan n e l s wrung out of hot wa ter m ay be applied ove r thestomach and bowels . In all cases the patient should be keptwarm and quiet.

Toothach e .—In all cases it is best to consult a thoroughly

competent dentist as soon as may be . A s a temporary measure until this can be done, if the tooth has a visible cavity,a bit of cotton wet with a drop of oil of cloves or of creosotem ay be inserted in it. This should be done by another per


dr awing heavy curtains or closing the shutters,except in

the in f requent case s when light is painful to the eyes. T h e

light may be moderated, when too intense, by partially cl osing the shutters, or by a light scre en or curtain . Th e p a

tient has little to do hour after hour but to look around him,

and no disagreeable objects Should meet his view noneespecially which can serve as constant reminders of his condi tion . A t best he must have quite enough of these. Th e

medicine-vials Should not stand in full view upon the mantel- shelf

,but upon a stand where they Will be out of h is

sigh t. It is better that the utensils used for preparing foodand the like should be kept in another room or in a closet.Perfect neatness should be maintained in every respect.Th e nurse, and any other person who may now an d

then be in the room, should retain as far as possible theirordinary demeanor. There Should be no tiptoeing aroundthe room ; no smothered whispering in any case. T h e .

sharp hiss of a whisper is more annoyi ng to an ear ab n o rmally sen sitive than a quite loud tone of the natural Speaking voice . A soft low voice is an excellent thing in all

women, especially so in a nurse .Th e patient should not be worried by being incessantly

asked how he feels. Every such question sets him upon a

sort of physical self - inspection ; and this constant introsp ect ion is not well, even for one in health, much less forone out of health . A bsolute Silence in a Sick-room

,except

when the patient is asleep or may be inclin ed to Sleep, isnot desirable. Rest and repose are the ends in view ; andrest and repose are as much interrupted by an un naturalstillness as by noises.In ordinary cases food Should not be urged upon an

invalid who has no d esir e for it. Th e cessation of appe titeis a flag of warning wh ich th e stomach han gs out in tokenthat it has as much food as it can d igest, and wants n o

more. Th e constant urging of food up on one wh o h as n o

HOUSEHOLD PRA OTIOE 2 7

appetite for it, defeats the end in view. Th e very idea offood thus urged, although it is not pre sent, not unfrequentlybecomes loathsome. On e should n o t keep continually askin g the patient if h e would not like a little of this, that, orthe other delicacy, although they m ay be quite proper inthemselves. Better prepare the dish and present it nicelyserved upon a clean waiter. Pe rhaps the unexpected sightof it may incite a little appetite . But even in this respecttoo little is better than too much. Where nourishment isabsolutely required by one who has no desire for it

,the ad

vice of the physician Should be specially asked.

In every case the warming and ventilation of a sickroom should be constantly and carefully seen to . Th e pa

tient will be cove r ed b y bedclothes, and the nurse will b ealmost constantly moving about

,so that the uniform t em "

p e ratu re of the Sick-room , in cold weather, while a littlehigher than that desirable in an ordinary bedroom, Shouldbe a little lower than that best adapted for a Sitting-room.

A t least twice during the day th e apartment, however we llventilated

,should be thoroughly a ired. Th e patient should

be well cove red , and the fresh air fre e ly admitted throughthe opened window. If the air is too cold

,a light shawl

may be placed over the head and face, serving as a sortof “ respirator.” When the airing is complete, th e window Should be closed and the temperature of the roomh e brought back, as speedily as may be, to its proper degr ee.

Th e face, hands, and fe et Should be sponged off f r equently with water of any temperature which may b e mostagreeable to the patie n t. Th e whole body also, though le ssfrequently, should be Sponged Off . If the hands, feet, orany o ther parts ar e cold, bottles of hot water m ay be ap

plied as long as nece ssary.

T h e bedding and the clothing of the patient should befre quently chan ge d and thoroughly a ired, for the exhalations from the body in sickness are usually far more delete

1 2 8 HEALTH A T HOME .

r iou s than in health . Moreover,the natural evacuati ons

must be performed in the room—not unfrequently in th ebed itself. The se, however qu ickly removed, always leavemore or less of foul and unhealthy odors behind them

,

which Shoul d be destroyed by disinfectants, not mere lycovered up by perfumes. T or this purpose disinfection byiod ine (as d escribed at page 79) is specially adapted. Mostdisinfectants have an unple asant odor, while that of iodineis in itself agreeable, and even positively healthful .T o sum up all Th e nurse , or th e member of the family

who acts as such, Should be quiet and gentle in mann er and

movement ; watchf ul and alert, without being obtrusivelyso firm and decided when necessary, wi thout any needlessdisplay of firmness or decision tender and sympathizingalways

,without parading her sympathy ; cheerful and self

contained in any emergency, for which sh e should if possible be prepared, and, if not fully prepared, n ever to let thepatient suspect it.A l l these qualities can be fully secured only by training.

Many women are naturally endowed with them in a highdegree there are few who can not acquire them to a gooddegree . Th e mother or Sister who possesses these qu al ifications ih any good degree

'

is in a very wide sense “ thefamily doctor, and is in all respects a welcome aid to thephysician .


but at the very instant of sending for them,in every case

where poison has been swallowed, with. on e exception, an

emetic should be given. For this purpose anything thatis at hand and that will produce vomiting without being i nitself poisonous may be used. On e who has a knowledgeof drugs will prefer certain emetics

,if they are at hand

,as

being more rapid i n their action than others, or as beingperhaps especially adapted to the particular poison that h asbeen swallowed . If this knowledge does not pre- exist, however, there is no time to acquire it, and in domestic p ractice a teaspoonful of ground mustard or a tablespoonful ofsalt stirred into a cupful of lukewarm water will generallyprove the readiest emetic

,and a very safe and efiicien t

one.Whatever emetic is used

,its action Should -

h e assistedand the poison diluted by drinking large quantities oflukewarm water. Th e drinking of the wate r and vomitingshould be repeated at intervals of five or six minutes for atleast half an hour or until a physician arrives .It is to be borne in mind that some poisons diminish

the susceptibility of the stomach to emetics, so that thesemay fail of eff ect. A l so, some persons are naturally n ususceptible to emetics. In all such cases recourse must b ehad to other means of inducing vomiting, such as ticklingthe inside of the throat with a feath er or with the fingerthrust in through the mouth. Speedy and persistent vomiting is the one thing to be sought by any possible mean s.In these cases

,as well as in others, the warm water should

be freely drunk,as a dilutent.

Th e one exception to the ru le of giving emetics and ofdiluting the poison with water, is when sulphuric acid hasbeen swallowed. This substance has the curious propertyof producing

,when mixed with water, a degree of heat

equal to or greater than that of boiling water. For thisreason water and all mixtures containing it must in this

POISONS A ND ANTIDOTES. 1 31

case b e withheld, and vomiting must be provoked by othermeans, as recommended in cases where em etics fa il to act.

