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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 rJ^ VENTILATION. V A VAPEll KEAD BEFOEE THE MEDICAL CHIRUEGICAL SOCIETY, OF MOls'TREAL, BY DR. HOWARD, MecUcrtl Supcrlnteiidont of tho Provincial Lunatic Asylum, St. Johns, Province of Ciuobec. PUBLISHED IN THE "CANADA MEDICAL JOURNAL," FOR JUNE, 1871. --£t>=5r>dL>=*>d?3 ST. JOHNS; NEW'S" PRINTING HOUSE. IT7T . PREFACE TO THE LECTURE. It is told of Dr. Johnston, that once when hia friend Pope asked him " what was a note of interrogation ?" Looking at the little man, he an- swered him rather roughly, " It is a little crooked thing that asks ques- tions." There are /ery many persons to be found who arc simply notes of in- terrogation — who fancy it is a very wise act, and that every man who does not answer, all their questions is simply a fool. With regard to my system of ventilation, I beg to say that either Mr. Marchand, [the man- ufacturer] or myself are prepared to give all information on the system that may be demanded of us, but neither of us bind ourselves to loose our time answering every question that every interrogator may think of asking, particularly when it its quite obvious that the object of the question is fault finding. For example, when Mr. Marchand was engaged ventilating the C ourt House, one gentleman, who had read my pamphlet, said to him : " When the atmospheric air is warmer than the air in the building, what be- comes of Dr. Howard's theory, the foul air must then remain close to the ground." Ttie simple answer to this question is quite abvious, [though Mr. Marchand should not be supposed to answer it.] That when a building is ventilated, it is supposed to be inhabited, or that at different times crowds of people collect in it. When this is the case, no matter how warm the atmospheric air may be, the heat from the legs and the bodies of the persons, so assembled, is greater than that atmospheric air, and it is these impure hot gasses from the person tU^t are expelled from the building by my system of ventilation. If the object was to take carbonic acid gas out of a vault, or an old, dried up well, of course, as I have already explained, the case would be different. Then indeed, the exist shaft or hose, should go down to the bottom of the vault of well. Another anxious to find fault says : " How comes it that in this room, which is 22 feet high, you have the exit shafts within 2 feet of the ceiling, when Dr. Howard in his treatise says the foul air should be drawn off at a height of from 7 to 9 feet." Had this gentleman only con- sidered that I had no 10 3ms at the Asylumn to experiment in over 12 feet high, he would have waited for more light on the subject, and would have found everything explained to his satisfaction in the discussion 3. that took place, wheo I read my paper before the Medioal Chirurgioal Society of Montreal. The few remarks made by Dr. R. P. Howard settled that question. To be certain at what height the exit shafts should be, we have simply to test the room to be ventilated, as I had Mr. Marchand to do in the Court House. One thing is certain that the foul air won't be found under from 7 to 9 feet. I must now anticipate another question which is sure to be asked, viz : " What of a new building, when it is erected." As a rule I would «»ay to have the exit shafts between 2 and 3 feet from the ceiling. Two court rooms in the building are now ventilated with one foul air expeller, and every one can see that it is a perfect success. This has been proved by the usual tests. H. HOWARD. M. D. MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY OF MOiNTEEAL. MEETING HELD, ArillL 28TH, 1871. The President G. W. Campbell, A. M., M. D., in the chair. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. The President then introduced Dr. Henry Howard, Superintendent of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, at St. Johns, P. Q., who read the following paper on his system ot " Ventilation." Mr. President and GENTLEMEN,--The subject which I beg leave to bring before you this evening (my system of the ventilation of build- ings) requires no proof of its actual necessity, or of its importance in a sanitary point of view. You all know its importance just as well as I do. My system of ventilation I wish to be considered and discussed, by this Society, and that members should give their fair and candid opinion upon It without nay prejudice. If you find it what I believe it to be, you will give me credit for it ; if on the contrary you differ from me you will honestly give your reason why. Allow me for a moment to digress. 