Site.—In the selection of a home, due regard should be had to the site. High ground is more healthful than that which is low; a loose, dry, sandy, or gravelly soil is better than one that is wet and clayey. Made ground, as a rule, is unhealthful, as it is usually low to begin with, and is commonly filled up with earth which contains more or less organic matter.

Soil.—The interstices of the soil are occupied by air, or water, or both. The impurities of the soil mingle with the ground air, and render it unfit for breathing. When this ground air is forced above the surface by an influx of water or by the pressure of the heavier air above, much danger lurks in the surface atmosphere. Damp cellars and basements should be avoided, and the upper rooms of the house selected for living and sleeping rooms. Careful scientific investigation has established a close connection between cholera, typhoid fever, malarial fevers, and the rise and fall of the water in the soil.

Dr. Henry I. Bowditch, of Boston, some years ago, formulated these two propositions:

First, A residence in or near a damp soil, whether that dampness be inherent in the soil itself or caused by percolation from adjacent ponds, rivers, meadows, or springy soils, is one of the principal causes of consumption in Massachusetts, probably in New England, and possibly in other portions of the globe.

Second, Consumption can be checked in its career, and possibly—nay, probably—prevented in some instances by attention to this law.

The truth of these propositions was, later, corroborated by Dr. William Pepper, of Philadelphia, and by Dr. Buchanan, of England. It is even suspected by certain physicians that some of the prevalent diseases among horses and cattle are due to dampness of the soil.

Drainage of the Soil.—In view of the above facts, the importance of draining wet soil is obvious. A noted scientist states that ground in which the water is sixteen or more feet below the surface is uniformly healthy; when it is less than five feet, it is always unhealthy; and that a fluctuating level, especially if the changes are sudden, is very unhealthy. Certain trees and plants, such as the eucalyptus and the sun-flower, whose roots absorb a prodigious quantity of water which is given off through the leaves, are useful in drying wet soils.

The close connection between various forms of disease and the condition of the soil has many times been pointed out. Some years ago, the British government instituted an examination of the effects of drainage in twenty-four towns. While the results indicate a general diminution of the death-rate, the deaths from consumption show the greatest reduction. All forms of malarial disease, fever and ague, neuralgia, influenza, dysentery and other diseases of the bowels are also greatly reduced by draining wet soils.

Duty of the Householder.—It should be the first duty of every householder to secure perfect means for conveying beyond the walls of his domicile everything of a dangerous character that is generated within it, and to secure his home against the entrance of foul air, impure water, or unusual dampness. While the responsibilities of the dweller in the city are shared by the city officials, in that the city supplies the water and provides the sewer to carry off the waste from the kitchen, lavatory, and toilet, yet the householder needs to see that absolute cleanliness is observed, that the pipes are regularly flushed, and the traps kept in good working order, that no decomposing substances are permitted to give off their poisonous gases in cellar, alley, or yard, and that the cellar and foundation walls are free from excessive moisture. The dweller in the country has the additional responsibility of securing and preserving a pure water supply, and of providing proper means for the disposal of the waste of the household.

Dry Cellars.—The floor of the cellar should be covered with an impervious concrete. The foundation walls, especially if built of soft stone, should be furnished with a course of hydraulic cement or other impervious material, and the inside surface thoroughly coated with the same. Where there is a heater or furnace in the cellar, the evils of dampness are somewhat reduced during the winter months while the fires are kept going. If the soil is wet or springy, a drain of ordinary field tile of small size should be laid all around the inside of the cellar walls, and, together with the rest of the cellar floor, should be covered with concrete.

Kitchen Drains.—In many country houses this is the only drain, and it is often the source of incalculable mischief, due in most cases to sheer carelessness. The drain pipe need not be large—four inches in diameter is sufficient—but it must be kept free of obstruction, so that the waste from the kitchen may pass off rapidly, and no part of it be suffered to lodge, to decompose, and to send its death-distilling gases back to the kitchen, and thence through the other rooms of the house. Not only should the outlet of the kitchen drain be kept away from the well or cistern, but no part of the drain pipe should come within twenty feet of it. The best of pipes and joints, unless frequently renewed, are apt to break, and a very small aperture leading from the drain pipe into the source of supply of drinking water may endanger not only the single household but the entire community. A well of infected water in London, spoken of as “the Broad Street pump,” and famous in the annals of epidemics, is known to have caused the death of over five hundred people in a single week.