Emetics may be con sidered as antidotes, in one sense, topoisons in gene ral, since they tend (b y discharging) to p r event the act ion / o f th e latter , but they are not generallyso classed, nor ar e they to be depended on alone . In allca ses where special antidote s are known, their use is to beconjoined with that of em e tics. In most case s it is best togive the antidote at on ce, without waiting for . th e action ofthe emetic to b e finished, in orde r to neutralize , as far asmay be

,th e effect of th e poison while the latter remains i n

the stomach and afte r the vomiting has ceased the antidoteshould be used again

,in order to prevent, if possible, the

action of any poison that may have passed beyond thestomach .

Poisons act in one or more of the following modes1 . By a direct local corrosion of the stomach and alimentary canal ; this is the ca se with most mineral poisons.2 . By a general devitalizing action , when they have beenintroduced into the system through the blood. 3. By aSpecific derangement of the functions of one or more o rgans

,accompanie d by little or no apparent change in the

tissues of the organs themselves.Poisons are derived from the animal

,vegetable , and

mineral kingdoms. It is a common error to suppose tha tvegetable poisons are less injurious than miner al ones.Th e fact is the very reverse . T h e most deadly poisons

(such as prussic acid and strychnine) ar e vegetable. Th e

announcement in respect to innumerab le quack medicinesthat they ar e

“ purely vegetable,” or that they conta in

no m ine r als,” is utte rly misleading, and not unfr equently

a gross im posit ion.

1 32‘ HEALTH A T HOME.

A NIMA L POISONS .

Chief among these is the Vi rus of venomous reptilesand insects

,conveyed by their “ bite ,

” as it is erroneouslycalled

,or by their sting. Serpents and insects do n o t bite

at all ; they stab, with poisoned weapons. In temperateregions venomous serpents are n o t numerous in specie s, andin se ttled regi ons they have been pretty nearly e xte rm in at ed except wi thin very limited locali ties. In tropical r egions they are far more numerous in species and moreprolific in indivi duals. Serpent-poisons have this peculiarity

,that

,while exceedingly dangerous when introduced into

the circulation through the blood,they may be taken into

the mouth,or even swallowed

,with perfect safety, pro

vid e d always that there is no sore, cut, or abrasion of th emucous membrane so that one may suck out th e virus fromthe wound occasioned by a snake -bite,

” either upon hisown person or upon that of another

,provided always

,as

just stated, that there be no sore, cut, or abras ion of thelips, tongue , or mouth . Good sense

,of course

,ind icates

that the poison Should not b e swallowed,but spat out at

once. Th e same is supposed—rather from analogy thanfrom well-ve r ifi e d experiments—to be the case in respectto the virus of a rabid dog

, which produces hydrophobia.In case one has been bitten by a venomous serpent (say

a rattlesnake), the first thing to be done, in case (as is mostusual) the wound be upon a limb, - is to apply a ligaturevery tightly a bove th e wound

,that is

,between it . and the

body, in order to prevent th e further circulation of th e poison through the system by the arteries and veins then theven om is to be sucked out from the wound . A f ter this th ewound, which will probably be much inflamed, Should betr e ated like any ordinary wound

,only that there should be

no e ff or t to close it up speedily it is better that i t Shouldbe left running for a while. Th e further treatment is purely

1 34: HEA LTH A T HOME.

withdraw his poisoned barbed weapon from the wound ithas in flicte d—the sting should be carefully extracted, if itremains

,by a pair of twee ze rs or otherwise . Th e best ap

plication to re lieve the pain,and one that is always at hand

,

is ordinary mud, made quite wet and allowed to remain o n

the wound until dry. Th e irritation occasioned by thebite of a bug or mosquito may be greatly alleviated bythe application of hartshorn to the place. This is also useful for the stings of bees

,e tc.

A perfect preventive of the attacks of these insect pestswould be a great boon to humanity. Many have be enproposed, an d used with more or less success. Mr . Daw

son Turner proposes a very simple one, which he declaresto be absolutely un f ailing, and he certainly speaks fromwide experience. I have trave led,

” he says,“ in many

fle a-bitten,bug-bitten

,and mosquito-bitten countries. In

Jerusalem, during the height of summer, I have seen mybed pr e tty well alive with fleas

,and have swept them out

with my hands before going to bed in th e excavations inMount Moriah, I have seen my clothes pretty well coveredwith them ; in A thens I have seen, at early d awn, the b ugsleaving my bed, and crawling up th e bed-posts by scoresand in neither place was I bitten once.

“ I adopted, he contin ue s, the following preventive,

formed on what I had heard of being done in Hungary,a

land much vexed in the summer- time by fleas and so onI oiled myself all over, from head to foot, with sweet- oil

(olive-oil) . Rub the oil well in with th e palm of your han d,over the whole body, head, face, and all, in a warm room,

and you may (such is my experience, and without this precaution I am a martyr to fleas) de fy e ither fle a

,bug

,or

mosquito. It is quite a mistake to suppose that oilingone’s self with sweet- oil is a nasty operation. Th e oil sinksinto the skin at once, and does not stain either cotton orlinen. Th e only eff e ct is that you feel lithe and supple, an d

POISONS A ND A NTIDOTES. 35

it en ables you to de fy the sangu inary attacks of your crawlin g, creeping, flying, and skipping enem ie s.

”

VEGETA BLE POISONS.

Th e most deadly of all poisons is p r u ssic aci d . Itis contained, in small quantitie s, in th e bitter leaves ofmany plants—tea included. A few drops taken into themouth cause death almost instantaneously. In the concen tra ted form it is neve r found except in the laboratoriesof chemists, though di lutions of it ar e some times used asmedicine. It exists in conside rable quantities in th e pitso f peaches and plums, an d especially in bitter almonds.Children sometime s se riously poison themselve s by e atinglarge quantities of these. Th e chie f sym ptom of poisoningby prussic acid in small quantities is a partial paralysis.Th e treatment is, to adm inister a rapid eme tic to empty thestomach

,followed by friction of the hand

,and the applica

tion of ammonia to the nostrils.Scarce ly le ss dangerous is strychn i n e (produced from the

nux vomica, which is sometim es used in medicine) . Stry chnine is often employed to poison prowling dogs

,cats

,and

other animals of which it is desirable to ge t rid. Its tasteis so intensely bitter that th e poison must be hidden ina piece of meat, so that th e animal will have swallowed itbe fore he is aware of the bitte r taste . Th e sym ptoms ofpoisoning by strychnine are, violent cramps in the stomachand limbs, twitching of the m uscles, spasm of the throatrendering breathing d iflicu l t, inability to walk or stand ,locked- jaw in most cases, and in fatal or very severe casesthe most frightful convulsions. Th e suff ering is horr ible.No certain antidote is known

,but strong gr een tea has be en

thought to b e use ful, an d several case s have be en reportedcured by tea made of tobacco . L obelia would probably beof service also . Th e main dependence, however, must beon the prompt action of emetics.

1 36 HEA LTH A T HOME.