1 know there are many in this city, whom I fear are very ignorant of any system of ventilation, and when speaking on the subject he^^'m to sneer at all systems. Men of such pretended knowledge, may (peihaps inadvertently) do a great deal of harm, without being able to offer any opinion, or suggestion, that would be of any benefit in a question of such vital importance. The majority of the medical and sci'entific men of the present day, have embarked in the subject of ventilation in order to secure some certain means of preserving the health of their fellow creatures. It is not the time through selfish motives, or egotism, to op- pose instead of endeavouring to forward it. If such men are not capable by their own talents too add something to science, at least they should do so by encouraging all and every individual who is working hard for the sake of humanity. I believe, sir, it is a recognized fact that Dr. Parkes of the Royal Victoria Hospital,Netley, England,is one of the best authorities, in the present day, upon Hygiene, and I know that the high and responsible position that he holds, is due to his work on that subject. He certainly has grappled with the iratter well, and has proved the errors of many old and new theories. So far as wind, sewerage and foul gases are concerned, I have carefully studied his work and have adopted his theory : that foul air should be drawn off above, and not below the person, and that pure air should be admitted in a similar man- ner. That the great object in ventilation was to expel foul air as snon 5. 4 as possible after it was exhaled or generated, and admit pure air to take Its place. That there should, in fact, be two distinct currents always going on in the place to be ventilated, and all this should be done with- out producing sensible draught. Dr Parkes in his work gives all the different means that had been in- vented to accomplish this end and concludes that they were all imper- fect from one cause or another. To depend upon the wind was absurb, lor we have no control over it, and when most wanted, very frequently there was none ; again it changes so' often that tubes which a few minutes before were outlets, suddenly bccarau inlets, and very frequently all the shafts would be inlets. Heat, steam, water, and horse power were all found too cunibersome, or expensive for general use ; bo all were given up in turn or left in their imperfect state, I suppose on the principle, bet- ter something, than nothing and that the very look of the thing made people believe that ventilation was goingon. Observing these facts, I turned m • attention to see if I could net invent some means to carry out Parkes' theory (independent of heat, steam, water, horse or manpower). To ven- tilate my most miserable make-shift of a building, crowded with the very worst class of lunatics, no man could have a better opportunity than I had of experimenting. My first set of experiments were to find out how impure grass were diffused through a chamber where there was no means ol admitting pure air, nor any means of expelling foul. The result of these experiments was, that the foul gases were pretty equally difi'used through the chamber, but that there was a greater quantity hi^^her up than lower down. Prom many such experiments I found that the room began to fill from above downwards. My next experiment was to see if i admitted air into the chamber upwards and inwards, (and this idea was my own) without any exit shaft, what would be the result. It was then that I found the first effects of impure gas, about 9 ft. from the floor, but generally all my tumblers of lime water and loaded paper became affected in a more or less degree. My next experiments were the same as the last, with this addition, that I made an exit shaft through the roof of the Asylum, and put a movable cowl upon the top of it. '^ When this shaft acted as an exit, which was not always, I found that the pure air was below 7 ft. and tear the floor ; and that from 7 to 10 ft. was the greatestquantity of impure gases, though heated air was much higher, and while ^e air under 9 ft. was heated, yet there was but very little impurity in It. This experiment 1 tried very often, before I was satisfied with it, be- cause as I have already said, sometimes my exit shaft acted as an inlet at the very time I wanted it to act as an outlet. From the foregoing experiments often repeated I came to the followinfv conclusions. 