238 



Dr. Bence Jones on Ventilation, 



[April 18, 



Varying Cubic Space. 



Cubic 

 Feet. 



In a slave ship, with 311 persons 14 



Best slave ships 28 



Emigrant ships, upper deck . 90 



„ lower do. 7ft. high 12G 



„ „ if under 173 



H.M.S. Rodney (sleeping space) 76 



„ Ariel 94 



„ Ajax 98 



„ Falcon 10# 



„ Severn 117 



„ Py lades 125 



„ Duke of Wellington . 128 

 „ Imperieuse . . . .1451 



Hospitals, Dundee (old, now de-1 

 stroyed) ... .] 



„ Liverpool . . . 



„ Glasgow .... 



„ Walton (convalescent) 



„ Middlesex . . . 



„ Edinburgh . . . 



„ Haslar .... 



„ Westminster . 



„ Guy's (old wards) . 



„ Newcastle . . . 



„ Dundee (tiew) . , 



„ King's College . . 



„ St. Bartholomew's 



„ Guy's ('new wards) . 



„ London .... 



Cubic 



398 



561 

 7.50 

 800 

 1000 

 1090 

 1100 

 1200 

 1200 

 1500 

 1545 

 1600 

 1650 

 1700 

 1700 



As a striking example of the error which prevails regarding the 

 cubic space necessary for health, and as a good instance of the 

 worthlessness of the appeal to practical experience, in many similar 

 cases, I may give the following police regulation for lodging- 

 houses : — 



" The space allowed in common lodging-houses for each lodger, 

 in rooms from 5 ft. 6 in. to 6 ft. in height, is 50 superficial feet ; and 

 in rooms more than 6 ft. in height, 30 superficial feet are allowed for 

 each lodger. 



" This arrangement has been found to work satisfactorily, and 

 to secure the health of the lodgers. Two children under 10 years 

 of age are reckoned as one adult.'* 



Police Allowance in Lodging-Houses. 



When 5 ft, 6 in. to 6 ft. high, 50 superficial feet 

 When 6 ft. 1 in. high, 30 „ 



275 to 300 cubic feet.- 

 183 cubic feet. 



That is, rooms from 5 ft. 6 in. to 6 ft. high give from 275 to 300 

 cubic feet for each person; and if 6 ft. 1 in. high, then only 183 

 cubic feet are given. 



To obtain an equal amount of cubic feet of air the rooms should 

 be between 9 and 10 ft. high. The police rule is, however, justified 

 by experience ! " This arrangement has been found to work satis- 

 factorily, and to secure the health of the lodgers." This does 

 not prove the truth of the rule, but only that there is some great 

 mistake in the rule. 



What rule then must be made ? It appears to me that instead 

 of taking the cubic contents of a room as the guide, the ventilation 

 and the square contents, or in other words, the change of air and 

 the size of the floor, can alone determine the number of persons 

 that can safely and properly be admitted into any space. 



