336 SCIENCE IN SHORT CHAPTERS. 



with a wholesome John Bull rotundity, is exposed to this 

 superdried air, he is subjected to au amount of bodily evapo- 

 ration that must be perceptible and unpleasant. The dis- 

 agreeable sensation experienced by Dr. Siemens in the stoye- 

 heated railway cars, etc., were probably due to this. 



An English house, enveloped in a foggy atmosphere, and 

 encased in damp surroundings, especially requires stove- 

 heating, and the most inveterate worshipers of our national 

 domestic fetish, the open grate, invariably prefer a stove or 

 hot-pipe-heated room, when they are unconscious of the 

 source of heat, and their prejudice hoodwinked. I have 

 observed this continually, and have often been amused at 

 the inconsistency thus displayed. For example, one even- 

 ing I had a warm contest with a lady, who repeated the 

 usual praises of a cheerful blaze, etc., etc. On calling after- 

 wards, on a bitter snowy morning, I found her and her 

 daughters sitting at work in the billiard-room, and asked 

 them why. " Because it is so warm and comfortable." This 

 room was heated by an eight-inch steam-pipe, running 

 around and under the table, to prevent the undue cooling 

 of the indiarubber cushions, and thus the room was warmed 

 from the middle, and equally and moderately throughout. 

 The large reception-room, with blazing fire, was scorching 

 on one side, and freezing on the other, at that time in the 

 morning. 



The permeability of ill-constructed iron stoves to poison- 

 ous carbonic oxide, which riddles through red-hot iron, is 

 a real evil, but easily obviated by proper lining, The friz 

 zling of particles of organic matter, of which we hear so 

 much, is if it really does occur -highly advantageous, 

 seeing that it must destroy organic poison-germs. 



Under some conditions, the warm air of a room does de- 

 posit moisture on its cooler walls. This happens in churches, 

 concert-rooms, etc., when they are but occasionally used in 

 winter time, and mainly warmed by animal heat, by con- 

 gregational emanations of breath-vapor, and perspiration 

 i.e., with warm air supersaturated with vapor. Also, when 

 we have a sudden change from dry, frosty weather to warm 

 and humid. Then our walls may be streaming with con- 

 densed water. Such cases were probably in the mind of Dr. 



