484 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 18. 



unpleasant odors. Such rooms as those re- 

 ferred to are generally overheated; the 

 bodies of the occupants, and, at night, the 

 usual means of 'illumination, contributing 

 to this result. 



The results of this investigation, taken in 

 connection with the results of other recent 

 researches summarized in this report, indi- 

 cate that some of the theories upon which 

 modern systems of ventilation are based 

 are either without foundation or doubtful, 

 and that the problem of securing comfort 

 and health in inhabited rooms requires the 

 consideration of the best methods of pre- 

 venting or disposing of dusts of various 

 kinds, of properly regulating temperature 

 and moisture, and of preventing the en- 

 trance of poisonous gases like carbonic 

 oxide, derived from heating and lighting 

 apparatus, rather than upon simply dilu- 

 ting the air to a certain standard of propor- 

 tion of carbonic acid present. It would be 

 very unwise to conclude, from the facts 

 given in this report, that the standards of 

 air supply for the ventilation of inhabited 

 rooms, which standards are now generally 

 accepted by sanitarians as the result of the 

 work of Pettenkofer, De Chaumont and 

 others, are much too large under any cir- 

 cumstances, or that the differences in health 

 and vigor between those who spend the 

 greater part of their lives in the open air of 

 the country hills and those who live in the 

 city slums do not depend in any way upon 

 the differences between the atmospheres of 

 the two localities except as regards the 

 number and character of microorgan- 

 isms. , 



The cause of the unpleasant, musty odor 

 which is perceptible to most persons on 

 passing from the outer afr into a crowded, 

 unventilated room is unknown. It may in 

 part be due to volatile products of decom- 

 position contained in the expired afr of per- 

 sons having decayed teeth, foul mouths, or 

 certain disorders of the digestive apparatus, 



and it is due in part to volatile fatt}' acids 

 produced from the excretions of the skin 

 and from clothing soiled with such excre- 

 tions. It may produce nausea and other"; 

 disagreeable sensations in specially suscep- 

 tible persons, but most men soon become 

 accustomed to it and cease to notice it, as 

 they will do with regard to the odor of a 

 smoking car or of a soap factory after they 

 have been for some time in the place. The 

 dfrect and indirect effects of odors of various 

 kinds upon the comfort, and, perhaps also, 

 upon the health of men are more consider- 

 able than would be indicated by any tests, 

 now known for determining the nature and 

 quantity of the matters which give rise to 

 them. 



The remarks of Eenk upon this point 

 merit consideration. 



Cases of fainting in crowded rooms usual- 

 ly occur in women, and are connected with 

 defective respiratory action due to tight 

 lacing or other causes. 



Other causes of discomfort in rooms 

 heated by furnaces or by steam are exces- 

 sive dryness of the air and the presence of 

 small quantities of carbonic oxide, of illu- 

 minating gas, and, possibly, of arsenic, de- 

 rived from the coal used for heating. 



AMERICAN 3IETR0L0GICAL SOCIETY. 



This Society held its annual meeting 

 at Columbia College, on April 22d, at 3 

 p. M. 



The President, B. A. Gould, of Cam- 

 bridge, Mass. , presided. There were present, 

 Wolcott Gibbs, of Newport, K. I.; A. A. 

 Michelson, of the University of Chicago; 

 T. Egleston and J. H. Van Amringe, of 

 Columbia College ; T. E. Pynchon, of Trin- 

 ity College ; T. C. Mendenhall, of Wor- 

 cester, Mass.; George Eastboui-n, of Phila- 

 delphia ; J. M. McKinlay and J. K. Eees, 

 of New York City. 



President Gould made an informal ad- 



