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side the house above the eaves, as far from any window as can be. Outside a chimney is a good place, but the opening should not be above or near the top of the chimney. Care must be taken to make the joints in the pipe gas-tight. The rain-water pipes should not be used as ventilators to the drains.

Unpleasantness from the water-closet will almost always arise from its position. This, as we all know, is commonly the very worst which could be found, viz., under or close to the stairs, the well of which forms a shaft for conveying foul air into all the bedchambers.

I have seen in London a water-closet opening into the dining-room, but even this is hardly so objectionable as the usual position.

The water-closet should, where possible, be outside the house. I do not mean detached, but separated by such a space as will allow of double doors, with sufficient distance between them for ventilation.

The building itself should also be thoroughly ventilated.

I will now briefly state how a house might be built so as to be efficiently ventilated on the principle of thermo-ventilation.

It will be sufficient to take one room as a type of the rest, and I will assume that it is desirable to keep up the old-fashioned open fireplace, wasteful as it is.

The fresh air may be brought directly through the outer walls as in sketch B, or may be first slightly heated by passing through a hot water coil, or other apparatus.

If the former course be followed, air bricks must be inserted in the outer face of the walls communicating with a channel running round a portion or the whole of the room.

If warmed air is desired it must be brought into the channel through tubes in the wall.

The inner channel should be formed by a cast-iron box, with an ornamental openwork front, and without a back. The front, which may be of brass, should be fastened so as to be readily removable. The fine

FIG. 4.

5 & 6. This openwork might either be done in plaster similar to the centre ornament,

PLAN OF CEILING

wire gauze screen being fixed as shown in Fig. 2.

The exit for foul air should be through open work in the ceiling, as shown in Figs. 4,

A

A A-Spaces for escape of vitiated air.

or fine brass wire gauze might be inserted in the cornice. The foul air would pass through this into the spaces between the joists, when the sound boarding and pugging will prevent its ascending into the upper From these spaces it would pass into a cast-iron channel running round the room, which would communicate with the chimney or air flue, or in some cases directly

rooms.

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chimney or air flue must be fitted with valves, as before.

I believe it would be easy to construct a chimney having all the advantages of a chimney and air flue combined.

A tube should be inserted in the brick trimmer giving immediate communication with the fire above, which, when lighted, would aid the ventilation of the lower room.

All large houses should have a special ventilating shaft, communicating by means of pipes and valves with every room in the house. If thermo-ventilation alone is intended, a fire must be kept burning at the base of the chimney, the only supply of air to which must come through the tubes.

Some day, perhaps, we may have ventilating shafts for every street or block of houses. We provide for the carrying away of foul water, why not of foul air? The one is just as harmful as the other. Perhaps, too, though this belongs rather to warming than ventilation, we may some day see but one fire to each house, and even one chimney. Nay I will go further, perhaps one chimney to a great number of houses, perhaps even one to a town! This may seem a speculative flight; but had coals been very dear instead of cheap, I feel sure our present wasteful system would not have lasted long.

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