ON THE CARBONIC ACID, ORGANIC MATTER, ETC., IN AIR. 
85 
is situated in a large open space on a hill at the back and on the north side of the 
town. The results were as follows :— 
fai 
<2 
a 
March 26th and 27th, 1886. 
.3 
s 
F-t 
3 
So 
o be 
CO H 
J—. 
o 
co 
4) 
3 
'o 
03 
a> 
S 
c3 
a 
' CO 
S a 
Remarks. 
a 
m 
O) 
CO 
c3 
c3 
1—« 
<D 
CK 
3 
O Ij 
. a 
o —' 
a> 
<u 
a 
c3 
‘3 
O 
.a 
o 
‘3 
cj 
bD 
sl 
■5 a 
o ° 
.3 
O' 
o 
3 
3 
o 
H 
o 
& 
m 
o 
o 
H 
M 
S 
p.m. 
° Fahr. 
Accident Ward. 
4.30 
0 
58 
18 
1388 
5-8 
8’9 
25 
2 
0-5 
Felt very fresh. 
Children’s Ward. 
4.40 
0 
59 
29 
1034 
6-1 
62 
2 
2 
0 \ 
Not close, but a distinct odour very 
Medical Ward No. 12 ... . 
5.0 
0 
61 
24 
1458 
4-9 
7'5 
5 
1 
4 
perceptible. 
Somewhat faint close smell. 
,, ,, No. 10 ... . 
5.5 
0 
62 
11 
3182 
4-3 
6-5 
0 
0 
0 
Felt fresh ; scarcely any smell. 
Outside air in front of Infirmary 
6.20 
48 
... 
... 
3'2 
3-5 
Wet rainy day. Windy. S.E. 
a.in. 
Children’s Ward. 
2.40 
2 
59 
28 
1071 
6-9 
1-9 
6 
2 
4 { 
Scarcely any smell ; much fresher 
than in day. 
Medical Ward No. 12 ... . 
3.35 
2 
60 
23 
1522 
5-5 
2-0 
4 
1 
3 
f 
Scarcely any smell. 
Fine, but somewhat overcast. Mill 
chimneys, tops of which were on 
Outside air as before .... 
5.0 
*•* 
43 
... 
3*5 
3-8* 
... 
"1 
level with Infirmary, were turn¬ 
ing out black smoke in large 
quantity. 
Accident Ward. 
5.10 
1 
53 
18 
1388 
7’8 
5-1 
28 
26 
2 
Fresh ; scarcely any smell. 
Medical Ward No. 10 ... . 
5.25 
1 
60 
11 
3182 
41 
5-7 
0 
0 
0 
No smell ; fresh. 
If the ventilation was in its normal condition, the above results indicate a very 
satisfactory state of things as regards the air of the Infirmary wards. 
Having now described the results obtained in the various classes of buildings, the 
air of which was examined, we must now turn to certain special points of general 
interest. 
Relation of Quantity of Carbonic Acid to Quantity of Organic Matter and Number 
of Micro-organisms. 
No constant relation between the quantities of carbonic acid, organic matter, and 
micro-organisms can be detected in individual cases (see Parkes, p. 147; also 
De Chaumont, ‘Roy. Soc. Proc.,’ vol. 23, p. 188). Sometimes we find a high organic 
matter accompanied by a low carbonic acid, whilst under other circumstances the 
reverse may be the case. A determination of carbonic acid alone is therefore never 
a sufficient indication of the purity or otherwise of a given sample of air. Nevertheless, 
by taking the average of a considerable number of observations, we find that there is 
a general relationship, so that a high carbonic acid is, as a rule, accompanied by a high 
organic matter, and vice versd , though this is by no means always the case. There 
appears, however, to be no definite connexion between the number of micro-organisms 
and the amount of carbonic acid (see page 93). 
* The sudden increase in oxidisable organic matter at this time was due to the firing up of the boilers 
at the mills, the tops of the chimneys of which were on a level with the Infirmary, and large quantities 
of thick black smoke were being turned into the air. 
