Medical Society of Northampton 
County.—This Society met yesterday morn 
ing at the Bath Hotel of Bath, at 11 o’clock. 
There were present, Drs. Berlin, Buzzard, 
D. Engleman, J. P. Engleman, Fox, Green, 
Kern, Koch, McIntyre, Reeser, J. Sandt, A. 
A. Seem, A. Seip, W. H. Seip, Steinmetz, 
Uhler and Weaver. 
The meeting proved a very interesting 
one. The reports of the delegates to the 
meeting of the State Society at its Chester 
meeting; the report of the Committee on 
School Hygiene, on ventilation, poition of 
which we give below, and a paper on the 
feeding of Infants, being especially noticea- 
ble. After adjournment the ample repast 
furnished by "mine host” of the Bath Hotel, 
was fully enjoyed, and the members separa- 
ted to meet in Easton on the third Wednes- 
day of August. 
REPORT ON SCHOOL HYGIENE. 
By ventilation we understand the means 
used to remove the air of apartments and re- 
place it with pure air. This is an important 
process. Since, when many people are 
crowded together,«a large amount of zymotic 
or fermentable matter is exhaled from the 
lungs, and being taken again into the lungs 
is one of the main causes of our epidemics 
and consequent high death rates in our school 
children. In securing ventilation we must 
also consider its somewhat antagonistic com- 
panion. warming. * * * * 
The average quantity of carbonic acid gas 
in expired air or breath is found 
to be 4 3 to 4.4 per centum by measure. 
This gas, when taken into the lung*, is a 
poison, and tends to arrest the vital processes. 
This poison can be rendered harmless by di- 
lution. The small proportion naturally ex- 
isting in the atmosphere is perfectly harm- 
less, and it may be somewhat increased 
without sensible effect. 
To breathe air for a long time containing 
one measure or part of carbonic acid in 100 is 
indeed very injurious. It is desirable that 
the proportion should never exceed one in 
500. 
In addition to carbonic acid, exposed air 
contains a large amount of watery vapor and 
minute quantities of animal matter. To keep 
the air sufficiently fresh and wholesome in 
rooms where many persons are collected, it 
is found by experiment that on an average 
about one half a cubic meter of fret-h air per 
minute for each individual must be supplied. 
Ventilation consists of two operations, the 
removal of foul air and the Introduction of 
fresh, both operations going on simulta- 
neously. 
The old fashioned open fire place made one 
of the most efficient of ventilation. * * 
* * It is suggested that for our town 
and city schools, or where there are a num- 
ber of school rooms in one building, that 
special ventilating flues be constructed sep- 
arate from but close to the fire flues, which 
are to terminate in one tall chimney. And 
for our district school houses, a similar flue 
alongside of the smoke flue. Means also 
should be taken to admit fresh air into the 
room, which should be warmed before enter- 
ing. 
Another great point in the unwholesome- 
ness of air is that it is heated to excessive 
dryness. Heated air has a greater capacity 
for moisture than the same amount of colder 
air, and if this is not supplied it will be 
thirsty and absorb moisture from whatever 
it comes in contact. 
lu looking over the reports we find that 
the following schools outside of Easton are 
reported ae having no means of ventilation: 
Flatfield School—Lower Mt. Bethel, lude 
pendence District. 
Franklin School—Palmer Township. 
Delaware No. 6—Williams Township 
Franklin School — Grammar, Secondary 
and Primary, Bethlehem Borough. 
Female Secondary—South Easton. 
While many of the others have very ineffi- 
cient methods. 
The schools of Easton are presented in a 
supplementary report. The report will be 
published to-morrow. Ventilation op Easton Schools.—We 
yesterday published the proceedings of the 
Northampton County Medical Society at 
their meeting on Tuesday last, at Bath, to- 
gether with a committee report on school 
hygiene. The following supplemental re- 
port by the same committee on the ventila- 
tion of Easton schools will be read with in- 
terest by all parents interested in the health 
of their children, and should receive the 
careful attention of the Board of School Con- 
trol. By the report it will be seen that the 
various school buildings are more or less de- 
ficient in ventilation. The question may be 
asked are not our school buildings breeding 
disease among the hundreds of children who 
are confined in them every day, and is not 
the lack of ventilation the cause of many of 
the cases of scarlet fever and diphtheria, 
which during the past year, carried so many 
little ones to their graves? We commend 
the report to the Board of Control, and trust 
they may act on it during the Summer 
months. The report is as follows: 
VENTILATION OP THE EASTON SCHOOLS. 
An application of the principles set forth 
in the main report to the means of ventila- 
tion of the Easton schools may be of interest 
to the members of the Society. 
