An encyclopaedia of domestic economy comprising such subjects as are most immediately connected with housekeeping : as, the construction of domestic edifices ... duties of servants, the general account of the animal and vegetable substances used as food ... making bread ... preservation of health ; domestic medicine &c. &c. / by Thomas webster ; assisted by the late Mrs. Parkes.

Thomas Webster

Date:: 1844

Credit: An encyclopaedia of domestic economy comprising such subjects as are most immediately connected with housekeeping : as, the construction of domestic edifices ... duties of servants, the general account of the animal and vegetable substances used as food ... making bread ... preservation of health ; domestic medicine &c. &c. / by Thomas webster ; assisted by the late Mrs. Parkes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

25/1294

ithey were necessarily exposed to cold winds ; and when, in peaceable times, this necessity mo longer existed, it became the fashion to fly to the opposite extreme, and to build houses iin the lowest situations, as being the most sheltered. But this gave rise to still greater in- oconvenience,—that of confined and unhealthy air; and many old mansions may be seen pplaced in the bottoms of valleys. It is to be observed that, contrary to the opinion often ^expressed, the richness of the vegetation by no means proves the salubrity of the air in i-which it grows; for it is known that plants flourish luxuriantly in an atmosphere that would be dangerous, or even fatal to human life. 11. A gently elevated situation is generally the most healthy. When the surface of the jground is hilly, there is seldom a perfect calm for a long-continued time during bright ssunshine ; for one side of the hills being warmed by the sun more than the other, a cor- rresponding inequality is occasioned in the warmth of the air, and this gives rise to ccnrrents or breezes; whereas, in a dead flat, this effect does not exist, and there the most ssteady climate may be expected. Gentle breezes are extremely agreeable in close sultry weather, but this frequent change from warm to cold is apt to prove injurious to those rwho have weak lungs : such persons also find a hilly situation inconvenient, as they suffer cmuch from the fatigue of walking up the slopes. Although a level plain exhibits none of !!the picturesque and beautiful prospects that are seen from rising ground, and may be hot iiand sultry while a hilly situation enjoys a cooling breeze, yet, on the other hand, it is feasiest laid out in walks, and is preferable for gardens and the cultivation of plants. 12. Exposure and Aspect.— These terms are employed, the fii'st to express the conipara- tiive liability to be affected by certain winds, the latter by the sun's rays. A situation (exposed to violent or cold winds from any cause is not desirable; and, in some cases, Mong observation is necessary to ascertain accurately to what winds particular localities .:are most exposed. In most places there are prevailing winds that blow more in one 'idirection than in any other; and more particularly in elevated situations. A house is iimore exposed on the side of the rising ground towards the point from which such winds ''blow than on the opposite side. When there are many hills together, a prevailing wind iimay be so deflected that a house may be more aifected when not quite facing it; not- withstanding, in some cases, as in the vicinity of large cities, the side most exposed to lihe prevailing winds will be best, because least liable to be annoyed by the smoke. 13. The aspect has much influence on the warmth and general comfort of a dwelling. A ^southerly aspect has the advantage of the sun's rays during the greater part of the day ; aan aspect to the north never has full sunshine, and is therefore cold and cheerless. Au :;aspect to the east has the sun only in the morning; one to the west, only in the evening. UVith respect to the views from the house, with an aspect due south the objects opposite lare all in shade in the middle of the day, and the contrary is the case with one to the naorth ; but in the morning and evening, in both cases, they are partly in light and partly ran shade. Grounds sloping to the south are sooner dried by the sun after rain, and are I'less covered with snow than when they slope to the north ; the advantage of a southerly -slope is particularly observable in gardens which produce earlier crops of vegetables, fruit, aand flowers, than a northern one. 14. The sea side has been much resorted to of late on account of its benefit to health, unot merely for sea-bathing, but for the air alone ; and it is rather remarkable that its ipeculiar salubrity should not have been noticed formerly, for it is not perhaps above fifty oor sixty yeai's that the benefit of sea air has been particularly noticed. 1.5. A situation near a lake or broad l iver has some of the properties of one near the <fiea: it is cooler in summer and warmer in winter than an inland situation, because the water being less warm there than the land gives out less heat to the air in summer : and lithe water having lost the least heat in winter, cools the air least. The temperature of the iatmosphero, therefore, in the vicinity of large masses of water, is more uniform than that over land. Currents of air or wind are likewise more easily created when water is near ; l^because the land, being most heated by the sun's rays, occasions an ascent of the air in 'the daytime : hence the sea and land breezes of warm climates. The banks of a river aare often preferred for the beauty of the prospects, and the convenience of fishing; but 'they are unhealthy if there is any marsh land near, which gives rise to the ague and fevers, from the noxious effluvia, called malaria, generated by the decomposition of plants ■Ithat grow in the water. A wide sluggish river like the Thames is apt to have mists and ■fogs on its surface. Sea marsh is the most unhealthy of all. Peat moss is entirely idifferent from marsh, and is not unliealthy. 10. The nature of the soil is an object of great consideration in choosing a spot to build on. When gardens and pleasure grounds are required, it is very desirable that (he soil should be fertile ; but when a garden alone is wanted, and particularly if on a small scale, 'the absence of a rich soil may not be a serious objection, since (he soil can be improved by art. But in all cases a dry soil is essential; for though by artificial means the wet may be prevented from penetrating the walls of the house, yet the air in a daui]) situation is always loaded with moisture, which is not onlv disagreeable but unhealthy. An B 2

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