176 OUR BODIES AND HOW WE LIVE 



239. How to ventilate. An open fireplace is a safe, 

 healthy, but not economical means of heating and venti- 

 lating a room. Stoves in a room soon dry the air, unless 

 fresh air from outside is constantly supplied. When rooms 

 are warmed by heated air from furnaces, the warm air should 

 enter through registers in or near the floor, on one side of 

 the room ; and impure air should escape through outlets in 

 or near the ceiling, on the other side. 



Children should be trained from infancy to sleep with a 

 window partly open for the greater part of the year. Adult 

 people in vigorous health should gradually learn to do the 

 same. Even in the coldest weather some plan of venti- 

 lation for the living rooms, but especially for the sleeping 

 rooms, should be provided. Draughts must be avoided. 



Any simple apparatus to let in fresh air will answer every 

 purpose. Raise the window a few inches and put a piece 

 of board under the lower sash. Pure air will enter where 

 the two sashes overlap. 1 



1 Above all things, avoid sitting, standing, or lying in a cool, breezy place 

 when you are warm from active exercise. This is a sure way to catch cold. 

 Do not stand by open windows or open doors when the air of the house is 

 warmer than that outside. You are subjected to a strong draught, which 

 is sure to result in a cold. Do not stop to talk in the doorway when 

 parting from a friend. 



Do not throw off your wraps too suddenly when coming in warm with 

 exercise. 



Do not talk much when walking in the cold, frosty air, but keep the 

 mouth closed, that the air may be warmed by the nostrils. 



Avoid very hot rooms with the moisture all dried out of the air. Change 

 the air of your room every hour. An hour is long enough to remain in one 

 position or in one room without change. 



Never sit, eat, or sleep in a north room if you can help it. The north 

 side of the house belongs to the refrigerator and the storeroom. Let the 

 sun shine into all your rooms as much as possible. You had better have 

 faded carpets than faded faces. DR. MARY J. STUDLEY, in What Our Girls 

 Ought to Know. 