Drinking Water.—So large an amount of sickness has been directly traced to an impure water supply that too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the need of proper precaution. Not only should the ground about the top of the well be banked to throw off surface water, but the upper wall of the well, for a distance of five or six feet from the surface of the ground, should be laid in cement, and the space between the wall and the ground filled in with wet clay well puddled around the curbing.

If a gravel seam or loose porous rock lies between the well and the cess-pool, even when these are a considerable distance apart, there is absolute danger, unless the receptacle for the waste products of the household be made thoroughly water-tight. Without this precaution, the well may be safe for a few months or even a year or more, but sooner or later the foul fecal matter will reach the source of water supply, carrying with it disease and death. No odor or taste may mark the inflow of polluted matter. Some of the most dangerous well-waters are sparkling in appearance and refreshing to the taste.

Sewage.—Few subjects relating to health are of greater importance than the proper disposal of the refuse and waste matter of the household. Even if free from the specific germs of disease, the organic matters contained in sewage give rise to noxious emanations, which, when inhaled, lower the tone of the system and render it an easy prey to disease.

Dangers of the Soil Pipe.—It is chiefly through the soil pipe that cess-pool and sewer gas finds its way into the house. The return of these foul emanations is often caused by the force of their own expansion and sometimes by the pressure of the sewer air behind them. The water-traps afford but a slight barrier to their progress. Every drain pipe leading to cess-pool or sewer should be connected with a ventilating shaft which will carry the foul vapors above the roof of the house, and as far away from the windows as possible.

The Medical Officer for Edinburgh, in a recent report, declared that wherever water-closets had been introduced, in the course of one year there were double the number of deaths from typhoid and scarlet-fever, and that any epidemic fever occurring in these houses assumed a character of malignant mortality.

Disinfectants.—Chemical disinfectants are used by many good housewives, and are helpful, but they cannot be wholly relied upon. Cleanliness, ventilation, and dryness are the natural disinfectants. Artificial disinfectants can no more be substituted for them than perfumes can be made to take the place of soap and water.

Sewer Gas.—This poisonous gas is known chiefly by its effect. It frequently passes the water-traps and enters our sleeping and living rooms, there to do its fatal work. The alternate floods of hot and cold water open the joints of iron pipes, and allow the gas to escape. Leaden gas pipes decay and become perforated, with the same result. Dr. Fergus, in his pamphlet “The Sewage Question,” says: “For some years I have insisted on a careful examination of the soil pipes wherever I have cases of typhoid or diphtheria, and in every case where I could get this carefully carried out I have detected perforated pipes, or have found sewer air getting into the houses in some other way. In many cases the plumbers have declared pipes to be all right, which turned out to be very defective when uncovered.”

Water-Traps.—These are not so effective in preventing the escape of sewer gas as they are considered to be. Experiments with glass tubes shaped and arranged just as the ordinary water-traps in sinks and closets are arranged have shown that the light gases pass through by the top of the bend, and the heavy gases by the bottom. A rush of wind up the mouth of a sewer, or a heavy dash of rain which fills the sewer and reduces the air space, so increases the pressure of the gas within the sewer and soil pipe that the ordinary water-traps are not able to resist it.

Water-traps that are not used for a time become death-traps. The water soon evaporates, and affords an unobstructed channel for the conveyance of foul gases from cess-pool or sewer to the rooms of the house. Houses that are vacated for the summer, and that are without tenants for a time, should be thoroughly cleaned and ventilated, and have all pipes and drains flushed with water before being occupied.

Size, Flow, and Fall of Drain Pipes.—The efficiency of a drain or sewer depends upon its capacity, its slope or incline, and the velocity of its flow. If the amount of water flowing is proportionate to the size of the conduit, sewers of different sizes give the same velocity at different inclinations. A ten-foot sewer with a fall of two feet per mile, a five-foot sewer with a fall of four feet per mile, a two-foot sewer with a fall of ten feet per mile, and a one-foot sewer with a fall of twenty feet per mile will have the same velocity provided they are filled in proportion to their capacity. The ten-foot sewer will require one hundred times as much sewage as will the one-foot sewer. If it has less, the velocity of its stream will be correspondingly diminished. It is especially important, therefore, that the size of the conduit be adapted to the volume of the stream, as well as to the slope or inclination.

An experienced engineer gives a velocity of three feet per second as the least that should be allowed for the outlet drain of a house. To secure this flow a four-inch drain should have a minimum inclination of one inch in ninety-two; a six-inch drain, one in one hundred and thirty-seven; a nine-inch drain, one in two hundred and six; and to attain the above velocity of three feet per second at these inclinations they must run not less than half full. The great purpose of all modern sewage systems is to carry off all waste matters before they have time to decompose.