Op ium , either in its solid form or in alcoholic tincture

(such as laudanum and paregoric), or in one of its extracts

(morphine ), enters large ly into medical practice. In oneor more of its liquid forms (laudanum, paregoric, Godfrey

’scord ial, Ba teman

’s drops,soothing-sirup, etc . , it has,

in too many instances, a prominent place in householdmedicine , where it should always be conspicuous by i tsabsence.” Th e Spe cial characteristic of opium-poison ingis the stupor which it induces. Th e sle ep is ve ry heavy,usually accompanied by snoring and by a puffing out of thecheeks and lips as the breath pa sses thr ough them . Th e

pupils of the eyes ar e contracted to mere points . A s inother forms of poisoning by the stomach

,the first thing to

be don e is to induce free vomit ing,but this is some times

diffi cult or impossible,because the opium deadens the sen

sib il ity of the stomach and throat as well as of other parts.A f ter the vomiting

,or even if that can not be effected, the

on e thing to be done is to keep the patient awake by anymeans and by all means. He should be made to drinkstrong black coffee

,the stronger the b etter. If necessary,

he should be beaten,pinch ed, sprinkled with cold water ;

should be kept walking about,he ld up, if need b e , by a

strong man at each shoulder,for several hours. He must

not be allowed to go to sleep until the eff e cts of the opiumhave passed off. If he falls asleep, the odds are great thathe will never awake .

Mu sh r oom s —When poisonous mushrooms have beeneaten

,the sym ptoms som etime s appe ar very shortly and

some times not for several hours. Th e symptoms also differconsiderably in diff erent case s. In some there are at fir stdrowsiness

,giddiness

,and dimness of vision, followed by

pain and heat in the stomach, vom iting, an d purgin g. Inothers the drowsiness does not

,

appear, but the pain, vomiting

,and purgin g ar e th e prominent symptoms. In all cases

there is great debility. Fainting frequently occurs, and

1 38 HEA L TH A T HOME.

T ake of borax,in powder

,two drachms ; acetate of

lead,in powder, one drachm tincture of lobe lia, two fluid

ou nces ; tincture of belladonna, one fluid ounce ; wate r,sufficient to make one pint. Mix. W rite,

“POISON. Forexternal use only.

”

Cloths kept wet with this mixture should be laid overevery part that is affected with the poison. A cure willgenerally be obtained in fr om one to thre e days, and verygreat re lief commonly follows the first application. A s

the remedy is a dangerous poison if swallowed, it shouldnot

,for fear of accident, be kept in th e house except when

actually wanted for u se , but any portion remaining afterth e patient recovers should be thrown out. This is a properrule to observe in regard to prescriptions gen erally.

In case any of these poisonous plants have be en eaten,

an emetic should be given at once, as in the case of otherpoison taken into the stomach. Th e after- treatment willbe in the hands of the physician .

MINERA L POISONS.

It is to th e various mineral poisons,almost exclusively,that there are any known antidotes,

” in the proper senseof the word. Ve ry many minerals are poisonous

,both in

their natural state and in their various com pounds. Th e

common metals, such as iron, copper, lead, tin, and zinc,are not poisonous in their metallic shape, but several compoun ds of al l of them, which are in common use for various purpose s, ar e highly poisonous.We shall enumerate the most common of these poisons

and the ir antidotes, and set forth the general treatment tobe adopted in their case . Th e reasons for the use of th esevera l antidotes, and for the mode s of tre atment, need notbe detailed. Th e course recommended is in every instancesuch as is prescribed by unquestioned medical authority.

It must be premised that th e stomach should first of all b e

POISONS A ND A NTIDOTES . 1 39

em ptied of its contents. Th e stomach-pump is the sp e ed iest and most effective means of doing this

,but, as this will

not be likely to b e im mediate ly at hand, recourse must beh ad to producing speedy vomiting by the means already described.

For a r sen icand its various compound s, such as Parisgreen,

”London purple,

” Fowler’s solution,

” Donovan’s solution,

” etc . the best antidote is oil or melted fat,

followed by magnesia-water Or lime-water in large quantities

,to be kept up until vomiting en sues.A n tim on y and its compounds, including tartar emetic,

require astringent drinks, such as a decoction of oak-bark,

nut-galls, or very strong green tea. Cor r osive su blim a te

(often used to poison bed-bugs) a n d other mercurial poisonsare best treated by beating, up the whites of a dozen eggsin two quarts of water, and letting the patient swallow asmuch as he can every three minutes. Milk is the nextbest antidote ; flOu r -and-water may b e useful ; and evenwarm water is better than nothin g.

Iod i n e, or i od i d e of p ota ssiu m ,requires large draughts

of flou r -and-water or starch-and—water, and afterward vinegar-and-water. L im e and ba ry ta require a solution ofGlauber’s salts, or diluted sulphuric acid.

Ni tr a te of si lver (“ lunar caustic the chief in gr ed i

e n t of “ inde lible ink,” and also of most hair-dye s, de

m ands salt water to be drunk until vomiting ensues.

Oxa licacid (known as“ salts of lemon,

” used for r e

moving ink—stains,iron-rust

,etc . ) requires pounded chalk

in water strong soap-suds is a tole rable substitute .

Ph osp h or u s is sometimes nibbled by children from thetips of matches ; it requires magnesia , with copious drinksof gum -water—gum-arabic, prefe rably.

Pota sh , or ly e , soda , sa ler a tu s, am m on ia , and mosto ther a lkalies, m ay be neutr alized in the stomach by any

acid, such as vinegar, lem on- ju ice, or even tom ato-juice or


any non-poisonous oil, such as castor-oil, sweet-oil, linseed :

oil, melted fat of an y kind, e tc., may be used as an antido te .

Th e strong alkalie s com monly cause vio lent inflammation ofth e throat and stomach, with par tial de struction of theirlining m embranes, conditions that will require special treatment afte r th e poison has been got rid of.Dapp er forms seve ral compounds of a very poisonous

nature, such as“ verdigris

,

” often used as a green paint,and

“ blue vitriol,

” used in dyeing. Coppe r unite s so re adilywith acids that gre at precautions should be taken in its u sef or household purposes . Pickle s and other sour articlesshould never be made or kept in copper vessels. It is safe rnot to use any cooking utensils of copper. Wate r

,how

ever, may be safely boiled in copper vessel s, provided theyare cle an. Th e best antidotes for copper ar e white of eggsand milk. Vinegar and other acids must n ot be given.

L ea d is, in its var ious com pou nds, one of th e most dan

ge r ou s of metallic poisons . From the facility with whichit may b e drawn into pipes

,and th e ease with which these

may be bent into any form,it is mainly used in plumbing.

