74 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



vided for specially ; and in making this provision it should be borne 

 in mind that we are living at the bottom of an ocean of air, and that 

 the same manipulation is required as though we were living at the 

 bottom of an ocean of water, and were endeavoring to make it come 

 in at the bottom of the house and go out at the top in a continuous 

 stream. 



From the foregoing remarks it will be seen that I maintain that 

 ventilation is the great and main necessity of house-building; and 

 that, whatever else may be left undone, this should be attended to ; 

 and, whatever else may be left imperfect, this should be made perfect 

 and complete ; and that it should include the whole house ; and should 

 be self-acting and inexpensive. It should, I repeat, be perfect and 

 complete, include the whole house, and be self-acting and inexpen- 

 sive. 



Ventilation is the point for discussion between the architectural 

 and medical professions, for it is here in particular that their duties 

 meet and combine ; the education, knowledge, and experience of both 

 professions are wanted here. However much the medical man may 

 be impressed with the absolute necessity of rooms and houses being 

 ventilated, he cannot himself provide it — this must be done by the 

 architect ; and, on the other hand, the architect cannot be expected 

 to provide flues and tubes, which involve extra expense, except under 

 the certainty that they are absolutely necessary and required arrange- 

 ments involved in the plan of every house. But there is a third party 

 interested in this subject, namely, the public. The public are, after 

 all, the " yea " and " nay " in this matter ; it is, indeed, for them that 

 these arrangements are to be made, and they are the paymasters. 

 Whatever extra cost is involved, it is the public that will have to pay 

 it ; and it is of little use for a doctor to prove the necessity, or for an 

 architect to design the arrangements, unless the public be persuaded 

 to adopt them, and pay the cost involved. That the public can be 

 thus persuaded I have no doubt, but that this will take some time I 

 am equally ready to admit. It will take some time thoroughly to edu- 

 cate the public into the absolute necessity for special provisions for 

 ventilation, because they have hitherto been left under the impression 

 that special arrangements for ventilation are unnecessary and super- 

 fluous, or that they are impracticable, or at least incompatible with 

 warmth and comfort ; and I am sorry to have to add that they have 

 been encouraged in this impression by many architects and engineers, 

 and that medical men have not protested with sufficient force and in- 

 telligence. Medical men have gone on from generation to generation 

 silently mourning the resulting evils of the want of efficient and prac- 

 ticable means of ventilation, and architects have continued to design 

 houses with very little regard to these absolutely necessary provi- 

 sions ; while the public have submitted, and, if they have not thought 

 it was all right, have at least thought that the evil was quite beyond 



