4 
floor it may run through, and be absorbed by the 
moist earth beneath, or by the lime that may be 
spread under the floor. 
Again, the ceiling in one storey buildings might 
be made into a sort of cullander, to sift the hot 
vitiated air from the fresh. Sash windows, what 
builders term double hung, apparently an unne- 
cessary process, but it only means that both the 
sashes are hung to slide. The top sash can 
be regulated to any aperture, and this is clearly 
one of the simplest ways of getting a little fresh 
air. Fire places to draw some of the foul air off 
are always of use, even supposing the fire is 
never put in them. Rooms in the form of a 
cul-de-sac are great abominations, and it is almost 
impossible to ventilate them without going to 
an amount of trouble and cost that few are 
inclined to go to. If possible they ought to have 
an exit opening as well as entrance door. 
I confess that it is of great service to have doors 
and windows to admit the air, yet very often in 
this climate when windows are thrown open The 
hot sun pours in and destroys the effect, but 
Venetian blinds remedy this evil where they can 
be afforded. It is a notable fact that the people of 
this colony adopt the wise plan in their domestic 
arrangements, and absolutely live in 
the verandah in the warm weather, 
and go indoors in the cold ; if they did so 
in public arrangements there would be less outcry 
at bad ventilation. I may be met by some say- 
ing that architects and builders ought to build 
proper places, but I reply that architects and 
builders are not allowed. They only carry out 
the ideas of those for whom they work and put 
them into “ ship-shape.” Let any builder or 
architect attempt to innovate, and see if he be 
not immediately elevated to the unenviable post 
of theorist. Why, the very character of the man 
is forfeited. He is emphatically a practical man ! 
but this is not exactly the tone for a philosophical 
society paper, therefore I must come down to the 
dry details of the system of ventilation, which I 
stated previously had been adopted in some of 
the continental hospitals; and as it embraces the 
two last conditions of ventilation, viz., the warm- 
ing of apartments and the cooling of them, I 
refrain from making further mention of those 
branches than is set forth in the following scheme. 
The system originated with Dr. Yan Hecke, and 
was brought into operation at Brussels for the 
Belgian government. Of the application of the 
Van Hecke system to the pavilions of the Hos- 
pital Beaujon, a highly favorable report was fur- 
nished by a commission appointed by the French 
Government of which Dr Gras si was the reporter. 
The following is taken from a translation of the 
report by Mr. J. Bonomi : — 
“ The warming of the pavilion Ho. 4 of the 
Hospital Beaujon, is performed by means of a 
calorifere stove situated in the cellar floor. Air 
is conveyed to this stove by a cylindrical channel 
of zinc, 7 5 centimetres (2 ft 5| inches) in diameter, 
which, after running horizontally through the 
vault is received into a vertical shaft of masonry 
opening out in the garden at about 2 metres 
(about 6 feet 7 inches’) above its surface ; from 
this source the air is derived. 
“ After the air has passed through the tubes 
of the calorifere, and become warmed, it enters a 
large pipe, to be distributed by it in the three 
wards, (one above the other) before, however, 
reaching them, it passes over a pan of water to 
supply it with a suitable quantity of moisture 
By this arrangement the air transmitted to the 
wards is derived exclusively from the garden and 
not allowed to mix with the air of the vault. 
“ Instead of permitting the air to circulate in 
the colorifere it may be sent to the wards in a 
direct course, which bears the same relation to 
the channel of the calorifere that the chord does 
to its arc. At the commencement of the calori- 
fere tube there is a moveable register for the 
purpose of giving such a direction to the air as 
may be required, either for warming it, or allow- 
ing its use at its natural temperature. , 
“ The register, when partly opened, may even 
permit a mixture of the two at different degrees 
of temperature, and moderate the warmth of a 
ward for the moment become overheated. 
“The air conduit (or pipe) enters the ground floor 
ward in its centre at the floor level, through the 
middle of a cast iron drum of four vertical sides, 
furnished with perforated doors for admitting the 
air into the ward. The tambour or drum 
incloses some wire shelves on which linen maybe 
placed, and drinks for the patient to be warmed. 
“ The air pipe debouches on the floor level 
through an opening of 75 centimetres (2 feet 5£ 
inches) diameter, in which is inserted a vertical 
tube of 60 centimetres (1 feet 11$ inches) dia- 
meter, rising to the first floor ; between these 
two tubes there exists an annular space permit- 
ting a portion of the air to be arrested on the 
ground floor. Thus the air introduced is divided 
into two portions ; one admitted to the ground 
floor, the other continuing upwards for the use 
of the upper floors. A register, regulated by a 
quadrant, permits the reduction of the section of 
the tube and of varying the volume of air for 
each of the floors. If the register is entirely 
closed, the whole of the air would be arrested on 
the ground floor; by opening it, more or less, the 
air for the two upper floors is increased at 
pleasure. 
“ On the first floor there is an arrangement 
like that on the ground floor a register for 
stopping a certain volume of air, and for allowing 
the rest to rise to the second floor, where the 
second column terminates, and a tambour only 
exists, in every respect resembling those of the 
lower floors. Thus fresh air, serving both for 
warming and ventilating, is admitted into the 
centre of the wards, entering through wide 