Most drinking-waters conta in ingredients,harmless in them

selves, but forming poisonous com pounds with lead . Theseeither im pregnate the water passing through th e pipe s, oradhe re loosely in th e form of scales to the ir sides

,fr om

which any sudden jar de taches them. Wate r-pipe s shouldnot be made of lead unless lined with tin. L ead is a const itu e n t of many paints, such as white lead, r e d le ad, an dchrome-yellow, all ve ry poisonous . L ead is a ve ry insidious poison, since it accumulate s in the system for a longtime until it has attained a dangerous quan tity. Pa inte rsare liable to a very painful disease known as painter’scolic,

” often accom panied by paralysis. L ead also in theform of acetate of lead (

“ sugar of lead is a leadi ng in

gre dien t in var ious“ hair-color ers

,cla iming to be wholly

vegetable,” the frequent use of which has been known to "


close at hand . Weak lye, or sal-soda dissolved in considerable water

,is some times available when other alkalies ar e

not. In the absence of anything more suitable,strong

soap- suds may be used. Th e"

caution already given in r e

gard to sulphuric acid should be remembered,not to give

water when this has been swallowed in its strong form,

until after it has been vomited.

A lcohol—This substance does not belong, in strictness,to any of the three divisions named. It is capable, either inits pure state, or in the form of any distilled Or fermentedliquor

,such as brandy, wine, or bee r, of acting as a poison

when taken in large quantity. Th e symptoms of drunkenness are unfortun ately familiar to all persons . When th eeff ects of alcohol pass beyond this stage, there is drowsiness.In severe cases this becomes a very profound stupor, similarto that observed in case s of opium-poisonin g, except thatgenerally the pupils of the eyes are dilated. Th e pulse, atfirst very frequent

,usually becomes slow and feeble. Th e

breathing is slow and di fficult. A poplexy and paralysi s

sometime s occur. Death may take place from the directeff ect upon the brain, from congestion of the lungs, or froma stoppage in the throat. There is no direct antidote, andthe chief depen dence must be on emetics . Their actionshould be encouraged as much as possible by warm water.

L arge i njections Of salt and water shoul d be thrown intothe bowel. If the face is flushed and the head hot, thehead an d shoulders should be raised very high or the patientshould be held erec t, and cold wet cloths should be appliedto th e head and fr equently renewed. Th e extremitiesshould be kept warm by friction and artificial heat if n eces

sary.

A CCIDENTS A ND EMERGENCIES.

A LA RGE proportion of common accidents and emergencies will not require treatment from the physician or surgeon and

,even in the case of such as do require it

,much

may usually be done while awaiting his arrival. Such ofthese as ar e likely to occur are he re arranged in alph ab e ti

cal order,with their modes of treatment.

B leed ing a t th e Nose .—Place the patient flat upon his

back,with the arms stretched back to their full length ;

unloose the neck covering and apply wet cloths to the backof the neck. If the bleeding still continues

,apply ice or

the coldest water that can be had to the back of the neck,and put into the n ostril a plug of cotton steeped in a strongsolution of alum and water or well dusted with powderedalum. Th e old prescription of a cold door-key ” to theSpine is very sound, but any other large piece of cold metalis just as serviceable. If the blood runs down the throat,it will be necessary to turn the patient upon the Side oreven upon the stomach, or to support him in a sitting posture, with the head inclined Slightly forward.

B leed i ng f r om th e L u ngs—A celebrated teacher of

m edicin e, addressing a medical class on this subje ct, said,For fear that you may be tempted to do some thin g else,hold the basin to receive the blood .

” This means that,while " the haemor rhage is active, very little can be done dir ectly to check it, and that there is dan ger of doing harm

1 44: HEA L TH A T HOME.

in eflort s to relieve. Th e most important indication is perfee t quiet. Th e patient Should l ie down an d avoid speakingand all unnece ssary motion. The re Should b e no bustle orexcitement of an y kind in the room, and only those personsShould remain in or be admitted to it who are useful andnecessary as attendants. It Should be remembered that,although these cases appear very frightful

,th ey seldom

involve any im mediate dange r to life. T h e clothing Shouldbe loosened at the neck and waist. Do ors an d windows

Should be opened to adm it plenty of fresh air. No medicine can reach dire ctly the se at of the trouble

,and there

fore many remedies which in other forms of haemorrhageare serviceable by coagulating the blood around the ruptu re d blood-vessel are of no use here, and may even add tothe distress and danger by forming clots in the throat.Salt has been thought by some to be

‘

beneficial in manycases

,however, and if the patient can swallow without

di fficulty there is n o Objection to its use. Or , he m aydrink a little cold water and vinegar. If the bleeding 1 8

from the throat instead of the lungs,it will be useful to

Sip Slowly a strong solution of alum in cold water. In all

cases a doctor Should be sent for at once.B r u i ses —Use warm fomentations, flannel dipped in

warm water laid over the part,or a bread-and—water poul

tice. A lotion of tincture of arnica and water—one part ofarnica to ten of water— is an excellent application .

B u r n s a n d Sca lds .—Very Slight burns and scalds r e

quire only slight tre atment, little more than merely wetting with cold water or baking- soda dissolved in wate r. A

very good application when there is considerable rednessand pain is composed of equal parts of sweet- oil and limewater. Baking- soda will answe r in place of lime. If a blister forms

,prick it just under the skin , and just outside

the blist er,so as to let ofi the water. Th e puffed-u p epi

dermis will then fall down into its place do not remove it,

1 46 HEA L TH A T HOME .

with clean edges that do not gape much, simply binding arag upon it is suffi cient. If it is large r and Shows a tenden cy to gape

,a f ew nar r ow strips of stickin g-plaster

, ap

plied cr osswise o f the ou t, will commonly answe r th e purpose . These should always be d rawn very tightly acrossthe wound

,to allow for the ir stretching an d f or the gradual

sl ipp in g of the skin under them. If a cut is large and deep,or if from its position it is difficult to retain the edges inperfect contact by plaster

,it will be necessary to take one

or more sti tches with a needle and thread, b u t no on e whois not familiar with this Operation should undertake it.A pplications of tobacco, spirit, a rni ca, liniment, etc . ,

should never be made to a fresh ou t . They all irritate,and lessen the chance of healing without a scar. If theedges are rough and jagged, and especially if the part ismuch bruised

,n either plaster nor stitches will be likely to

hold the wound together,but there will be

,

more or less sup

p u r at ion (formation of matter) before healing takes place.In such cases a littlecarbolic ointment may be applied, ora poultice of bread and milk or linseed-meal m ay be usefulto encourage the suppuration and keep the part from b e

coming dry and painful. But such cases Should be treatedby a physician . If pus (matter) forms in any wound thatis closed by plaster or stitches, these must be at once r e

moved su fficien tly to give free drainage .When b leeding is troublesome, if no large blood-vessel

has been severed or punctured, the bleeding may generallybe most effectually Stanched by laying a cobweb over thewound . Th e blood will coagulate in the meshes of the cobweb

,and form an air-tight covering, or scab, under which

the wound will heal nicely ; do not remove thi s scab, butl e t i t remain until it drops ofi itself .Bu t if a large blood-vessel, especially an artery, h as been

cut or pierced,the case becomes a serious one, and not am om ent Sh ould be lost. It may be readily ascertained

A OOIDENT8 A ND EMERGENOIES. 1 47

whether th e flow is from a large vein or from a large artery.