As there are usually several schools in one 
building, the examination of one room, taken 
at random, in each building, will answer the 
present purpose In the First Ward build 
ing, corner of fourth and Ferry streets, Pri- 
mary School, No. 1, the cubical contents are 
403 1 cubic meters, having a seating capacity 
of 68, thus allowing 5 9 cubic meters for each 
scholar. 
It is provided with one ventilating register 
0.60X0 40 m. at the floor and another of the 
same size at the ceiling, opening into the 
same flue; also a smaller register 0.25X0.20 
m., near the floor, opening into the flue 
through which a steam pipe passes, and dis- 
charging into the room on the third floor. 
Now, since both of the larger registers can- 
not be used at the same time, the surface of 
the opening for exit of foul air amounts to 
0 60X0.40=0 24 square meters and 0 25X0.20 
=0.05 square meters, or .29 square meters in 
all. 
Now, if one-half cubic meter of fresh air is 
required per minute, there is required in this 
room 34 cubic meters of air every minute and 
the ventilating flue must take the same 
amount of foul air out of the room to allow 
space for the fresh air. This would equal a 
column 117 meters long, having a base to 
contain 0 29 square meters, that is the air 
must escape at toe rate of 117 meters per 
minute, or 70 20 meters per hour, which would 
make quite a perceptible draft. To put the 
calculation in another way, the entire atmos- 
phere of the room would have to be changed 
once every twelve minutes to keep it up to 
the standard. Again, the smaller of the two 
registers should never be used as long as the 
third story is occui ied,since it sends iuto these 
rooms the vitiated air from the first floor, 
so that the curreut must be faster even than 
our calculation. It may also be doubted 
whether the flue i-. so constructed as to cause 
a draft of Ibis velocity; besides the room is 
heated by dnect radiation by means of steam 
radiators in the room, aud there is no special 
provision to supply the room with 
pure air to take the place of 
that exhausted, so that we are forced 
to conclude that the method of veutilation in 
this building is insufficient. 
In the Male High School, high school build- 
ing, with its class room, we find three open- 
ings each, at the floor and ceiling, 0.375 X 
0 4 M. The surface of each of these equals 
0.15 square meter, or for the three 0 45 square 
meter. The cubical contents of the rooms 
equal 686 4 cubic meters, with accommoda- 
tion for ninety-six scholars, giving 7.15 cubic 
meters to each. Pursuing the same calcula- 
tion as in the former case, a column of air 100 
meters long should pass out of these openings 
every minute, or 6360 per hour, an improve- 
ment on the other school, but still rather 
rapid. This school is heated by indirect ra- 
diation, which makes allowance for the in- 
gress of fresh air. 
There are two other school buildings in this 
ward, which at the time of the collection of 
our data had uo means of ventilation. Since 
then means have been taken to secure venti- 
lation; as, however, we have not the size of 
the openings, we cannot criticise. 
The Third Ward school is supplied with 
ventilating registers, but we are not furnish- 
ed with the size. 
In the Sixth Ward, the building known 
as the primary hall, has no means of venti- 
lation at all. 
in the Academy Building, Sixth Ward, 
primary school No. 1, A division, there is an 
exit opening at the floor 0.395X0.23 m, giv- 
ing a surface of 0.08 square meters. The 
room has a capacity of 202 82 cubic meters 
with accommodation for forty-eight schol- 
ars, or 4.2 cubic meters for each scholar. 
Twenty-four cubic meters of air per minute 
would be required or a column of air 300 
meters long would have to pass out of the 
opening, this would equal 18,009 meters per 
hour, which would mane quite a brisk gale. 
In the Seventh Ward school building, the 
newest, and consequently the best, there is 
no means of ventilation. The child with all 
the modern improvements ought not to be 
guilty of defiling the pure atmosphere of this 
earth, and we fear alas, as a consequence of 
the sapiency of the •,nobody-to-blame,” who 
erect our public buildings, many a little one 
unable to adapt itself to the modern idea, 
goes to breathe another air. We have thus 
candidly reviewed the ventilating arrange- 
ments of our public schools, and yet we do 
not wish to blame anyone, for that is not 
our provioce, nor have we the 
means to determine on whom the 
blame should rest. It may be 
with the architect, for we have heard of men 
who have said that “ventilation was played 
out in public buildings.’’ It may be the 
Building Committee who would not sanction 
the additional cost. It may be that after the 
building had been erected the requirements 
of the school have made it necessary to put 
in more desks than the architect planned, 
and no thought was taken of this important 
question. But it all goes to show that there 
should be some one person who should be 
consulted upon all these questions, who 
should be paid for his advice, and who 
should bear the blame if there is a fault. 
The amount of sickness prevented would 
mnra than natr fnr I i hum I