=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.