young men spent their vacation together at one of the beaches last summer. Upon their return home both were taken down with typhoid fever; one died, and the other barely escaped with his life. The occasion of the fever is more than guessed. I know a house, a farmer's house, in the State of New Hampshire, among the foot-hills of the White Mountains, which has opened its doors for many years past for summer boarders. There have been from twenty to twenty-five persons in the house at one time. All the buildings are connected, from the house to the barn. Here is an area twenty feet square and closed on three sides with buildings, the fourth side being open. On the east side, and almost at the center of a line drawn from the adjoining sides, is the well from which the water for drinking and culinary purposes is taken.. Pass along to the north side, and here are two water-closets frequented by the twenty-five boarders, not to speak of the members of the family. Turn a corner to the west side, and you have your pig-sty; next that is the stable; and on the open side, and but a little way beyond the southern line inclosing this square of twenty feet, you have a depressed barnyard, like the slough of despond which Bunyan brings before us in his immortal allegory. What do you think of that for a health resort? The boarders do not go to that house any more. The well is where it was; the water-closets are where they were; the pig-sty and stable are where they were; the stygian vale of the barnyard is where it was; and all the members of the family have ill health. It seems to me the medical societies and you gentlemen who are interested in this work of sanitary reform ought to do a very important and a very urgent work for these hill farms, where there is an annual influx of people from the cities who spend their summers with you; and you should see to it that there is nothing to alarm and drive them away.

I am going to tell you a story about a city in New Hampshire. I have traveled widely over this continent; have traveled quite widely in the Old World, and have visited many cities of renown; but I have no hesitancy in saying that this New Hamp shire city of which I am speaking now is one of the most beautiful of them all. It has an intelligent, refined population;

but

they favor" dumps," even in the heart of the city. I will describe one of them. It is located in one of the most beautiful and populous parts of the city, and is in a sort of irregular square, on all sides of which are residences. Into that dump go not merely ashes, but dead dogs and dead cats, and decaying onions and fish, and every other vile thing you can imagine. The city fathers know about it, but no decisive action is taken against it. When it is filled up, that area is to be sold out for building lots, and men are going to build their house there. If I lived in that city (I am not going to tell whether I do or not, but Dr. Watson knows where it is) I would complain of that dump; and if I do live in that city I have complained of it twice already. (Laughter.) My first pastorate was in the city of Hartford, one of the most beautiful cities you can find on this planet; and the Rev. Dr. Horace Bushnell, — who has added more original matter to theology during the past fifty years than any other one man, a public-spirited citizen withal, took much interest in the question of a water supply. He told the people what they ought to do, but they rejected his advice, — and have been sorry for it ever since. Ministers are good citizens, and sometimes give good advice.

There is a prospect that much of New Hampshire's material prosperity is to be derived from the annual influx of summer visitors, and you should look to it that no pestilence arises from the soil to drive them away. Thus much do I, a minister, say to the good people of New Hampshire, in their own interests, on the subject of sanitary reform. Let all the doctors cry, Amen.

Samuel D. Lord, Esq., introduced the following resolutions:

Resolved, That we, citizens of Manchester, and listeners to the interesting and instructive proceedings of this convention, desire to express hereby our thanks to the State Board of Health, and especially to Dr. Watson, the secretary of the Board, for holding their first sanitary convention in our city, confidently believing

that it will give a needed impulse to the work of sanitation in our community.

Resolved, That we also acknowledge our obligation to the learned and able gentlemen who have addressed us and read to the convention their several interesting and instructive papers.

The resolutions were seconded by Dr. E. B. Aldrich, and unanimously passed.

The convention was then formally adjourned.

THE PREVENTABLE CAUSES OF DISEASE, INJURY, AND DEATH IN AMERICAN MANUFACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS, AND THE BEST MEANS AND APPLIANCES FOR PREVENTING AND AVOIDING THEM.*

BY GEORGE H. IRELAND, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

We are aware that the home life of the average American mechanic is not what it should be. In considering our subject we must assume that he comes from a clean house, well ventilated; that he has a pure water supply; that he brings a wellnourished body; that his clothes are clean; and duly cared for, in fact, his wife's work "should praise her in the gates."

The location of the factory is an important subject for the workman. In the city he is exposed to lung disease from a smoky atmosphere and impure air, bad eyes from poor light during the day-time, great danger from fire, owing to the buildings being huddled together, and also from the combustible nature of the surroundings. The suburban factory presents disease in the shape of malaria and pulmonary troubles, owing to the fog that rises from the undrained land, and from fevers from the bad or no sewer connection.

Unfortunately, the builders of factories have not that latitude of choice open to builders of private residences. The manufacturer has many limitations, such as water-power, and proximity to railroads and other factories. Some, of strict necessity,

* This essay won a prize of two hundred dollars offered by Mr. Henry Lamb, of Rochester, N. Y., through the American Public Health Association. Published by permission. Copy righted.

must be carried on in the midst of thickly settled cities. Manufacturers are, however, each year loosening the fetters that seemingly have bound them, and are exercising more thoughtful care in the selection of building sites. They find it profitable to their pockets as well as contributory to the health of their operatives, to erect their buildings in moderate-sized towns, or in the suburbs, rather than in the heart of the great cities themselves.

The building should be placed upon well-drained land, and every precaution should be taken against any possible trouble from surface or overflow water. These remarks also apply to the adjoining lands, as land that fluctuates from overflow to dry soil is a frequent cause of malaria.

The building should be of brick, and, if possible, only two stories high. (A woolen manufacturer, who had the experience of several fires in his factory, remarked in our presence that were he to rebuild he would only build two stories high; as then, in case of fire, the hands would feel certain of their safety and make a stubborn fight to subdue the flames.) The floor timbers should rest on ledges built in the walls. The flooring should fit closely, affording no hiding-places for rats. Where noisy occupations are to be carried on, the floors are to be "deafened." Each story is to be high enough to permit of good ventilation without the draft striking on the heads of the workmen; the roof to be of metal or slate; stone coping to be used on chimneys and all walls extending above the roof: this prevents loose bricks from falling. The cornices should be of sheet metal, when stone, brick, or terra-cotta is not used; columns to be of hard wood or brick, as they will not warp if badly heated; chimneys to rest upon their own foundations, starting from the ground; the walls to be whitewashed directly upon the bricks. If plastering is required, use metallic lathing. The stairs, of easy pitch, are located at each end of the building. In long buildings other flights are to be added, so that no person will be obliged to go over eighty feet to reach a stairway; the stairs to be of iron, excepting the treads and risers, which may be of wood. Where women are not employed, omit the risers; each flight to reach the story above by a direct flight, no turns