THE OVERSHADOWING OF OUR HOMES. 



421 



three in number, of a reddish-brown color, and ex- 

 ceeding in length the sepals and petals, presenting 

 a most remarkable appearance. The flower is fol- 



lowed by a dark purple berry, three-celled but few- 

 seeded. This medeola is a plant decidedly worth 

 more attention. S. E. Kennedy. 



THE OVERSHADOWING OF OUR HOMES. 



THE DANGERS OF CLOSE PLANTING ABOUT LIVING PLACES FEARS OF ARBOR-DAY PLANTINGS THE 



TESTIMONY OF A PHYSICIAN. 



NO (JNE raises a word against our Arbor 

 Days, and few protest against dense shade 

 about dwellings. Arbor-day planting is 

 generally confounded with forestry, with 

 which, in fact, it has no relation. The following 

 remarks by W. Thornton Parker, M. D., in the 

 Sanitarian, are timely and needful. 



For many years our people have given considerable 

 attention to the subject of forest culture, but instead of 

 exercising their influence in the direction of forest pro- 

 - taction and increase where it is most needed, many seem 

 to content themselves with planning " arbor days " and 

 employing our school children in planting trees and 

 shrubs in parks and school grounds and streets of our 

 cities and towns. To witness the faithful efforts of our 

 children as they plant the trees where sunlight is most 

 needed, one cannot help feeling that oftentimes these 

 efforts are sadly misdirected and the theory taught is not 

 the true one. This love for the beauty of foliage is right 

 and natural, and properly guided is to be encour- 

 aged, but it has undoubtedly been only too often extrav- 

 agantly bestowed, and the societies formed for this pur- 

 pose are not always under the direction of the wisest. 

 The planting from a sanitary point of view has not 

 yet received much attention. To set out as many trees 

 as possible seems to be the object, and this is limited 

 only by the means and the amount of land at their dis- 

 posal. The poem of "Woodman, Spare that Tree" has 

 won a strong place in the hearts of the people, and while 

 whole forests disappear as if by magic, in ruthless waste 

 and in serious menace of health and life, the tree in the 

 town, whose roots are bathed in poisonous soil, and 

 whose branches are filled with deadly vapors, and whose 

 leaves repel God's glorious sunshine, stands triumph- 

 antly, a delusive ornament and a dangerous menace. So 

 much has this natural love for the beauty of foliage been 

 misdirected that many sicken and die from overshading 

 — even as many must also suffer from the wanton de- 

 struction of our forests. 



The past nine months of this eventful year of i88g 

 have been remarkable in the lessons they have furnished 

 sanitarians and hygienists. As might well have been 

 expected, the past ten or twelve weeks have furnished a 

 large death-rate from causes preventable, which must 

 act as a warning for all who are interested in the wel- 

 fare of the country. I do not hesitate to affirm that this 

 death-rate is owing to the overshading of our homes in 

 very many instances. Each community has its propor- 

 tionate share of value in health and homes. Whatever 



diminishes this value is a direct injury to that commu- 

 nity. Overshading is a serious fault, and directly les- 

 sens the value of real estate, and noticeably increases 

 disease and shortens life. These facts should receive 

 careful and positive attention from thoughtful people. 



Vegetation produces a great effect upon the movement 

 of the air. Its velocity is checked, and sometimes in 

 thick clusters of trees or underwood the air is almost 

 stagnant. If moist and decaying vegetation be a coinci- 

 dent condition of such stagnation, the most fatal forms 

 of malarious diseases are produced, A moist soil is cold, 

 and is generally believed to predispose to rheumatism, 

 catarrh and neuralgia. It is a matter of general experi- 

 ence that most persons feel healthier on a dry soil. In 

 some way, which is not clear, a moist soil produces an 

 unfavorable effect upon the lungs, A moist soil influ- 

 ences greatly the development of the agent, whatever it 

 may be, which causes the paroxysmal fevers. In ground 

 which has been rendered dryer by drainage, Buchanon 

 has shown that there has been a diminution in deaths 

 from phthisis (consumption). 



Houses overshaded are not healthful, no matter how 

 commodious or well built they may be. Too many trees 

 near sleeping and living-rooms exercise a very injurious 

 influence and induce various diseases, notably rheuma- 

 tism, heart disease, consumption, general debility and 

 anaemia. It would seem as if these truths must be too 

 well known to need any statement. But it has seemed 

 to me, in view of the increasing foliage of our towns, 

 necessary to call them again to your remembrance and 

 to ask 3'ou to consider the whole subject as one well 

 worthy the attention of those interested in American 

 public health. A journey through many of our towns 

 during the past nine months, and an experience covering 

 twenty years of professional investigation, have con- 

 vinced me that this most undesirable condition of over- 

 shading is only too common, and has become a positive 

 injury in almost every direction. The results are. in 

 point of fact, much more serious than most people seem 

 to be aware of ; indeed, the ignorance or indifference 

 generally noticeable whenever sanitarians make a move 

 in the interests of public health is deplorable. 



A soil loaded with roots and densely shaded is unfit 

 for man to live upon constantly, and is certainly no place 

 for a permanent home. The air entering the bedrooms 

 and living-rooms from such surroundings is chilly and 

 dead, and is not at all suitable for respiration. Such an 

 atmosphere cannot bring health to invalids, and is dan- 

 gerous to the well. It is invariably productive of sick- 