Joints of Drain Pipes.—These should be made so smooth within as not to impede the flow of sewage, nor become obstructed by catching thread, strings, hair, and other floating substances. They should be so tight as absolutely to prevent any leakage of either fluid or gaseous matter, and render impossible the entrance of the small filaments of the roots of trees growing along their course. They should be supported on solid pillars of brick or stone, and not spiked to cellar walls where a slight settling will force the joints and cause a leak. They should be so firmly supported at every point that after the joints have been cemented no possible change of direction or slope of pipe can occur. Any such change is sure to work disaster.

Sewer Ventilation.—No sewer is safe that does not have a free current of air passing through it. Motion and aeration are the safeguards against infection. Sewers should be constructed so as to secure a constant flow, with no sharp angles or short turns to impede its progress, and with frequent vents leading to the surface of the street. Thus diluted, the sewer gas becomes harmless, the pressure in the conduits is relieved, and the danger of the gas forcing its way through the water-traps into the living and sleeping rooms of our homes is avoided.

Location of Closet.—The water closet should be so placed as to have an exterior window, by means of which it may be fully ventilated. Under no circumstances should the closet open directly into the bedroom. When entered from the hallway or landing, the conditions may be improved by cutting off half of the space as a vestibule or outer apartment, thus preventing any foul odors from reaching the sleeping rooms. For reasons of convenience as well as of health the bath-room and lavatory should be separate from the water closet.

Disposal of Garbage.—In cities, the public authorities collect and dispose of the solid waste of the kitchen. In the country, and wherever chickens, cows, or pigs are kept, these waste substances may be utilized. Some private families burn them. Where this cannot be done they should be removed from the dwelling far enough to prevent their decomposition from giving rise to any unpleasant or unwholesome odors. No compost heap should be maintained within one hundred yards of a dwelling.

Dry Earth Closet.—This system of disposing of the waste matter of the household is not so well known in the United States as it is in England, where it has been in successful use for many years. The best apparatus is that invented by Rev. Henry Moule, an English clergyman.

The following claims are made for it, and they are supported by the best authorities:

1. It furnishes a comfortable closet on any floor of the house, and it may be supplied with earth and cleaned of its deposits by the servants without the intervention or knowledge of any member of the household.

2. It furnishes a portable commode in any dressing-room, bedroom, or closet, the care of which is no more disagreeable than that of an ordinary fireplace.

3. It affords appliances for the use of immovable invalids which entirely remove the distressing accompaniments of their care.

4. It provides for the complete and effectual removal of all liquid waste of sleeping-rooms and kitchen.

5. It completely suppresses the odors which, despite the comfort and elegance of modern living, still hang about cesspools and privy-vaults, and attend the removal of their contents.

The expense is trifling as compared with that of water sewerage. The care and attention needed is somewhat greater, and this probably accounts for the limited use of the system in this country. In country houses, and in small towns and villages where the facilities of a system of public sewerage are not to be had, it would seem that the advantages of the earth-closet system would commend it to general favor.

The earth-closet is a mechanical contrivance attached to the ordinary seat, for measuring out and discharging into the vault or pan below a sufficient quantity of sifted dry earth to entirely cover the solid ordure and to absorb the urine. The earth is discharged by an ordinary chain or wire-pull, similar to that used in the water-closet. The vault or pan beneath the seat is so arranged that the accumulation may be readily removed. In a small family once in two or three weeks is often enough to empty the pan or drawer unless it is small. The entire apparatus need not cover more than two feet square by three feet high.

It is estimated that our present wasteful method of disposing of the night-soil occasions an annual money loss to the country of over $100,000,000. When the economic value of human excreta becomes as well known in the United States as it is in China and Japan we will cease to cast it into the sea.

A Truthful Picture.—Any one who has lived among or mingled much with people in the country and in hamlets and villages will recognize the truthfulness of the following picture as presented by George E. Waring, Jr., in “How to Drain a House.” He says:

“Let us see what chance a woman living in the country has to escape the direst evils that ‘delicate health’ has in store for its victims. The privy stands perhaps at the bottom of the garden, fifty yards from the house, approached by a walk bordered by long grass, which is always wet except during the sunny part of the day, overhung by shrubbery and vines, which are often dripping with wet. In winter, snow-drifts block the way, and during rain there is no shelter from any side. The house itself is fearfully cold, if not drifted half-full with snow or flooded with rain.