Venous blood is of a dark, purplish color, and comes out in acontinuous spurt or stream. A l l that in this case will be immediately necessary m ay be to put a plug of lint—if possib le ste eped in a solu tion of tannic acid or other astringentinto the wound

,and bandage it tightly and stron gly. A r te

rial blood is o f a bright red, and com es out in jerks. If itb e an artery that h as been wounded, it is well that someone should press his thumb or finger strongly upon the art e ry just above the wound, so as at least to check the flowo f blood. A s soon as it can be done

,tie a handkerchief

,

o r some other stout bandage, a bove the wound (supposing it

to be in an arm or leg), th at is, between th e wound and thebody, insert a stick between the knot and the limb, and twistthis around until the b andage is tight enough to compressth e limb so as to completely stop the flow of blood. Then

,

after washing the blood from the wound,apply a thick

pad, securin g it by a bandage. Th e pad should be com

p osed o f layers Of lint, musl in , or linen ,the smallest next to

th e wound, each succeeding layer being somewhat largerthan the one be low it, until the p ad is an inch thick overthe wound . When the surgeon comes

,he will replace the

twisted handkerchief by a regular tourniquet.Dr own ing

—Th e tim e during which a person can r e

m ain un de r water, without being absolutely drowned, issomewhat uncertain.

-Within very narrow limits— notmore than a f ew minutes at most— it varies with differentindividuals. But

'

persons apparently drowned, in whomthere was no visible Sign of life

,have been resuscitated

afte r a much lon ger pe riod—sever al hours in some well- auth en t icated cases. When a person

, apparently drowned, isbrought to the Shor e, th e first thing to be done is to stripOff his wet garments, replace them by dry ones, wrap thebody in warm blanke ts, place bottle s of hot water unde rth e a rm -pits, at the calves of the legs, and at th e soles of


the feet keep up a constant rubbing,especially of th e

hands and feet, with th e warm hand an d hot flan n e lsfi"

Meanwhile, and as soon as possible, persistent eff ort sshould be made to bring the lungs to the exercise of theirn atural function of breathing. This is the essential thing

,

without which everything else will be of no avail. L ay thebody face downward, with one arm under the forehead, tofacilitate the discharge of any water that may have beenswallowed. T h e old methods of holding the b ody up by thefe et, and rolling it upon a barrel, ar e wholly inadmissiblethey wou ld be quite su fiicie n t to kill a well per son

,to say

nothing of one who at the best is just hovering between lifeand death. T o start th e action of th e lungs, Dr . MarshallHall directs that, as soon as the water has been discharged,pressure should be made along the Spi ne in order to expelthe air from the lun gs ; then turn the body almost ove rupon its back, keeping the mouth open so that the air willrush in to fill the vacuum produced in the lungs then turnthe body back upon the face

,and then again upon the back

,

pressing upon the Spine as before,and repeating the whole

operation every three or four minutes. Or , as suggested byDr . Sylvester, stand behind the head, the body still upon th eface take its two arms

,draw them Sharply up above the

head, so as to put the muscles on the stretch and draw theribs apart then press down the elbows against the Sid es, thusmaking the air enter and again come out, an d so imitatin gthe natural process of breathing. Do this Slowly and ste adily, about twenty times a minute . Both method s m ay beused alternately, each for some little time . Bellows h avesometimes been used for the inflation of the lungs, but thisis open to grave objections. T h e nostrils m ay be occasionally tickl ed with a feather, or hartshorn or snuff may b e

Som e au thor itie s say tha t he at shou ld n o t b e em ploye d a t a ll,b u t

tha t th e body shou ld b e kept co ld,an d in a cool place . Bu t th e we ight of

au thor ity is alt oge the r in favor of th e em ploym en t of hea t, as above .

1 5 0 HEA L TH A T HOME

Children somet imes thrust small objects into the ear ornose. If these are pointed, angular, o r i rr egu lar in shape ,like bits of wood, there i s ge n erally n ot much diffi culty inextracting them with a pair of small forceps or tweezers.Round bodies, however, such as buttons, cherry- stones, andpebble s, are often very d ifiicu l t to remove. In such a casegreat care must be taken not to force th e object farther inby the efforts to dislodge it

,especially if it is in the e ar

,as

it might read ily produce permanent d eafness by be ingpushed through the tym panum. It is better

,if th e bodycan

not readily be removed, to leave it until a physician canattend to it, or even until it become s loosene d and comesaway of itself . Sometimes such a body in the nostril canbe dislodged by blowing th e nose, th e other nostril beingclosed or it may sometim es be pushed back SO as to comeout through the mouth

,but only a physician Should at

tempt the latter pr ocedure .In case of a bone or other hard substance lodgi ng in th e

throat, i t will commonly excite coughing, which Shouldbe encouraged with a view of dislodging it. If this fails

,

sometimes another pe rson may be able to see and remove itthrough the mouth . If it is a small object

,such as a fi sh

bone, and can not be so removed, it may perhaps be carrieddown into the stomach by swallowing a mouthful of breadcrumb, o r it may be pushed down with the finger. Sometimes such a body is drawn into the windpipe

,whe re i ts

presence may b e known by continued obstruction to breathing and frequent frightfu l attacks of coughing and gaspingfor breath. In every such case th e patient should lie downand keep as quiet as possible until the arrival of a

'

su rge on

who should be sent for at once .

If pin s or other small,pointed bodies h ave been swal

lowed, the re is nothin g to do but to wait the result. In mostcases they do no harm, but, if they do, there is no means ofpreventing it. Emetics and cathartics shou ld n ot be given.

A O'OIDENT8 A ND EMERGENCIES . 1 5 1

Fa in ti ng.—L ay the person fla t on th e back, an d do not

raise th e he ad. L oosen th e clo thin g at the neck an d waist.Have as much fresh a ir as possib le, and pre vent people fromcrowdin g around. A pply ammonia, smelling- salts, or someother pungent substance to th e nostrils . Spr inkle the face ,and

,if needf ul, the neck an d che st, with cold water. For

slight fa intne ss, put th e person in a chair, bend down hishead until it is nearly on a level with th e pit of his stomach

,and the sensation of faintness will probably pass off in

a few seconds.Fi ts —When a paroxysm seems to be comin g on, it

may Often be warded ofi by pla cin g a smelling-bottle to thenose . If it does occur, unloose t h e clothing of the neckand chest

,and take o ff th e shoes give as much air as pos

sible,an d bathe the forehe ad with cold water. T o prevent

the tongue from being bitten,place a large cork or piece of

wood wrapped with several folds of clo th between the te eth.

Pu t the feet into h o t '

wate r , an d apply a strong mustardpoul tice to the back of the neck. Pu t the patient to bedas soon as possible . Durin g th e convulsions do not holdthe limbs tight ; restrain, but do not violently oppose hisstruggles. A fter the fit has passed away

,th e d ie t should

be of the very lighte st—beef- tea, toast, rice, chicken-broth,

m ilk, t e a, and the like .

