54 HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY RESIDENCES. 



of course, that the house is not so near the deposits of your neighbor's 

 tilth, as to render it liable to a similar danger. The well or cistern 

 should never be sunk within a distance of five times its own depth 

 from any deposit of impurity. 



Dampness Even the smallest and poorest dwelling should 

 have a cellar, which is well ventilated and kept as free from moisture 

 as possible. Dampness promotes the growth of moulds, and is a 

 powerful means of inducing and propagating disease. "The con- 

 stant condition," says a learned physician, " according to all my ob- 

 servation, of diphtheria, is structural dampness of houses." He 

 continues, " Eemember, always, that if cholera, cholera infantum, 

 diarrhea or dysentery appear in your family without obvious cause, 

 the chances are at least two to one, that there is something wrong 

 with the water-supply, or the milk-supply, or the drainage of your 

 house" 



The bedrooms of a dwelling should be large, airy and constantly 

 supplied with abundance of fresh air and sunlight. The immediate 

 removal of soiled linen and all excrements, either liquid or solid, 

 should be strictly enforced. These things are particularly impor- 

 tant with children, because their lungs, stomach, etc., are much more 

 delicate, therefore more susceptible to contiguous influences than 

 those of adults. It is well to observe, for the guidance of the many 

 who will read these pages, that the coloring matter of many of the 

 dark-green paper-hangings is composed largely of arsenic, and that 

 the exhalations from walls hung in these colors are highly danger- 

 ous. 



It is unnecessary to repeat, that every new house, or newly 

 plastered house, should be allowed ample time to dry, before it is 

 occupied. In many European cities they allow a year to elapse. 



It may be said with some show of reason that it is absurd to 

 talk to, or to write for, a man as to his house and its surroundings, 

 if he lives in a tumble-down cottage at the outskirts of a low-lying 

 village, or if he occupies a tenement among the foul courts and 

 alleys that exist in parts of our populous towns and cities. Dirt and 

 disease usually accompany each other, and under some circumstances 

 the extinction of the one, and the diminution of the other, is said 

 to be a physical impossibility. If, however, a man's house be his 

 castle in any sort of way, he may and can accomplish something 

 within his castle, though he may have, in cities and towns, little or no 

 control over the surroundings. 



Other Matters The air of the living and sleeping rooms 

 can be kept comparatively, if not positively, pure by leaving a win- 

 dow sash partially open, and by keeping the chimney-shaft constantly 

 clear, whether there be a fire in the grate or fire-place, or not. 

 Water is usually plentiful, and there need be no practical difficulty 

 in keeping floors clean. They should be washed on a dry day, and 

 all the windows, as well as the door, freely opened during and after 

 the operation. The expenditure of a very few nickels wiff buy suffi- 