“A woman who is comfortably housed during stormy weather will, if it is possible, postpone for days together the dreadful necessity for exposure that such conditions imply. If the walk is exposed to a neighboring workshop window, the visit will probably be put off until dark. In either case, no amount of reasoning will convince a woman that it is her duty, for the sake of preventing troubles of which she is yet ignorant, to expose herself to the danger, the discomfort, and the annoyance that regularity under such circumstances implies.

“I pass over now the barbarous foulness and the stifling odor of the privy-vault. It is only as an unavoidable evil that these have been tolerated; but I cannot too strongly urge attention to the point taken above, and insist on the fact that every consideration of humanity, and of the welfare not only of your own families, but of the whole community, demands a speedy reform of this abuse. * * * I make no apology for calling the attention of women themselves to this important matter, believing that they will universally concede that, however much of elegance and comfort may surround them in the appointments of their homes, their mode of life is neither decent, civilized, nor safe, unless they are provided with the conveniences that the water-closet and the earth-closet alone make possible.”

Woman’s Part in Sanitation.—Some years ago, Dr. B. W. Richardson, then president of the British Medical Association, said: “I want strongly to enforce that it is the women on whom full sanitary light requires to fall. Health in the home is health everywhere; elsewhere it has no abiding place. I have been brought indeed by experience to the conclusion that the whole future progress of the sanitary movement rests for permanent and executive support on the women of the country. When, as a physician, I enter a house where there is a contagious disease, I am, of course, primarily impressed by the type of the disease, and the age, strength, and condition of the sick person. From the observations made on these points, I form a judgment of the possible course and termination of the disease; and, at one time, I should have thought such observations sufficient. A glance at the appointments and arrangements and management of the house is now necessary to make perfect the judgment. The men of the house come and go; know little of the ins and outs of anything domestic; are guided by what they are told; and are practically of no assistance whatever. The women are conversant with every nook of the dwelling, from basement to roof; and on their knowledge, wisdom, and skill, the physician rests his hopes.”

Materials of the Dwelling.—No material is so dry and healthful as wood. Where the dangers of fire preclude the use of this material, as in close and compact cities and towns, and where brick and stone must be employed, such houses may, with very slight additional expense, be rendered comparatively dry. Ordinary bricks absorb a great deal of moisture, and carry dampness from cellar to attic. Soft building stone is nearly as bad. The use of a double course of vitrified brick on a thick layer of the best cement just above the foundation wall, or ground line, will prevent the dampness of the soil from being carried up through the walls. The outside dampness from rains and sleet may also be corrected by the use of thick studding against the walls on the inside to support the plastering. This leaves an inch or two of space between the outer wall and the plastering, through which the air can circulate, and thus preserve the inner walls of the dwelling from dampness.

Lighting.—The Italians have a proverb, “When you let the sunshine in you drive the doctor out.” A house should be constructed so as to admit an abundance of light. Architects, and builders, too, often undervalue the health-giving properties of sunshine, or sacrifice them to other considerations. Even the mistress of the house, whose first thought should be the health of herself and that of her children, frequently shuts out the sunshine to save her carpets and furniture. It is better to have the roses on the children’s cheeks than on the carpets.

Trees should not be planted so close to a house as to obstruct the free ingress of light and air. If the walls are damp, the tree’s shade will help to preserve the dampness. Numerous instances are recorded of the deaths of persons clearly traced to the damp walls, moss-covered roofs, and general unhealthfulness arising from the close proximity of dense trees which overhung the dwelling and shut out the sunlight. When the sad truth was at last discovered, and the trees were removed, the houses which, before, were seldom free from sickness and sorrow, became wholesome and cheerful.

Warming.—The subjects of warmth and ventilation are so closely related that they will necessarily overlap in their treatment. In point of importance probably no two subjects have a larger bearing upon health. No scheme has yet been devised by which satisfactory means of heating and ventilation are combined with money-saving. For purposes of ventilation, the old-time open hearth was without a rival. But while the faces of our grandparents were roasted, successive chills chased up their backs. In these days of scarcity of fuel, the open hearth is the rich man’s luxury.

Most houses throughout the country are still warmed by stoves. In cities and towns, dwelling houses are generally warmed by the hot-air furnaces, while many of the larger establishments—stores, offices, hotels, banks, apartment houses—are supplied with steam heat.

