A manual of health science ... / by Andrew Wilson.

  • Wilson, Andrew, 1852-1912.
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of health science ... / by Andrew Wilson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    chamber, and a larger amount of heat is therefore given off as compared with that which passes from an open fireplace. x\bout 24 per cent., as a rule, of the total heat generated by stoves passes up the flue. Stoves have always been objected to on the ground of their tendency to render the air extremely dry, although expedients are in vogue which remedy this evil in many instances. Stoves made of brick are bad con- ductors of heat when compared with iron stoves, although^ when well heated, the former class give off a high tempera- ture. In choosing a stove, the preference should be given to one which possesses efficient means of ventilation. ' Doul- ton's German Stove' is, in this and other respects, one of the best made. Where gas heating is practised, great care must be taken to ensure efficient ventilation of the apart- ments thus heated. Gas stoves and kitchen apparatus have grown greatly in public favour. The ^ Calorigen Stove' is an example of a handy description of gas-ventilating stoves. Whatever be the means adopted, it may lastly be noted that a temperature of from 55° to 65° F. in rooms occupied by day is that which it is desirable to maintain. The tempera- ture of bedrooms need not be made the subject of too much anxiety, seeing that the lower temperature of the night is provided against by the clothing of our couches, while such decrease is more readily borne while resting in bed than in the working hours. The subject of lighting bears, in its turn, a direct relation both to warming and ventilation. We have already noted the effects of ordinary gas-lighting on ventilation, but the influences of ordinary daylight are also worthy of being taken into account by sanitarians. The abuse of light is productive of very decided consequences both in the animal and plant worlds. Ordinary green plants grown in the dark are feeble, do not develop colour, and remain blanched or etiolated. With animals—except in the case of those forms which have become habituated to life in dark places—the case is similar. The vital powers languish and