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interchange as much as possjble by such means as are available. 
Draughts from open doors and windows are certainly to be avoided, 
but they may be overcome by judiciously placed screens and numerous 
other devices for distributing the current of fresh air. One such that 
answers admirably for the bedroom in winter is to raise the lower sash 
of the window, allowing it to rest on a piece of board some three inches 
high, and which fits snugly into the window frame. The air will now enter 
in a broad stream between the upper and lower sashes, and the sliding 
pane of the storm sash can be left open, as a rule, without fear of a draft. 
I might add here, that it is extremely important for the air of a 
bedroom to be pure and fresh, and the temperature of a room should 
be such as to allow the above, or some similar, method of ventilation 
to be practised throughout the winter. A grate fire is perhaps the 
very best means of assisting ventilation for private houses. If its 
function were only that of keeping the air of the room pure it could not 
be too strongly recommended, for it compels fresh air to enter by doors 
and windows, and by its strong draught' continuously renovates the 
atmosphere. Looked at as a source of heat, it may be considered 
extravagant, but is certainly the most healthful, as well as the most 
pleasant and attractive of all our modes of heating. The windows 
should be opened for ten minutes first thing in the morning, and the 
whole air of the house renewed. Even on the coldest day, this will 
be found economical as regards fuel, as well as invigorating. 
TEMPERATURE OF THE HOUSE. 
One word may be said here regarding the temperature of our 
houses in winter, since it is a matter closely related to ventilation. 
It is more healthy to have the air of our bedrooms too cold than too 
hot, and the same remark refers, though not with equal force, to the 
rest of the house. I feel sure that many diseases of the lungs and 
throat are the result of going out of our over heated houses into the severe 
cold. The difference in temperature is enormous, and the system is 
in the worst possible condition to withstand the shock. 
And now that I am about to conclude my lecture and these sug- 
gestions, which if put into practice may mean better health for many of 
us, let me urge upon every householder the necessity of knowing that 