1st That the proper height at which to expel foul air is between 7 and 10 ft. from the floor. 2nd. That external air when admitted above the head inwards and upwards causes no sensible draught upon the person. 3rd. That this air when colder than the internal air fell down toWarda the floor and while passing through the lieated and foul air. though it 6. bcoara© in some degree heated, was not impregnated, but very slightly effected with impure gases, it after decending kept floating up the im- pure gases ; in fact there were two distinct currents, the foul gases and heated air ascending, the cold pure air dexcnuUng. I know that the question has been asked '• How can pure air pass through impure gas iind not become impregnated with it?" The answer to this question is, that air is a mechanical mixture and noi a chemical compound, and I do not say that if the foul gas is not drawn off, and that quickly, that the whole will not become impregnated and impure. But if according to my system, the foul air is drawn off quickly, there is hardly time for the pure air to become even soiled. Here I wish it to be particularly under- stood that I do not say heated air is foul air, but that heated air and heated carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen gases are lighter than pure cold air and consequently are floated up together,— the heated pure air, however, ascending much higher than the heated impure gases. In fact, the heated pure air will rush out through an open shaft if there is any draught, whereas the impure heated gas, as soon as it gets cold in the shaft, will fall down again unless there is a strong power to force it through. The foregoing facts founded upon experiments, led me to put tubes through every part of the Asylum, al! connecting with the main shaft that ran out through the roof of the house, and had a cowl upon it. It was at this time that I invented an instrument for the admission of pure air into buildings and which for want of a better name I called a ventilator. One of these ventilators I placed in every window of the Asylum in the place of a pane of glass. You will ask me did these venti- lators, exit tubes, and movable cowl purify the Asylum ? I at once answer No. The state of the Asylum was very much improved indeed, but it was by no means perfect ventilation, simply because my exit shafts as often acted as inlets as they did outlets, and when there was no wind therewas no draught in the shafts at all. I then invented an exhausting machine to take the place of the cowl, its movements however depended upon the wind ; when it was working it did purify the Asylum perfectly, but when there was no wind it was of no use. It had one groat advan- tage over the cowl, and that was, that I never had, with it, down draughts. 1, at that time, frequently tried my experiments over again till I became perfectly certain that I had got the right mode of ve,ntilation, if I could only succeed in having a motive power to work my exhauster, or foul air-expeller, independent of wind, steam, water or horse-power. I saw that the true principle was to have such a force as would suck up the foul gases independent of the pressure of the air from below, in fact, that it should be pumped out, as was water is from a well. I de- termined, if possible, to invent a foul air expeller, respecting which I would be certain that its action would be always equal, and independent of wind or weather. To accomplish this has caused me may a weary hour, and many a sleepless night, and more money than I am inclined to tell. Generally the fault was p^omc miscalculation, or some mathematieal error, and again the fault wo aid be, want of a perfect machinist capable ^f ''* of carrying out my viewH. Often 1 felt inclined, and was advised to give it up ; but 1 still perscrvcd, and T now feel satisfied that success has crowned my cflforts. The machine which hereafter I will describe takes a man six minutes to wind up, then it runs for twelve hours, in fact it runs 20 inches of cord an hour, so if you have sufficient full for the weight, you can run it as many hours as you please. It was visited by a number of scientific gentlemen from Montreal, some of whom are here present. They found that I had a main tube made of tin, air-tight, and 8 inches in diameter, running from one end of the Asylum to the other (IIJO ft.) .vhich terminated in the transit shaft of the machine. Into this main tube there were 20 tin tubes from the