WEEKg
"OLXK^^r   ^'  INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, MAY 17,1884.
NO. 20.
MflTMI OP DWELLIXGSr^^
.ow to Avoid the Deadly Malaria.
.. Air Currents of the Valleys and
their Danger to Health.
If PR. T. f. HUNTER, OF WABASH, IND.
E» dwellings are meant, any buildings
(ii ire intended for the occupancy of men,
i j_ien orj-'hildren, for any considerable
, nioii of time. School-houses, offices,
i rk-shops, factories, etc., are therefore
[ lii-ftl in the above definition.
lonvenience to the owner or occupant
.:«_ too much in to the question of the lotion of dwellings. The distance to the
. .Mlirt, to the railroad station, to tbe
-sj-honse, to fuel, to water, a pleasant
._ao-, the proximity of kind and socia-
«neighbor8!«» some of the more com-
■n reasons for deciding the question of
._tion. AH these are well enough prolyl a healthy location is found at the
.-ae time.
Tie following subjects should be taken
a account before making a decision:
1 The character and quality of the soil,
-j the facility with which  it  may be
-lined. ,   ,
I The quality of the waterand the pun-
.- ot ita sources.
5. Theproximity of cemeteries, slaughter
•f*si. stables,   cesspools,  privies  etc.,
ihirh may pollute either the air, the soil,
-the water. ....
I. The topography of the vicinity, and
.presence or absence of local currents,
.ifh may be loaded with malaria.
i. The location of large swamps or marsh-
- and the direction of prevailing
'dJs and the effects which may reason-
rbe expected to follow exposure to
■lr Influence, should be carefully con-
i^re,!. After all these questions are set-
*i favorably,the subjects of convenience,
.-..,et.., may have their full influence.
THE SOIL.
This should be of an open, porous char-
-.«, through which the air circulates
-*ly;ifof clay, it should be sounder-
lined as to secure permeability to the
r.ind to prevent accumulation of water,
ier in the cellar or adjoining the fonn-
f-ifin walls of the building. A dry lo-
Lity is indispensable to health.
i! at a short distance  below the surface
il rock is found, surface drainage
mil carry all away  from the building
prevent undue moisture.
N*. point can be considered  a healthy
:.«, when the soil water  ever approaches
wr than 12 or 15 feet below the surface
'the ground.
THE WATER.
ThU should be as near absolutely pure
* possible. Water containing a large
-fiont of mineral matter sheuld be
■ ■■•i.ed, particularly that which contains
-•a or sulphur. Minerals are excellent
■aedies in many cases of illness, but are
Waited for the constant use of healthy
*p!e. Medicines    produce    the  same
:.lof effects on healthy people that
>.dion sick ones. If they have not
■f power to make well people sick, they
«aot make sick ones well.
I! the soil through which  the  water
:«. is contaminated by animal or other
-■A the water will be unsafe for drinking
; to culinary purposes.   Therefore priv
ies, cesspools, stables" and other places
where animals are confined, should be
kept at a distance, which should seldom be
less than 100 feet, and then In a direction
other, than that of the prevailing winds.
Water that. contains any considerable
amount of common salt, is almost surely
contaminated with sewage matter. Only
chemical analysis can surely determine
the quality of the water.
It may be perfectly clear, and free from
any unpleasant taste or smell, and yet be
unfit for human use. Cemeteries, slaughter houses, pig pens, privies, cesspools etc.,
contaminate the air as well as the soil and
water.
The topography of the vicinity may
give rise to local currents, that are
loaded with malaria.
A dwelling should not be located near
the bottom of a valley, or near the entrance
of a narrow, valley, which opens into a
larger valley, or near a marsh or swamp,
or near a stream of water unless on high
ground.
