CHAPTER XXXV 



THE HOME IN RELATION TO HEALTH 



Questions. 1. If most people are brought up in homes, why must 

 home-making be taught in schools and colleges ? 2. What makes a good 

 location for a home ? 3. What makes some cities more desirable to live 

 in than others ? 4. Is it better to live in the city than in the country ? 

 5. Whatshouldbetakenintoaccountwhenbuildingahome ? when renting ? 



6. W^hat can be done in the home to make its people healthier ? 



7. What can the home do for people's health better than the school 

 can? better than public officials can? better than the individual can? 



8. How does the character of the home limit the welfare of the commun- 

 ity? 9. How does the character of the community limit the welfare 

 of the home ? 



274. The importance of the home. Most people are born at 

 home and most people die at home. It is the place where we get 

 our first impressions of this world, and where we become ac- 

 quainted with human beings, including ourselves. It is where 

 we get our first lessons in the management of our bodies and of 

 our environment, and in making the most of our resources. It 

 is also the place where most people eat most of their meals, do 

 most of their sleeping, and find most of their comfort. From 

 every point of view, whatever happens in the home has a decided 

 bearing upon our health and welfare ; the health and happiness 

 of a people depend directly upon the character of its homes. 

 It is true, of course, that the home is not the only thing that 

 influences health and happiness. Men and wom.en with per- 

 fectly good homes can get into trouble or become ill, and people 

 with rather poor homes manage to thrive to an old age. 



275. The location of a home. A hundred years ago almost 

 every family in this country lived in a separate house, and most 

 people lived on farms or in villages. At the present time more 

 than half our population is in towns or cities, and in the cities 



365 