different apartments of the Asylnm to be ventilated; these were four inch tubes, and I told the gentlmen present that I feared I was giving the machine more work than it could do. Some days afterwards, upon close examina- tion, I found that ull the tubes did not draw with the same force, and that the tubes furthest from the machince were those that were working best. After spending four days trying to find out the cause of this, T concluded that my four-inch tubes were too large and that the pressure of the air from below upwards was acting in some degree upon the shafts, when ray object was that no air should be removed except by suction, like a pump sucking water out of a well. I removed the four-inch tubes and replaced them with one-inch tubes. The effect was most satisfactory, the suction immediately became e(iual in the twenty tubes, and much more powerful, drawing a much greater quantity of foul air than with the four-inch tubes. I by this discovered that the machine is fully capable of exhausting 20 one-inch tubes, 10 two-inch tubes, 5 four- inch tubes; so, to ventilate any build- in"- now is a mere matter of calculation. When I had this work perfect I made the following experiment. In the women's day room, where there were two exit shafts and a ventilator in each window [that is four windows,] there were in the room 36 lunatics. The room is 31 ly 39. ft., and 12 ft. high. I placed graduated tumblers of lime-water from the floor to the ceiling, and did the same with leaded paper. I also placed three thermometers on the same post, one on the floor, one at 7 ft. and one up close to the ceiling ; the exit tubes are 9 ft. from the "•round. After leaving these for four hours, the following was the re- sult. There was hardly any change in the lime-water, and papers, ei. cept between 7 and 10 tt., even here it was not very visible ; the ther- mometers ranged thus, the one close to the floor 70 ° , the one 7 ft., from the floor 74 ° , and the one 12 ft., 80 ° . This experiment fully proved the pure state of the chamber. Secondly, — That where foul cases were to be'found was between 7 and 9 ft. Thirdly. — That though the heat was greater at the ceiling it did not bring up with it the im- pure gases, but that the pure air floated it up to the height from which it| was drawn off, viz : 9 ft. '^^ Fourthly. — That though the cold out- side air admitted from above inwards and upwards, it was to be found • According to Haswell's Tables and formula. s. uoai-c«t to tho rt.)or. Vou may say what bonctit is to bo derived from tho eharcoal and small piece of cotton wadding in tho vontrto s Tsnot ho outs.de a.r pnro enongh ? I answer yot that in tl first dace To cotton wadding breaks the force of tho wind and obstructs tie intranco of organised and disorganized matter ; secondly, that ho ou side fr is not always pure and the carbonic acid gas is absorbed in U^cha coaf ^ndSthsmonU:' \Zf V '^T' •''''''''''' ^ tainXt Ti 1 e\l , ^ ^'"°°^ '" ^''° sleeping room of th ; men and in hat of the women also (no one being in the "rooms), a glass of lime w" ter. I also placed one in the sitting-room of the wom^n (42 p sent one m he sitting-room of tho men and one on my gallery in the onen «ir After three hours the following was tho result^ Tn £ slcenin? rool there was not the slightest sign of carbonate of lime the wate^ [n the r:rn!j;L^rrr^^^ «li^o,Hu. sufficient to see thaVuit^rS Theexhauster expels 4,500 feet of air every hour. It will therefore hthlncf:r; "" " ^ '"'''"-^ '' ''■ '^"^ ^y '^ ''■ -^« ^y "o't! itIilIlm1»^!n14^T)^^^^^^^^^^ ^^'^ ground of tho occupied rooms, t wiJi pump up 54,400 feet of foul air every 1 2 hours. The area nf tho inlet, that is, where the air enters the fan box, is 144 square inches tho area of the outlet or where the air is throU off from he ZX'ono- eighth of this, or 18 square inches, The circumference of the fai box is 11 inches, and the velocity of the fan is twice a seconder 120 revoli tions a minute. I think, gentlemen, you will agree with me that my cx- ?SX"uit."''""" ""' '"' ' ''''' '^'''' -^ -y *^--y to" J)R. (JEORGEW.CAMrnELL said it had afforded him much pleasure to listen to Dr. Howard's paper. The merit of his discovery wa' the proposal to pump out all the foul air. uiscovuy was tho J)R. Treniiolme enquired if Dr. Howard knew the exact amount of ioul air which he expelled in a given time. ;nf^oV^^''TT'"'?