The reasons for avoiding such locations
are not generally known or observed, but
may be deduced from a knowledge of well
known laws of nature. It Is well known
that cold air has as great a tendency to
ruri down hill as water; and that warm air
will rise above cold air. This maybe
proven by the well known experiment of
holding a candle in an open door on a cold
day, the room being warmer than the
outer air. The flame of the candle will
blow outward, when held in the upper
part of the doorway, and inward when
held in the lower part, showing that the
warm air of the room escapes above, by
reason of its being lighter, to make room
for the cold air, which comes In below, because it is heavier. This will continue
until there is an equilibrium established,
between the air inside and the air outside.
Now let us apply
.     :    THESE PRINCIPLES TO VALLEYS.
Valleys are valleys, because they are
lower than the land on either side of them.
It is a well known fact that the earth, be-:
ing exposed during the day to the heat of
the sun, becomes warmed to a greater or
less extent. It is also known that it parts
with a portion, at least, of its heat during
the night, and also that the highlands cool
before the lowlands. As the ground becomes cool, the air in contact with it also
becomes cool, and as it cools, it flows down
into the valley, by virtue of its greater
weight. As it flows into the valley, it
underruns, and causes the warmer air of
the valley to rise, and flow over the higher
lands, to be in its turn cooled and returned
to the valley. This revolving process continues until an equilibrium is established
between the air of the highlands and that
of^the lowlands. During this process, the
air flows down the little valleys, which
connect with the main valley. The flow
from these subsidiary -valleys, during this
equalizing process, is always towards the
large valley; those ou opposite sides flowing iu opposite directions. The equilibrium above mentioned will usually be established an hour before midnight. Then
the air remains stagnant a few minutes,
and then begins to 'flow in the opposite
direction, i. e. up the valleys.
liet us see if the before named laws will
account for this change of direction. It is
well known  that the  higher  we ascend
above the earth, the colder the air. There
has been an equilibrium established between the temperature of the air on the
high lands and that on the low lands; they
are therefore practically reduced to the
condition of a level plain. The earth being warmer than the air of the upper regions, necessarily warms the air in contact
with the surface, which must inevitably
rise, and the colder air of the upperregions
must descend to take its place. This air,
as It descends Into a valley, must take the
form of the valley, to some extent, and is
therefore wider at the top than nearer the
ground, and takes more or less the form of
the letter V. This it will be readily seen,
crowds the warm air of the valley outward
and upward along the slope of the sides of
the valleys, and will naturally seek a
means of escape up the little narrow valleys that debouch into the wider or main
valley. Thus these little valleys act
as ventiducts or chimneys for the wider
ones. This any one may observe on
a warm night in September, when driving
across the country, about the middle of the
night. When you drive down into one of
these narrow valleys, you will encounter a
stream of warm air ascending the valley.
This stream may be thrown out of the little valley, and be made to overflow the
highlands, by some obst ruction, such as a
sudden change in the direction of the valley, which is accompanied with a depression in the side of the valley at the same
place.
Now let us suppose that this state of affairs actually exists; and it is much more
reasonable to accept than to reject them,
for to reject them, yon must first deny
that warm air will ascend, and cool air descend. We apprehend there are few who
are ready to assume that position.
This being granted,' what has it to do
with the location of a dwelling? Let us
examine the question. Valleys are usually formed by a stream of water, which is
pretty sure to be found in some part of it,
at some time of the year. Valleys, accord-
to the general conformation of the country
east of the Mississippi river, are accompanied by low alluvial lands, composed of
the Roils washed from the hills, which are
fliled with decayed and decaying animal
and vegetable matter. They are usually
covered with a dense growth of vegetable
matter during the summer, which falls
down and decays, and thus adds to the
richness of the soils. In these lowlands
are frequently found swamps, marshes,
ponds, etc., which contaminate the air by
the emanations which arise from such
fruitful sources of malaria. The atmosphere becomes charged with the foul air,
and is carried along the current, and any
dwelling located within the reach of these,
currents, will be affected by them, just in
proportion to the amount of exposure to
them.
