60 Female Colleges — Ventilation^ etc. [Feb., 



have a generation of educated, accomplished Christian mothers, they 

 will furnish the race with a pure and noble race of men, qualified 

 for any post of honor and usefulness in the Church or the State. 

 The value of female education can not be overestimated, and we 

 would contribute our mite in awakening a deeper and more active 

 interest on this subject. We would crowd, to their utmost capacity, 

 all the female seminaries and colleges, with the lovely gems which 

 sparkle around every fireside ; lovely, even in their uncultivated 

 beauty. 



The West is blest and honored with scores of these institutions 

 of learning — institutions which can not be surpassed in the East — 

 or in the world. We rejoice not only in their number, but in the 

 taste, beauty, comfort and attractiveness of their buildings. Too 

 little attention has been given to the healthfulness of apartments 

 in our private as well as public edifices. The subject of ventilation 

 has of late been eliciting the attention of scientific men, and it is 

 generally conceded that thousands die annually, and other thou- 

 sands are enfeebled for the want of pure fresh air. This is as ef- 

 fectual to bodily and mental vigor, as wholesome and nutritious food. 

 The amount of pure air necessary to keep this 'harp of a thousand 

 strings' in tune, is almost incredible, and when we reflect that air 

 once inspired, is no longer fit for use, it is a marvel that so many live 

 to mature life, especially of those who are shut up in small stove 

 rooms. A few facts gathered from reliable sources, will illustrate 

 the importance of considering ventilation in constructing semina- 

 ries of learning, applicable alike to private dwellings. 



W^hen the function of respiration is performed in a calm and nat- 

 ural manner, there are eighteen respirations per minute, in each of 

 'which efi"orts, about one pint of air is received and discharged from 

 the lungs, and all the blood in the system performs a complete cir- 

 cuit, and is thus exposed to the purifying influence of the atmos- 

 phere, every three minutes. 520 cubic feet of air is used by a per- 

 son of ordinary size, every twenty -four hours. In the winter season, 

 when the combustion of the fuel that warms us, is co-operating with 

 our own vital organs, in depriving the air of its oxygen the danger 

 is very great, and multitudes become the victims of fiital disease in 

 consequence. We have not the space for a full discussion of this 

 important and vital subject, but we are happy to know that in one 

 instance, at least, in the United States, a Female College has been 

 constructed with a perfect system of ventilation, and that its advan- 



