636 THE AMERICAN FARMER 



the windows and doors; but this is far from being sufficient for ventilating purposes. Chim 

 ney-flues or other means of ventilating should be employed. Chimney-flues, in order to be 

 effectual as ventilators, must have the air within them warmer than that in the apartment, 

 otherwise they cease to act. In arranging for ventilation, whatever the system practiced, 

 two things are essential, viz., the providing of suitable inlets for the admission of fresh air, 

 and equally capacious outlets for the escape of the impure air. 



The opening for the introduction of fresh air for ventilating purposes may be either 

 above or below the place of outlet for the foul air. It is a good plan to build a ventilating- 

 flue close to the chimney, by which means the air within the flue will be warmed, causing a 

 good draught. It is important that the air admitted for ventilation should always be pure. 

 The custom that is frequently followed, of supplying the air to a furnace or other heater 

 directly from the cellar of a house is very dangerous, since the bad air of the cellar is thus 

 diffused throughout the house. Even cemented cellars are not an exception to this rule. The 

 air for such purposes should be obtained from outside, and always be pure and fresh. 



As a general practice, people suffer more from bad ventilation in their sleeping-rooms 

 than elsewhere. Too much fear is entertained from breathing what is called &quot;night air,&quot; 

 hence, windows are closed, or only slight openings made for ventilating purposes, and the air 

 of the room breathed over and over again, and the blood poisoned by the process. During 

 the day there is no air for us to breathe but day air, and there is just as certainly no other 

 air for us to breathe during the night but &quot;night air,&quot; consequently there is no other alter 

 native for us but either to cease breathing at all during the night or breathe &quot; night air.&quot; 

 We must therefore take that which is already in the house, and to a greater or less degree 

 impure, or that which is pure from without ; and how much better to have the pure air from 

 without. 



The air of a sleeping-room should be just as pure in the morning, after the room has 

 been occupied all night, as the outdoor air, and yet how few sleeping- apartments could be 

 found under such sanitary conditions. Some writer has called sleeping-apartments, as gen 

 erally managed, &quot;charnel-houses,&quot; suitable only to die in, which, unfortunately, is quite true 

 in a majority of cases. 



The farmer and his sons, being out in the field during the day, suffer less from poor ven 

 tilation than the wife and daughters, who are confined more within doors. If farmers gen 

 erally, either in constructing new dwellings or repairing old ones, would pay more attention 

 to securing the means of proper ventilation, and the best use of such facilities were employed 

 by their families, there would be less need of doctors and their potions, and the figures of the 

 mortuary records of the country would be greatly reduced. 



Cellars. A dry, well-ventilated cellar is essential to the best sanitary condition of a 

 dwelling. In selecting a site for a farm-house, therefore, dry land on a slight elevation, 

 which will admit of suitable drainage, should be chosen, if practicable. But there are many 

 sections where the land is wet, and unless some means are employed for under-draining it, 

 the cellars will either contain standing water a large portion of the time, or be dripping with 

 moisture. Such cellars are very unhealthy, and should never be permitted to remain in such 

 a condition while the buildings above them are used as habitations. They are also not fit for 

 the storage of family supplies. 



Even dry soils are damp after heavy rain-storms, consequently some means of drainage 

 should be provided in every cellar. But where the land is naturally wet or retentive of 

 moisture, a thorough under-draining is highly essential. This may be accomplished by laying 

 drain-tile a foot or more below the bottom of the cellar, both inside and outside the cellar- 

 walls, which shall go around the cellar, thus securing a drainage on every side. These tiles 

 should communicate with a receiving-drain, which shall take the water quite a distance from 

 the premises. The bottom of the cellar should then be covered with stones or brick (stones 



