Soot

“ When the flue is hot no water condenses in it; all the water formed in the combustion remains in the form of vapour, and is carried away by the chimney. A further advantage is that it is not often necessary to enter the flue to collect the soot; burning may be continued for a long time, and a large quantity of soot taken at once from the flues or soot chambers. ”

“ About once a year all the flues in the house ought to be cleaned. This is for two reasons, one, because the soot with which they become coated is a non-conductor of heat and keeps the chimneys from warming quickly ”

“ Soot produced with an insufficient supply of air contains a considerable quantity of liquid and solid products of dry distillation, which give it a brown colour and the above-mentioned greasy nature.
In many soot works the air supply is regulated in a most primitive manner: the workman places against the openings by which air is admitted to the burning materials a larger or smaller number of bricks [Pg 297] according as the combustion appears to be too rapid or too slow. ”

“ When the Londoner groans at the smokiness of his streets, and the particles of soot he finds spread over his shirt, his toilet-table, and every nice article of furniture he possesses, he has the additional vexation of knowing, that the smoke and soot should have been serving a useful purpose as fuel. ”

“ The quantity of soot deposited depends greatly on the length, draught, and irregular surface of the chimney. The kitchen flue yields by far the most soot for an equal quantity of coals burnt, because it is of greater length. ”

“ Reid, in describing metropolitan smoke, spoke of “those black portions of soot that every one is familiar with, which annoy us, for instance, at the Houses of Parliament to such an extent that I have been under the necessity of putting up a veil, about 40 feet long and 12 feet deep, on which, on a single evening, taking the worst kind of weather for the production of soot, we can count occasionally 200,000 visible portions of soot excluded at a single sitting. We count with the naked eye the number of pieces entangled upon a square inch. ”

“ Soot, though dry in appearance, contains nevertheless much humidity, as appears from this analysis; seeing there comes over at first a considerable quantity of phlegm, that doth not seem to be impregnated with any principle, except perhaps an extremely subtile, saline, and oily matter, that communicates to it a disagreeable smell, from which it cannot by any means be entirely freed. ”

“ It is not an easy matter to trace the bit of soot hack to the early period of the world's history when it formed a part of a massive tree-trunk, which was afterward converted into coal, and so on, until as the speck of soot it now passes before your vision on its way to other adventures. ”

“ If a deposit of soot formed in the flue it might take fire, the fire would then spread further into the wooden flue and a considerable loss of soot would occur. When the stonework has become so hot that deposition of soot in it is no longer to be feared, the materials are introduced from which the soot is to be made. ”

“ III. Smoke fills the atmosphere with acrid, poisonous compounds and soot particles which may serve as carriers of the obnoxious products of human fatigue, which irritate the sensitive membranes of the eyes, nose, throat, lungs and gastro-intestinal tract, increase the susceptibility of gastro-intestinal, pulmonary and naso-pharyngeal disorders, diminish the potential reserve, working capacity and well being of the individual, increase fatigue, irritability and malcontent, and may tend to hasten premature decay. ”

“ As it falls from the skies, it is perfectly pure—except in large cities or manufacturing centres, where rain water contains small amounts of soot, smoke-acids, and dust, but even these are in such small amounts as to be practically harmless. But the moment it reaches the ground, it begins to soak up something out of everything that it touches ”

“ This contains tiny particles of soot, which can be detected in the spittle of a man who inhales through the mouth. To escape this, many women (who have not learnt to breathe through the nose alone) put on a special kind of veil over their faces, which act as sieves. ”

“ He had tried the experiment of dipping it in a very weak solution of tar, but this had the effect of matting together the fine filaments, so that it did not act so effectually as a strainer. It acted best when wet, because the fine particles of soot adhered to it, and moist weather was just the time when the greatest quantity of soot fell. It might be easily tried in London squares to aid in the growth of flowers ”