Fa lls of You ng Ch i ld r en —Some one has said that itis a providential arrangement that babies’ heads are large,heavy, and soft, to se rve as cushions for their fre quentfalls. Infants

,in falling, commonly strike the head first

,

and it is a fact that when they do so strike they are rarelyseriously hurt

,because the bones of the head are not firmly

u nited, and th e brain thus h as space in which it can adaptitse lf to pr essure. Th e bone s and joints throughout thebodies of young children, however, fr om the ir soft and imperfect condition are pe culiarly liable to injury. When ayoung child falls upon its head, therefore,

“

if it cries lustily

1 5 2 HEA L TH A T HOME.

and there is no appe arance of great injury, litt le concernneed usually be fe lt but

,if it falls heavily upon its back,

shoulder, or hip, it should be exam ined carefully to asoerta in the exact extent of the in jury, an d if, after a f ew hours,any soreness remains i n a joint thus injured

,the child

should b e placed in the car e of a physician, otherwise acrooked back or a deformed shoulder or hip may be thelife- long penalty.

Fr actu r es a n d Disloca ti on s —A fracture is a break ofany kind in a bone . A dislocation is th e Slippi n g of a bon eout of joint. A fracture may occur close to a joint

,and

there is often difficulty in distinguishing between such afracture and a dislocation. A s a rule

,in case of a fracture

,

the part admits of freer motion than is natural,and in case

of a dislocation there is commonly much le ss motion thanis natural. Frequently the projection of the ends may b eseen or felt through th e skin, and these by their form an d

position m ay determine the character of the accident. Th e

injured limb Should be carefully compared with th e correSp on din g one on the other side , in order that any differe nce s m ay be observed. In either accident the lim b isliable to be shortened, though this does not always occur,and in a f ew cases of dislocation it may be lengthened .

When a fractu red bon e i s moved, the fingers being claspedclosely over it, a peculiar grating or rasping may often befelt -b y the examiner. In a few cases

,owing to the swell

ing of the part or to oth er circumstances, i t is impossiblefor the most skillful surgeon to determine whethe r a fracture or a dislocation h as or has not occurre d.

In every case where either of these injuries is known orsuspected, a physician Should see it a t the e arliest possiblemoment, for, although in many cases a f ew hours mo r e o r

le ss will make no d ifference in the results,there is always

d anger th at swelling m ay occur to such an extent as tohide the real natu re of the in jury, and to make its treatment

1 5 4 HEA L TH A T HOME.

h owever, are caused apparently by the direct heat of thesun. Exhaustion, especially when induced by severe muscu lar exercise and mental anxiety

,is a powerful p r e d isp os

ing cause, and it is said that th e use of stimulants operatesin the same direction.

By way of precaution on e should avoid exposure to th edirect rays of the sun on a very hot day. A straw orventilated felt hat

,with a wide brim, should be worn, an d

it is well to put a wet handkerchief or sponge or a cabbageleaf in the crown . If one ’s occupation will adm it it

,when

much in the sun an um brell a Should be carried, for the illeff ects of the heat may be re ceived through the body as wellas through the head

,though probably not quite so readily.

Or , a piece of white cloth or handkerchief may hang downfrom the hat to cover the nape of the neck and protect theSpinal cord . If possible

,one Should avoid exposure di

r ectly after d inner, as this is the mo st frequent time for anattack.

In some cases the apparent attack will not come onuntil some time after the injury h as really been inflicted.

It m ay come on in the night, but this is exceptional .Th e symptoms of sunstroke are sudden and violent pain

in the head,giddiness

,a sense Of fullness and oppression

in the pit of the stomach,sometimes with nausea an d vom

iting,a feeling of weakness

,dimness of vision and conf a

sion of colors,quickly followed by more or le ss complete

insensibility. Some tim e s the r e are convulsions. Th e heatof the body is gene r ally much increa sed. Th e breathingsometime s h a s a snoring sound, at othe r times it is sighin gand accom panied by moaning.

Th e patient Should be at on ce removed to the coolestplace that is near at hand, and in which there is plenty ofpure air

,but sh ou ld n ot he ca r r ied f a r the clothing Should

b e taken off and the body spon ged with cold water, if possible with ice-wate r

,unle ss the surface is already cool, wh en

A OOIDENTS A ND EMERGENOIES . 1 5 5

warm water may be used. If the he at of the body is verygreat

,the pulse slow and full, the temples throbbing, the

breathing snoring, sighing, or moaning, with profoundunconsciousness

,there is no time to be lost in th e u se of

mor e active measures. Th e patient being turned upon theface

,the head an d shoulders Should be somewhat raised,

an d cold wate r sh ould be poured upon the head an d upperpart of the Spine from a height of three or four feet, in acontinuous stream for several minutes, taking care, of course,that the nose and mouth are so placed that breathing willnot be interfered with . If

,on the contrary, with the u n

consciousness, the pulse is very frequent and feeble, thebreathing free from the characters mentioned

,and the sur

face of t h e body cool, th e treatm ent just described wouldbe very dan gerous, and instead of it a stimulating planmust be pursued, small doses of brandy or whisky andwater being given by the mouth if they can be swallowedand do not excite vom itin g, or, what is much better, if asyrin ge is at hand, being injected into the bowel . A t thesame time a blister or mustard-plaster may be applied tothe nape of the neck. In all cases the nearest physicianShould be summoned at once .Cases that recover generally do so quite rapidly after

the improvement begins, but it is best that they should lieperfectly quiet and undistu rbed

,in a darkened and well

ventilated room for a day or two/ f“

: a

r"

a:as

T H E

PA RCHMENT - PA PER SERIES .

S qu a r e 1 6 m o v o l u m e s , 30 ce n ts e ach .

En g l is h a s S h e is spo k e ;Or

,A JEsr IN SOBER EA RNEsr . Com piled from th e celebra ted “New

Gu ide o f Con v e r sa tion in Po r tugu e se an d English.

”

We e xpe ct the n ,wh o th e l i ttl e bo ok (fo r t h e ca r e what w e wro te h im ,

an df o r h e r typog raphica l co rr e ction ) tha t m a y b e wo rth th e a cce ptation o f t h e s tu

d ion s p e rso n s , a n d e sp e cia l ly o f t h e y o u th , a t whi ch w e d e o ica t e li im partienl a rly.’ Th is i s a lite ra l qu o ta tio n f r om t h e p r e fa ce o f on e o f th e m o st e xemci a t ingly fu n n y little b OO k s tha t h a s e ve r b e e n g ive n t o t h e wo rld , ‘

T h e Ne wGu ide o f Co n ve rsation i n Po r tugu e se an d En glish .

’Co p ie s o f t h e o rigi n a l

e dition a r e tre a su r e - tr ov e . T h e au tho r wa s S e n h o r Pe dr o Caro l in o , wh o w r o tewi th se r io u s pu rpo se thi s l ittle bo ok , com pilin g it with th e a id o f a Po rtu gu e seF r e n ch phra se -bo o k an d a Fr e n ch-En g li sh diction ary . T h e r e sul t is like wha tw e have quo te d abo ve . T h e p r e se n t bo o k is n o t a r e prin t, b u t i s a co lle ction o fth e m o st lu dicr ou s pa ssage s in t h e o rigin a l

,com prisin g vo cabu la ri e s , co n ve r sa

tio n s , fam il iar dia logu e s , idio ti sm s, an d p r ove rb s .”—.New York Ch ristia n Un ion .