*'l^''^?':'^"^**°°'^'°^*'^° best mathematicians m the Countyto workout, and his result was 54,000 feet every twelve fnh^fV^T"''^''^'''M^^r'''"^''-^^^^^^ r«d"««d the size of his tubes from four to one mche, the fan revolved more rapidly, and if the same amount of foul air was expelled. j', '•"u u me Dr. Howard said it did and the foul air expelled was the same, upon the same principle that a similar quantity of water was sent throuo-h a small hose as a large one, • ° Dr. Eeddy enquired the length of the exit tube. Dr. Howard said its width was one-third of the whole circumference • Its ength^-as you choose There was always more foul air at the exit ot the tube than at any other part. Dr David asked if Dr. Howard could assign any reason why the foul air did not rise higher than 9 feet. ^ Dr. Craik said Dr. Howard explained that the gases were heavier than the heated air, wh-'h \mw^ lightest -ocs to the top— tho foul go»os go up till they bee > the «au,o weight m tho ulr, and then Htop. UR. iRKNiioLMK would like very much to sec Dr. Howard's cxpori- nicnts earned out in a large and lofty room. Dr. li. I»almkr Howard, said that Sulphuretted Hydrogen, and Carbonic Acid were heavier than atmo.sphcrio air, but when heated be- came lighter, and that tho position of tho foul gases, as discovered by Dr Henry Howard, was just such as wo would naturally expect from well- known physical laws. If the room should bo 20 feet or more high— tho height at which most foul air would be found, would bo more than 9 tect but this did not affect the discovery, which ho considered an inva- luable one. The simplicity of tho clock work was admirable, steam be- ing very expensive. Tho revolution of the fan must produce a Vi.cuum and It was a mere matter of calculation as to the size of the receiver. Tho economy of cost and its certainty of producing a vacuum were points of merit in the invention. Dr.G. W. Caaiphklf. suggested the idea that in cities it might be cheap to drive the fan by water-power, a very small pipe would he thought answer the purpose. ^ r r & , Mh. RoHEiiT Mitchell, [steam fitter, &c„] said water was far too costly to be used for such a purpose, in tact, it was the most expensive method that could be adopted. Dn. CiiAiK desired further light on the subject. He felt somewhat uneasy as to how the heating of houses in winter would be affected, when this method of ventilation was adopted. Dr. HowAiiD replied that the past winter had been an exceedingly cold one, and so far as he had observed in the Asylum at St. Johns, the temperature of the building was not effected in the most remote degree ; the veiitilator was open all the time, and there was not the first complaint ot cold. The Asylum was heated with wood. Dn. CitAiKaskedifhe [Dr. Howard] thought that the .same result would have been arrived at if the place had been heated by steam or hot Mir. Dh. Howaiid said he had no experience upon which to base a replv but lie thought under circumstances such as were mentioned by Dr! traik there might be a little loss, but not sufficient to make it of the least importance. Dn. CiiAiK enquired if Dr. Howard had tested for organic impurities in the gases Condy's fluid in tumblers would give the means of testing tor them. These organic impurities were drifted by currents, but when these ended they gravitated downward. Dr. Fenwick said tjis queution had already been settled. Many im- purities adhere to the walls of the room, and also to the bed clothing. Dr. Campbell, the chairman, then said; "Dr. Howard, on my own part and the part of the society, I thank you. I am convinced from your paper and the ensuing discussion, that you have at last hit oflF the true principles of Ventilation." The Society then adjourned. 10 EDITORIAL COMMENTS. ^»'o'" the Canaan Medical Journal. The subject ofveutilation of public buildings ha. long en-a.^ed the attention of sanitarians; and of the various methods proposed, all present effort, K''°'^^ ^"^''^•i^ *'^"', P^^^^^*^""^ ^^« notfso far crowned the efforts of those who have devoted their energies in this direction. JJr. Henry Howard of St. Johns, the worthy superintendent of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, of the Province of Quebec, has been forced 1 .iTt ',!-'V< " '•''' self-defence. A more wretchU building does not exist on this Continent, possessing the name of a lunatic asylunt than the institution over which ho is forced to preside. The building was a iirnnrr,^'f Ti""' ^ corrt-house, although we believe it was not ori- Ihpn fhrT "^'Z;^^* P^'P^''- ^* ^^^ *'"^^ «f the Trent difficulty, Tnr! flrl f ^;?'''