“ It is extremely important that soot and nothing else should be collected; the brush used for loosening the soot should be so soft that it does not rub off mortar from the brickwork; the workman’s shoes should be provided with felt soles, so that no particles are loosened from the floor of the chamber and mixed with the soot. The admixture of the smallest quantity of sand would be extremely harmful in the ensuing grinding of the soot ”

“ The air is unquestionably salubrious. Epidemical diseases are rare: nor has it been found that effects injurious to the health of the inhabitants have proceeded from those sooty vapours, the product of the manufactories, with which the air is but too commonly loaded. ”

“ The soote season, that bud and bloom forth brings,
With green hath clad the hill and eke the vale.
The nightingale with feathers new she sings;
The turtle to her make hath told her tale.
Summer is come, for every spray now springs. ”

“ In such apartments the air is drier than in apartments heated by a stove or an open fireplace. In a dry atmosphere of the temperature of 65° to 68° Fahr. a great demand is made upon the system to supply the air with moisture, the skin and pulmonary mucous membrane are dried, and a condition is induced which is expressed in irritability of the nervous system, paleness and susceptibility of the skin to cold, liability to pulmonary diseases, and, in short, deterioration of all the functions. ”

“ Wind clears the air of impurities, and is only harmful when it carries dust with it, or when it is so strong that it impedes the respiration or bodily movements. Very weak persons get out of breath easily when battling against the wind.
Town Air.—Even the outdoor air of towns has its full quota of oxygen,—21 per cent.,—and so is healthier than indoor air. The carbonic acid in the air varies from 0.2 to 0.6 per cent. Among the impurities of the air are smoke, fog, and dust. ”

“ We ventilate to remove smoke and ordinary dust; these are easily seen; and we use ventilation to procure dryness. Moisture rises constantly from the skin, and, if an inhabited apartment is not ventilated, that moisture accumulates. By opening the windows we cause floors to dry sooner, and we remove moisture from all the apartments, and that moisture has generally organic matter with it. If we ventilate with very moist air, we shall dry nothing; if we have very dry air, we may dry too thoroughly. ”

“ Cultivate the faculty of detecting sewer gas in the house. Always fear a smell; trace it to its source and provide a remedy. At the same time, bear in mind that it is not always the foul smell that is most dangerous. There is a close, sweet odor often present in bathrooms, and about drains, that is deadly as the Upas tree. Bad air from neglected drains causes not only fevers, dysentery, and diphtheria, but asthma and other chronic disorders. Illuminating gas, escaping from pipes and prevented from exuding by frozen earth, has been known to pass sidewise for some distance into houses. ”

“ In the beginning of a cold in the head, for instance, the cold air irritates the inflamed mucous membrane of the nose, and causes repeated attacks of sneezing.
217. How the Atmosphere is Made Impure. The air around us is constantly being made impure in a great variety of ways. The combustion of fuel, the respiration of men and animals, the exhalations from their bodies, the noxious gases and effluvia of the various industries, together with the changes of fermentation and decomposition to which all organized matter is liable,—all tend to pollute the atmosphere. ”

“ While contemplating the multitudes of vessels that lay idle and almost motionless on the glassy water, the thought naturally arose that each black hull en-shrouded human beings who were gradually sinking into rest—relaxing after the energies of the past day—while the sable cloak of night descended, slowly and soothingly, as if God were spreading His hand gently over all to allay the fever of man’s busy day-life and calm him into needful rest. ”

“ During the night plants only give off carbonic acid.
2. The Fall of Rain clears the atmosphere of any solid particles contained in it, the impurities being transferred to rain-water which generally contains an appreciable amount of ammonia as well as other impurities. Rain not only washes and purifies the air, but by washing the ground, diminishes dust, and prevents its escape into the air. It is the great natural scavenger.
3. Ventilation—that is, the interchange of pure and impure air, is constantly being effected. ”