Do n’t

A MANUAL or Mrsr AxEs AND IMPROPRIETIES MORE OR LESS PREVA

LENr IN CONDUCT AND SPEECH.

I 11 v iew th e m an n e r s o f th e town .—0'omcdy of Er rors.

By CENSOR. Revised, an d with a n ew chap te r addr e sse d expre sslyt o wom e n .

In a con de n sed fo rm ,this l ittl e vo l um e give s a gr e a t va rie ty o f u se ful hin t s

u pon th e b ehavio r approp r ia te a t t h e tabl e , in th e d rawin g-r o om , in public, i nSp e e ch , i n dre ss, an d i n ge n e ra l . This wo rk h a s be e n p r epa r e d by som e on e

wh o h a s a k e e n e ve a n d e a r ; h e app e ar s an on ym ou sly, b u t h i s in stin cts a r e une rr in g

.

”—School Jour n al .Fin ally, w e wou ld ad d on ou r own accoun t ‘Don ’t fa i l t o r e ad m ark , le arn ,

an d inwardly dige st thi s l ittle b ook, if y ou wou ld like t o r em in d you r se l f o f som eqt

yt

ee thin gs which de n o te th e tru e spir it o f go o d b r e e dm g .

—T71 e L i ter a ryor d .

“Un l ik e m o st b ook s o f th e kin d , it b e ar s i n te r n al e vide n ce o f havin g be e n

writte n by a ge n tle m an ,an d n o t by a du de ’

o r his va le t. T h e com m on se n seo f e ti qu e tte was n e ve r b e tte r ex em p lifi e d .

”—Bost0n Pi lot.If y ou r e ad this l ittle b o ok—an d it is so ve ry in te r e sting, n o t al on e on s e

cou n t o f i ts subj e ct, b u t b e cau se a ttra ctive ly prin ted , tha t y o u will b ei

su re t o d o

so- an d if y ou r em e m b e r Wha t it says , th e r e co rdin g scribe o f th e habi ts o f go ods o cie ty wil l n eve r e n te r a cha rge aga in st y ou o f a se r iou s vio la tion o f an y im

p o r ta n t r ul e o f go od bre e ding. Th i s exce ll e n t l ittle m an ua l W 1 11 ben efi t alm o ste ve ry o n e .

—Boston Globe .

En g l is h a s S h e is W r o t e '

SHOW ING CURIOUS WAYS IN WHICH THE ENGL ISH LANGUAGE MA Y BE

MADE TO CONVEY IDEAS 0 B OBSCURE THEM . A com p am on to“En g

lish as Sh e is Spoke .

”

A com pan ion to ‘En gl ish a s Sh e is Spoke ,

’an d hardly l e ss fun n y than th at

ce l eb ra te d Po rtugu e se -English p r odu ction .

”—Ph ila de lp h ia News.

New Yo rk : D. A PPLETON CO.,5 Bon d Stre e t.

A PPL E TONS’ HOME B OO" S —(Con ti n u e d )

Hom e Deco ra t io n,

In s tru ction s in an d De sign s f o r Em bro ide ry, Pan e l an d De co ra tive Paiut

ings,Wo od-carving

,e tc. By JANET E. RUUTz -REES

,a u tho r of

Ho ra ce Ve rn e t,

”e tc. With n um e rou s De sign s

,m a in ly

by GEORGE GIBSON.

CONTENTS : I. In trodu ctory ; II. Ge n e ra l Rem arks ; III . Mate rials an d Pr ice s ; IV.

Stitche s an d Me thods ; V. Win dow-Han gings a n d Po r tier e s ; VI . Scr e e n s ; VII . Lambr equ in s an d Sm al l Pan e ls ; VIII. In cide n ta l De corati on s ; 1 X . Wood-carvin g.

Hom e A m u s e m e n ts .

By M. E. W . S. ,au tho r o f “A m en itie s o f Hom e,

”e tc.

CoNTENT s : I . Pr e fatory ; II . Th e Gar r e t ; III. Pr ivate The atr ica ls, e tc. ; IV . T a

b le aux Vivan ts ; V. b r ain Gam e s ; VI. Fo r tu n e -Te llin g ; VII. A m u sem e n ts for a RainyVIII Em bro ide ry an d o the r De cora tive A rts ; 1 X . Etchin g : X . L awn Te n n is ;

Ga rd e n Par tie s ; XII. Dan cing ; XIII . Garde n s an d Flowe r -Stan ds , X IV. Cag edBirds a n d A viar ie s : XV. Picn ics ; XVI . Playin g with Fir e . Ce ram ics ; XVII . A rche ry ; XVIII. A m u sem e n ts for th e Middle -A g ed an d t h e Ag ed ; XIX. Th e Par lor ;XX. Th e " itchen ; XXI . T h e Fam ily Hor se an d o the r Pe ts ; XXII . In Con clu sion .

T h e Hom e Ne e d le .

By ELLA RODMAN CHURCH. Illu stra te d.

CONTENT S : I . “Go Te ach th e Orp h an -Gir l to Sew ”; II . Be gin n in g Bight—Un de n

Garm e n ts : III. Un de r -Garm e n ts IV.

“Th e So ng o f th e Shir t ” ; V,

Rudim e n ts o f Dr e ss-m akin g ; VI . Dr e ss m aking in De tail ; Vl I. Sewin g an d Fin ishin g ; VIII. T h e Millin e r

‘s A r t ; IX . Childr e n ’s Garm e n ts ; X. House -L in en ; XI.Th e Me n din g Baske t ; XII . A Patchwork Chapte r .

Hom e Occup a t io n s .

By JANET E. Bun 'r z-REES. Illu strated.

CONTEN'rs : I. In trodu ctory ; II . Wh at can b e Don e with L e athe r ; III . Th e Po ssib i litie s o f Tissu e -Pape r ; IV. Mode ling in Wax : Flowe r s ; V. Mode ling in Wax

Fru its , e tc. ; VI. T h e Pr e se rvation o f Flowe r s an d Gr asse s ; VII. Spatte r -Wo rk ;VIII

.Fram e -Makin g : IX . Co lle ction s ; X . Makin g Scrap-Books ; X I. Th e Use s o f

ard -Board ; XII. What ca n b e Don e with B e ads ; XIII .IV . Misce llan e ou s Occupa tion s.

T h e Hom e L ib ra ry

By A RTHUR PENN,e ditor o f “Th e Rhym e ste r .

” Illu stra te d.CONTENTS I . A Ple a for th e Be st Books : II . On th e Bu yin g an d Own in g of Bo oks ;

III . On Re ading ; IV. On Fiction (with a L is t of a Hu n d r ed B est Nopels) V. On

th e L ibrary an d its Fu r n itu re ; VI . On Book-bin d ing ; VII. On the Making o f ScrapBo oks ; VIII . On Diarie s an d Fam ily Re co rds : IX . On th e L e n ding an d Marki ng o fBooks ; X .

