POISONS OF THE FARMER'S LIFE. 15 



impure and poisonous vapors cast oif by our own bodies, not 

 only crowd the pure air out, but convey directly back into 

 our bodies this fermenting poison of decay and death. 



Another point of interest concerning the purity of the air 

 is the location of it. I mean its position nearer or farther 

 from or under the surface of the ground. Anal^^sis of the air, 

 chemical and otherwise, shows most conclusively that near 

 and under the surface of the ground it is much more injurious 

 to the health of man than that several feet above it. Hence 

 the lower story of most of our dwelling-houses, and especially 

 that of our old-fashioned houses, which merely "squat" on 

 the ground, is not a suitable one for sleeping-rooms. I fully 

 believe that not an inconsiderable amount of rheumatism, the 

 disease of farmers, would be done aAvay with if people would 

 sleep in the second story of the house. But hear what a 

 sensible woman says on this point. 



" If every former in the land could be made to see that the 

 miasma which floats invisible in the upholding sunlight of 

 noonday is precipitated by the chill of night, just as the 

 earth in a glass of muddy water goes to the bottom when at 

 rest, and that he, sleeping on the ground floor is aptly 

 represented by a pin lying in that layer of mud, he would 

 conquer his aversion to going up-stairs, and once having 

 tasted the superior charms of a fresh, airy bedroom, away 

 from the smoke and the smells of the roastino- and broilins: 

 and frying and baking which must be done in every kitchen, 

 he would never be induced again to sleep below stairs." 



Another of the poisons of the farmer's life is pork — 

 P-O-R-K ! Webster defines pork as " the flesh of the hog, 

 fresh or salted, and used as a food." Perhaps a definition of 

 pork ought to read something like this : Pork is the diseased 

 adipose tissue or fat of the American hog. It is the more 

 and more diseased, and hence richer in flavor for food to 

 men, as the animal is allowed to live on the rotten and 

 filthy excrements of man and beast, and to eat all the 

 indigestible and refuse food which no other animal will eat, 

 or smell of but once. If the food called swill is fermented 

 by putrefactive decomposition, the hog is more greedy to get 

 it, and envelops himself all the more deeply in the luscious 

 and delicious fat. Exercise, sunlight, fresh air, cleanliness 



