Nov. 7, 1884.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



377 



CHAPTERS ON MODERN DOMESTIC 

 ECONOMY. 



I.— INTRODUCTION. 



IN the vicinity of the delightful gardens at Kew, as 

 doubtless elsewhere in suburban London, many 

 beautiful villas of moderate proportions are now being 

 erected. We were attracted to one of these tenements by 

 a board, set foith in prominence at its outer gate, upon 

 which, in black and white, the architect announced his 

 commercial shrewdness by stating that the house in 

 question was constructed upon the principle of the " Sani- 

 tary House " at the late Health Exhibition. 



The placard invited inspection, and, impelled by a curio- 

 sity adequate to the boldness of the enterprising builder, 

 we entered. Our surmise was that the vaunted building 

 was extremely similar in outward appearance to its neigh- 

 bours, which were flourishing long before the Health 

 Exhibition sanitary abode was even in embryo. We confess 

 that we were delighted to find the essential sanitary details, 

 such as the di'ainage from the roof, the position of the soil, 

 pipes, cisterns, ic, exactly what they "ought to was," as 

 little Bouncer would have had it (Cuthbert Bede) ; but 

 we were somewhat disappointed with those minor, yet never- 

 theless, essential things, which in their totality go to make 

 np a comfoi-table, and, f^rgo, a healthy home. Freedom 

 from draughts, one of the necessities of a modern dwelling, 

 is to a very large extent dependent upon the suitable con- 

 struction of the windows, doors, and fireplaces. As a soli- 

 tary example, let us draw attention to those brethren of 

 costermongers who vend sausage-shaped " ropes of sand," 

 enveloped in crimson cloth by way of heralding " Father 

 Christmas, ' to keep out the cold. They at once point to 

 the inethcient structure of the accepted and prevalent 

 type of window-frame ; and, again, when the lower sash of 

 the window is raised, the inevitable consequence is a violent 

 gust of wind, caused through the narrow instead of a deep 

 bead on the window-cill. Door draught-preventers, suitably 

 devised hearth-stones and fireplaces, and adequate venti- 

 lating apparatus, aie other items which call most urgently 

 for attention, and here we invariably find one and all are 

 almost shamefully neglected. 



It shall be our duty, in our observations upon the frame- 

 work of the modern dwelling to lay great stress upon all 

 those measures, the greater number of which are the out- 

 come of recent inquiries, and which tend alike to economy, 

 cleanliness, and health. In doing so we shall have occa- 

 sion to notice all the most valuable inventions, whether 

 new or old, that are considered to be of importance from a 

 sanitary point of view, and we invite the suggestions and 

 co-operation of our friends to enable us, through their 

 remarks, to make these articles of the highest possible 

 practical value to our subscribers. 



It is an incontrovertible fact that, next to a thoroughly 

 sound and healthy abode, the questions of dress and foods 

 aiTect the well-being of civilised communities most pro- 

 foundly. Of the first of these, there is scope for almost 

 illimitable research. We are at the outset made aware of 

 the fact that our bodies, or rather the average human 

 frame of modern Europeans, has through many generations 

 been contorted to adapt itself, from time to time, to the 

 extravagances of what is popularly called the ' fashion of 

 the times." The remarks of tlie talented director of the 

 British Museum in Nature and elsewhere, under the 

 heading of " Fashion in Deformity " (we here quote from 

 memory), are familiar to all students of biology. That a 

 tendency towards rational reform is not far distant may be 

 gathered from the numerous dress associations that have 

 lately come into existence. Not only shonid the form of the 



habiliment be considered, but the texture of the material 

 employed to meet the requirements of each special case is 

 almost as deserving of inquiry. And here we have ample 

 scope for noticing some truly valuable innovations. 



Foods act more directly upon the health of our bodily 

 economy than either houses or dress Without encroach- 

 ing upon the ground of our valued contributor, Mr. Mattieu 

 Williams, we hope to be able to adduce evidence as to how 

 the various organs of the body are affected by diets in 

 those minute interchanges which constitute the histological 

 physiology of life ; to give an outline of the morphology 

 and physiology, or the correlated structure and functions 

 of the substances which are commonly used as foods and 

 stimulants upon the organs and tissues of the human 

 frame, and to criticise the most deserving of those prepara- 

 tions which have recently been brought forward for the 

 benefit of the public. 



" On earth there is nothing great but man. In man 

 there is nothing great but mind,"* such was the motto of 

 the distinguished metaphysician of the .school of Edinburgh, 

 the late Sir Wm. Hamilton, Bart The culture of the 

 mind depends to a very considerable extent upon the 

 manner of inculcation, especially with regard to the young. 

 In household economics, therefore, it is imperative that 

 parents and guardians ought to be cognisant of the many 

 advances that have recently been made in this department, 

 so that they may be enabled to extend to their children 

 the most approved and tested methods for their highest 

 benefit. The very furniture — the desks, seats, tables, and 

 books ; their shapes and sizes, are all matters of no incon- 

 siderable importance ; and we shall have a good oppor- 

 tunity of placing before the public some of the most reliable 

 information which it has been our good fortune to compile 

 upon this interesting sulject. Thus will our endeavour 

 have been fulfilled ; w-e sincerely trust with some degree 

 of benefit to the readers of our " Chapters on Modem 

 Domestic Economy." 



OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS. 



A WEEK'S CONVEESATION ON THE PLURALITY OP 

 WORLDS. 



By Mons. de Fontenelle. 



with kotes by richard a. proctor, 



( Continued from p. 336.) 



" rriHE rainbow likewise is not known to the inhabitants 



J. of the moon ; for if the dawn is an effect of the 

 grossness of the air and vapours, the rainbow is formed in 

 the clouds, from whence the rain falls ; so that the most 

 beautiful things in the world are produced by those which 

 have no beauty at all. Since then there are no vapours 

 thick enough, nor no clouds of rain about the moon, 

 farewel dawn, adieu rainbow. What must lovers do for 

 similies in that country, when such an inexhaustible maga- 

 zine of comparisons is taken from them 1 " 



" I shall not much bemoan the loss of their similies or 

 comparisons," says the Marchioness, " for I think them 

 well enough recompensed for the loss of our dawn and 

 rainbow ; for by the same reason they have neither thunder 

 nor lightning, both which are formed in the clouda How 

 glorious are their days, the sun continually shining ! how 

 pleasant their nights, not the least star is hid from them I 

 They never hear of storms or tempests, which certainly are 

 plain effects of the wrath of Heaven. Do you think then 

 they stand in need of our pityl" 



" You are describing the moon," I replied, " like an 



* Ought this not to be : " On earth there is nothing so great as 

 man : in man there is nothing so great as mind " .' 