The places most affected by these local
currents, may be known by the low-lying
fogs that may be seen in the morning before sunrise. These fogs contain the condensed poison of the air from the lowlands,
swamps, marshes, ponds, etc., and any
dwelling that is frequently submerged in
them will necessarily be an unhealthy
one; and the people who occupy it will be
subject to such diseases as-ve caused by
malaria. It takes all their vital force to
counteract the effect of the poisonous air,
so that when any extraordinary strain
comes upon them, such as an accident,
some unusual exertion or exposure, some
sudden grief or ipsa of : sleep, exposure to
some contagious disease, this loss of vital
ity opens the way to serious, and perhaps
fatal, illness,  which   might    have  been
avoided, had  their vital  powers not been    •
reduced by exposure to  these  malarious
influences.
For many of the  facts  and  ideas contained in this paper, I am indebted to the
venerable James Ford, M. D., of Wabash. "'.■
Dr. Ford has been an  intelligent observer
and  student  of the phenomena of local
currents for more  than 40 years.   By the '
observation and  study of these  currents,
he has been able,ln many instances, to discover the  reason why  families,  who occupied certain dwellings, were subjected •
to much more sickness,  and   sometimes
death, than their more favored neighbors,
who lived perhaps only  a few rods from .
them.
In early times people located their dwellings according to convenience solely; -
they were consequently compelled to suffer the consequences of their ignorance of
the laws of sanitary science, as nature
never forgives a breach of her laws. The :
Doctor was enabled by long study and
observation of these phenomena, to dis^
cover the causes of their frequent illnesses!,
and also tosuggest the remedy. We must
not think that he discovered all these in a
day. It was the result of many observa- -
tions at night, as that was the only time
these currents could be traced out. lie
spent many nights in the saddle, riding
from one little valley to another, and
holding up his torch, to see which way
the smoke was driven, and then, crossing
the valley of the Wabash to some -little
valleys entering it from the opposite side,
always finding the currents running to- ;
wards the Wabash, in the early part of the
night, and away from it in the latter part.
This he did, frequently after a hard day of
professional work, when his less enterprising professional neighbors were enjoying much needed rest. He caused,
persons to biiild new dwellings, at points
selected by him, after a series of .nightly
observations of these local currents. The.
result was In every case, a greatly reduced
demand for the Doctor's professional
services in these families. Tho old gentleman consoles himself for the loss with the
thought that he has contributed something
to the well being of his fellow man.
These currents can only be observed on
still, clear nights. If there is wind, it may
easily overcome these currents; and if it is
cloudy, the clouds act as a blanket over the
earth, and to a great extent prevent the
radiation of its heat into the upper regions
of the air, when in consequence the local
currents will be less perceptible.
INFLUENCE OP DISTANT MARSHES, ETC.
Malaria is frequently carried through
long distances by the winds; therefore it is
well to ascertain whether there is any
malaria-breeding marsh, or other pestilential locality in the direction of the prevailing winds. These may to some extent,
be counteracted by having to pass through
a timbered country; as timber has the prop- .
erty of absorbing or destroying malaria,
to a great extent, as it is borne through by
the winds.
MISCELLANEOUS   NOTES.
It is well to avoid a too much sheltered
positlon,as malaria accumulates from local
causes, without being driven away by the
winds. It is also well to shun a location
that is too much exposed to the winds, as
you may suffer from sudden changes of
temperature. And last but not least, avoid
too much shade. Sunlight and heat are
the great purifiers and invigbrators, and
should have free entrance at some time of .
the day, into every room of your house.    ,'
In cities or towns, when streets run east
and west, the north side of such streets is
to be preferred, as your front rooms can
then have the purifying influence of the
sunlight. This is too well known to need
discussion or illustration. How to build a
healthly dwelling, I leave to be discussed .
by other members of the Bureau of Sani- '
tary Science. i
'Read before the- Indiana Institute of Romdeo-' -
pathy, at. Ita eighteenth annual session at Indl-.
anapolls. May 1.1S84.