“ The moisture has organic matter in it which is not removed by mere drying, and the effects are very long in leaving. We may know this from breathing the air of any bedroom in a London hotel, or in most private houses in towns. People are afraid to keep their windows open, because of the smoke without, and so they retain the organic matter. We can readily smell this, even if arising from healthy persons, and it has ceased to be a matter of surprise. If unhealthy persons are present, unhealthy matter may be expected to diffuse. ”

“ For purposes of cleanliness the warm bath is the most efficient, combined with the free use of soap. The chief objection to it is that it produces an increased flow of blood to the skin, by relaxing the cutaneous blood-vessels, thus increasing the danger of chills if there is subsequent exposure. The increased sensibility to cold resulting from a warm bath may be obviated by afterwards rapidly sponging the body all over with cold water, and then drying the body quickly, and using the friction of a moderately rough towel. ”

“ The drawing and eliminating primary effect of hot applications, of sweat baths, etc., is at best only temporary, lasting only a few minutes and is always followed by a weakening reaction, while the drawing and eliminating action of the cold-water applications, being the secondary, lasting effect, exerts an enduring, invigorating and tonic influence upon the skin which enables it to throw off morbid matter not merely for ten or fifteen minutes, as in the sweat bath under the infiuence of excessive heat, but continually, by day and night. ”

“ The commonest causes of impurities of the air in houses are the expired air and the transudation of the skin; the production of the combustion of lights or unconsumed gas may come from the burner when lit, if the pressure is very strong, or the rubber fittings may retain the gas; tobacco smoke; the effluvia of simple uncleanliness of rooms and persons; and the products of the fluid or solid excreta retained in the room. ”

“ Need of bathing.—When the perspiration dries from the skin, it leaves the waste and poisons behind. We cannot always see the dried matters, but they always have an unpleasant odor. We [Pg 79] should bathe often enough to keep our body from having an unpleasant smell. We should wash the whole body with soap and hot water at least once a week in winter and more often than that in summer. ”

“ It a way, odors might be treated as pertaining to the same class of deleterious substances as dust, but they have a property not possessed by ordinary dust of affecting the organs of smell.
Odors vary greatly in character and have great effect upon the nervous organism of the human body. Many odors are, extremely pleasant, and some have an exhilarating effect, while other odors are extremely unpleasant and have exactly the reverse effect. Unfortunately, all people are not agreed as to the character of odors. Gases that smell pleasant to some people are extremely unpleasant to others. ”

“ HOT WEATHER BATH SUGGESTIONS A good health preservative, especially in summer and in warm climates, is to sponge the body with water which contains a small amount of ammonia or other alkali. The ammonia combines with the oil or grease thrown out by the perspiration, forming a soap which is easily removed from the skin with warm water, leaving the pores open and thus promoting health and comfort. ”

“ By using hot water, chills are avoided, and the body is kept sufficiently warm to avoid the unpleasantness, and often harm, following repeated applications of mere handfuls of cold liquid.
9The soap application may take about three or four minutes at most; the very robust may use tepid water, but most persons will find warm or hot more agreeable; and more delicate persons whose finger-tips have the unpleasant habit of turning numb and white upon the application of cold water, will find in the Soap-bath an agreeable means of bathing otherwise perhaps unattainable. ”

“ What we call a cold (refroidissement, Erkältung) is caused by the. influence of impure air, or dust, on the sensitive tissue of our respiratory organs; subsequent exposure to the open air merely initiates the crisis of the disorder, the discharge of the accumulated mucus through the nose or throat. Fresh air is here only the proximate cause, as in toothache, or in those paroxysms of retching following upon the first respiration of a half-drowned person. ”

“ Heat moderately a stout piece of plate glass; plunge it into the bath; repeat the operation according to the size of bath. It is very useful to make a gutta percha cap to cover over the bath when not in use; it protects it from dust and evaporation, and saves the continual loss of materials arising from pouring the solution backwards and forwards. For home-work I have reduced {315}the whole operation to a very simple system. My bath, hypo-soda, developing fluid (of which, as it keeps so long, I make ten ounces at a time) , are always ready in a small closet in my study. ”