An important consideration in all cases of hot-air heating is that the air be taken from the outside through a conduit instead of using the air from the cellar, as is too frequently done. In some cities and suburban towns, pure air is brought into the cellar through a conduit where it passes through a box in which it is heated by steam pipes, the steam being brought from a central plant which supplies several hundred houses. The air when heated passes through flues to the several rooms of the dwelling, and is turned on and off by registers in the usual way. This system avoids all dirt of coal and ashes, and all care of fires, and is much to be commended.

Uniform Temperature.—In all schemes for the warming of houses, it is important to keep the entire building at a uniform, comfortable temperature. In dwellings, the halls and living rooms should be so evenly warmed that no sensation of chilliness is felt in passing from one room into another. This, in itself, costs much fuel, and when there is added the further cost of heating the fresh air which is necessary to supply the place of that which has become vitiated by use, the truth of the proposition that suitable heating and ventilation are costly becomes apparent.

Those who live in warm, close, ill-ventilated rooms are much more subject to colds from exposure to draughts and cold air than those who dwell in a pure atmosphere of moderate temperature. This being the case, persons should not accustom themselves to a higher temperature than is barely necessary for comfort. Some persons are most comfortable with a room temperature in winter of 68º or 69º Fahrenheit. Others require a temperature of 70º or 71º. Invalids, infants, and old persons, whose vitality is low, require a higher temperature than those in the full vigor of life.

Ventilation.—The importance of breathing pure air was fully discussed in a previous chapter. The best methods of securing it will be considered here.

Air, when heated, becomes lighter and rises. Cool air, when it enters a warm room, sinks to the bottom. The cooler and purer air of a room is, therefore, always found nearest the floor. Although the carbonic acid given out by the lungs is heavier than an equal quantity of atmospheric air, yet, by the operation of the law of diffusion, it commingles with the other gases, and is found in greatest quantity near the ceiling. Doors and windows are the means commonly employed for ventilation; transoms and special ventilating flues are used to some extent.

Where large numbers of people are congregated together for several hours at a time, as in churches, theatres, and public halls, proper ventilation becomes a matter of extreme importance. If, in such cases, doors and windows alone are depended upon, the results are never satisfactory. Those nearest the windows are made uncomfortable by the chilling drafts, while the persons in the middle of the room experience very little relief from the stifling atmosphere. In the construction of such buildings suitable provision should be made in floor, side-wall, and ceiling for an ample supply of pure air, without a conscious current or other annoyance to the audience. In school houses, where children are confined for long periods, and where their physical growth and mental activity demand the purest air, neglect of proper means of ventilation on the part of school directors and trustees is little short of criminal.

In the home the subject of ventilation during the day time is a simple matter. The frequent opening of outer doors and of inner doors, with the occasional lowering of the upper sash of the window, will furnish an abundant supply of pure air.

The ventilation of the sleeping room is not always so simple, especially where privacy demands the bolting of the chamber door. The diminished vitality of the individual during sleep requires that there shall be no draft over his bed. If there be but a single window, place the bed so as to escape the draft. Lower the upper sash about two inches. If there be two sleepers in the room lower it three inches. Raise the lower sash an inch or two. This gives three air spaces, top, bottom, and in the middle where the two sashes overlap. A thin board placed on edge in the window ledge, and fitting inside the window strip, will throw the current of air upward, and when the wind is strong, will prevent a draft. A transom over the door stimulates a gentle current of air, and is of great advantage. In some families, where privacy permits, the door is left slightly ajar at night. This, with a slight opening of an outer window, will secure ample ventilation.

Air Currents.—A current of two feet per second is scarcely perceptible; of three feet is quite noticeable; of five feet is a positive draft. In introducing fresh air into a room the current should nowhere exceed two feet per second at the point of entrance.

Individual Requirements of Air.—Each adult person requires three thousand cubic feet of air per hour. This will demand an opening or place of entrance equal to twenty-four square inches, and an equal amount of space for the foul air to escape. An opening four by six inches will give much more air than one twelve by two inches by reason of the smaller friction upon the sides. Ventilation through a single pipe or aperture is more effective than that through several apertures of equal aggregate area.

Stairs.—Many persons, especially women, who, as a rule, do more stair climbing than men, find it very exhausting. Some stairs are easier to mount than others. In the construction of stairways, architects and builders should reduce the labor to the minimum. The wants of a certain invalid necessitated a constant going up and down stairs. The successive nurses were wont to remark, “I never saw, before, such an easy flight of stairs.” The exact measurements of this stairway are: seven and one-eighth inches rise; eleven and one-half inches depth, or space from the front edge to the back part of each step. There is a landing near the middle. A landing gives the climber an opportunity to get a full breath, and greatly reduces the effort of mounting.