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37
A large number of houses have been permanently
improved by the top sashes of the windows being
made to come down so as to secure the ventilation
of the rooms. Singular as the fact is that hot air
ascends, and rooms can only be properly ventilated
by a passage for the air in the upper part of the
room, in the Parish of Saint James, Westminster,
when I commenced my duties as Medical Officer of
Health, few of the windows were so constructed as
to allow of ventilation by letting down the top sash.
Amongst the poorer classes when the top sash of
the windows is fastened, I have treated such an
arrangement as a nuisance injurious to health, and
have issued orders for its removal. The ventilation
of several hundreds of rooms have been thus
improved. It is a great pity that the more opulent
inhabitants of the parish are not aware of the
necessity of fresh air for health and life, as many
untimely deaths, and a large number of doctor's
bills would be avoided by adopting some plan for
the ventilation of their houses.
A glance at the Sanitary Inspector's work will
shew how varied are the sources of disease and
death, with which he is constantly dealing, and will
at once indicate how largely such work must contribute
to the comfort, happiness, and morality of
the population, amongst whom his work is done.