Even with imperfect or improper
food, these two allies are strong enough to carry the day for health; and,
when the three work in harmony, the best life is at once assured.
If the house must be on the lowlands, seek a sandy or gravelly soil; and
avoid those built over clay beds, or even where clay bottom is found under
the sand or loam. In the last case, if drainage is understood, pipes may
be so arranged as to secure against any standing water; but, unless this
is done, the clammy moisture on walls, and the chill in every closed room,
are sufficient indication that the conditions for disease are ripe or
ripening. The only course in such case, after seeking proper drainage, is,
first, abundant sunlight, and, second, open fires, which will act not only
as drying agents, but as ventilators and purifiers. Aim to have at least
one open fire in the house. It is not an extravagance, but an essential,
and economy may better come in at some other place.
Having settled these points as far as possible,--the question of
water-supply and ventilation being left to another chapter,--it is to be
remembered that the house is not merely a place to be made pleasant for
one's friends. They form only a small portion of the daily life; and the
first consideration should be: Is it so planned that the necessary and
inevitable work of the day can be accomplished with the least expenditure
of force? North and South, the kitchen is often the least-considered room
of the house; and, so long as the necessary meals are served up, the
difficulties that may have hedged about such serving are never counted.
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