Hi n ts He r e an d The re ; XI . A ppe n dix—L ist o f A u thor s who se Worksshou ld b e foun d in th e Hom e L ibrary .

New York : D. A PPLETON CC . , 1 , 3 5 Bon d Stre e t.

THE PARCHMENT SER/ES,CHOICELYPRINTEDONLINENPAPER, ANDBOUNDINLIMPPARCHMENTANTIQUE. 16mo.

PERHA PS THERE IS NO MORE A GREEA BLE SERIES THAN ‘THE

PA RCHMENT L IBRA RY.

’ —A THENE UM

T e n n y so n’s“ In M e m o r iam .

With a Min ia tu r e Po r tra it in eau f o r te by LE RAT, afte r a Pho togr aph byth e late Mr s. CAMERON.

A n e xqu isite little e ditio n ,in white b in din g, a n d on rough pape r . It is p e r

fectly p r in te d. an d a s fi t fo r th e po cke t a s fo r th e drawin g-ro o m .

"- Sp ecta tor .

T e n n y so n’s“T h e Pr ince ss 3. M e d le y .

With a Min ia tu re Fron tispie ce by H. M. PAGET an d a Ta il-pie ce in Outlin e by GORDON BROWNE.

A n adm irab ly go t -u p e dition ,prin te d o n t h e rough pape r which is de a r t o

m an y b o ok-love r s , an d boun d i n white ve ll u m .

—Sa tu rd ay Review.

E n gl ish Od e s .

Se le cted by EDMUND W. GOSSE. With Fron tispie ce on In dia pape r,from

a De sign by HAMO THORNYORo r T,A . R. A .

A r e a l ly de lightfu l l ittle po s se ssio n , m a rk e d b y gr e at kn owl e dge an d ap p recia tion o f Epg lish poe try. —Pa ll Mall Ga zette .

S h a k sp e r e’

s S o n n e t s .

Edited by EDWARD DOWDEN. With a Fron tispie ce e tched by LEOPOLDLOWENSTA M

,afte r th e De ath-Ma sk .

A m o r e exqu isite e dition o f the se po e m s th e b o ok -l ove rcan scarce ly de sire .—Notes an d Q ueri es.

E ig h t e e n t h Ce n tu ry E s sa y s .

Se le cted an d an n o ta te d by A USTIN DOBSON. With a Min ia tu re Fron tispie ceby R. CALDECOTT.

Th e cre am o f tha t A rcadian l ite ra tu re , with its k in dly hum o r , pl e a san tsatire , an d graph ic d e scr iption .

”-Boston Tr avel le r .

O f th e Im ita t io n o f Ch r is t .

By THOMAS A " EMPIS . A Re vise d Tran sla tion . Wi th a Fron tispie ce on

In dia pape r,from a De sign by W. B. RICHMOND.

T h e tha n k s o f th e r e ade r s ar e du e n o le ss t o th e tra n slato r fo r th e sub stan ceo f th e b ook , than t o t h e pu b l ishe r fo r its fo rm .

”—Sa tu r d ay Review.

T h e Ch r is t ia n Y e a r .

By JOHN " ERLE. Prin te d in r ed an d,black

,with a Po r tra it of th e au tho r

,

from Mr . G. RICHMOND’S drawin g. $ 1 5 0 .

Th e e ditio n r em a in s th e b e st extan t o f th e m o st popu lar o f En glish devot i on a l po e ts.”—Pal l Mall Gaze tte .

"SEE NEX T PAGE ]

THE PA RCEMENT SERIES—(Con tin u ed)

S e lect L e tt e r s o f Pe rcy By s sh e S h e l le y .

Edited,with an In trodu ction

,by RICHARD GARNETT.

T h e pe cul iar vir tu e o f his e pistle s i s to expr e ss the m in d o f th e po e t,as p e r

fect ly a s Ma ca u lay’s exp re s s th e m in d o f th e m an o f le tte r s , o r We l lin gton ’s th em in d o f th e ge n e ra l .” -From

Fa b le s .

By Mr . JOHN GA Y . With a Mem o ir by A USTIN DOBSON. With Po rt ra itfrom a hithe rt o u n e n grave d ske tch in o il by Sir GODFREY " NELLER

,

e tche d by RICHARD H. A . WILLS .

They have give n ple a su r e t o seve ral ge n e ra tion s o f r e ade rs , o ld a n d y ou n g,an d the y have e n r iche d th e lan gu age with m o re th an o n e in d ispe n sable quo tation .

—A . Dobson .

Fre nch L y r ics .

Se le cted an d an n o ta te d by GEORGE SAINTSBURY . With a Min ia tu r e Fron tisp iece by H . G. GL INDONI .

Th e se le ction con ta in s spe cim e n s Of th e writin gs o f Fre n ch LyricPo e ts

,from th e twe lfth to th e ni n e te en th cen tu ry

,with a Pr e fa tory No tice

o f e ach au tho r o r grou p o f au tho r s .

Po e m s .

By A LFRED TENNYSON.

’

With Fron tispie ce . Two vo lum e s. $2 5 0 .

The se vo lum e s con ta in a l l tha t wa s pu blishe d in th e o r igin a l two vol

um e s by which Mr . Ten n yso n fi rst be cam e kn own t o th e wo r ld,toge the r

with a f ew e ar ly po em s an d sonn e ts n o t then publishe d,an d Tithon u s .”

Q . Ho ra t i Flacci Op e ra .

With an Etchin g from a De sign by L . ALMA-TADEMA.

T h e S o n n e t s o f Jo h n M ilt o n .

Edite d by MAR" PATTISON. With Po r tra it aft e r VERTUE. A n t iqu e , gilttop .

A charm in g e d itio n o f o n e o f th e m o st r e m a rkable s e rie s o f: po em s in th e

lan gua g e by th e pe r son m o st qu a l ifi e d o f a l l m e n h vm g t o b e Its e di to r .

.

Mr .

‘

Pa t

tis o n d o e s a ll tha t w e co u ld wish, an d n o m o r e . If an y o n e r e qu ir e s e ithe rm o re o r le ss , h e m u st in de e d b e d iffi cul t to sa t 1 sfy .

”—Pa ll Mall Gazette .

T h e Pa rchm e n t S h a k sp e r e .

Com p l e t e in twe lve vo lum e s. Ve llum,gi lt t op , e a ch . Now

r ea dy .

Th e text o f this e dition o f Shakspe r e is m a in ly tha t o f De liu s, f o llowin g clo se ly th e fo lio e dition o f 1 6 2 3, th e chie f diffe r en ce cons istin g ina m o r e Spa r ing u se o f pu n ctu a tion than tha t em ploye d by th e we ll -kn ownGe rm an e dito r .

Whe r eve r a va r ian t re ading is adopted, som e good an d

re cogn ize d Shaksp e r e an cr itic h as be en fo llowe d .

New York : D. A PPLETON St CC.,Publishe r s 1 , 3, 5 Bon d Stre e t.

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Transcript of €¦ · HEA L TH A T HOME. HOME SURROUNDINGS. THE habitu al condition of a h om e should be one of...