^ Government in their wisdom sent an additional mili- I^lYcted bv f J^ n''"2- '^' n' °^^^ ^"'"'^ "* ^*- '^"^h»«' ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^n selected by the Canadian Government at a temporary lunatic asylum was re^ccupied for military purposes by the Imperial authoritteJ D^.' wS ^ ""'"" ^'^^'^ *^ '' •■'^''^'h *h^^ «it«' ^nd the present building ItensivP n'?^''' was temporarily given for his use, in lieu of the mort Wp w! ^o™°i"dious buildings known as the St. Johns barracks. ^^JZl '^P'^^.t'^'y entered a strong protest againt the present system, as more expensive than would be the erection of a new buildin^ ; expend sive m every respect, as it U utterly impossible to adapt sach a building nn o ilu'^?^'-' ""^'"i *"^^*'° ""'y^"™' ^^''^^^ ^liich the constant outlay pa a old building, the alterations necessary, tho patching and repairing la the long run costs more than a new establishment. But what shoufd weigh more m the counsels of those whose business it is to provide such establishments is the fact that there is no chance of benefit being derived by the unfortunates confined there. As to the scientific treatment of the insane under such circumstances, it is out of the question. There is theretore, every reason on the score of economy, if ou no other grounds' tor a change in the present system. The sooner the Government of J^uebec adopt the idea of change in this respect, the better for the coun- try atlarge, and the sooner will be rerr.oved tue stigma of possessing a building in which afflicted human beings are housed which is hardly suitable tor animals of the porcine species. We say that Dr. Howard in sheer self-defence wa? forced to seek some efiioient means of improving the air of his Asylum. From personal inspection wo can bear testimony to the success of his efforts^ When some five years since we visited his Asylum,we were simply horrified with the condition of thiLgs. Improvement certainly has followed on his ex- ertions, and we have reason to know that these experiments have been attended with considerable outlay. We presume that the expense ot these various trials or experiments has been borne by himself, as we all Know that in Government enterprises great care is adopted to prevent un- necessary outlay, every farthing has to be satisfactorily accounted for and the expenditure of large sums of money for mere experimental pur- t 11. t poses would not be allowed. We visited the Asylum at St. Johns in Apnilast, and rooms and dormitories which were in 18G5 pestiferous, were in 1871 sweet and endurable. No more positive evidence, there- tore, can be adduced of the success of Dr. Howard's method of ventilation than the results observed in his own Asylum. Dr. Howard's system consists in the admission of fresh air at the upper part ot a room ; the air passes along the ceiling and falls as spray to the floor ; in its transit it must to a certain extent mix with the foul air of the apartment, but only to a slight degree, while the latter being of higher temperature, is floated to the upper strata, and is carried off by an upward shaft at the ceiling. This shaft is in connection with an air-tight receiver, having within it a fan of four blades; this is kept constantly revolving by means of a clock-work arrangement and weight ; to the receiver is attached a discharge tube, which passes out above the roof of the building. The revolution of the fan produces a vacuum, and must draw the air through the tube which opens at the ceiling of the apartment to be ventilated; this air is then forced through the discharge tube, and IS rapidly diffused or carried off by the wind. From experiments instituted by Dr. Howard it would appear that the largest quantity of foul air in a room twenty feet high, when there is de- fective ventilation, is about two feet from the ceiling ; a room of the same height yielded a large portion of foul air ten feet from the floor, but there was almost perfect absence of impurities at the ceiling and at the floor. From these facts it would appear that a discharge tube would , be more eflicient if opened at two feet from the ceiling in an apartment of twenty feet in height, and one foot in a room often feet altitude. We need hardly allude to the urgency of ventilation. To secure a healthful condition of the body, constant change of the air of an apai-t- ment is an absolute necessity. The emanations from our bodies are such as to render any apartment in time highly poisonous, so much so, as to preclude the continuance of life. Decay is constantly going on in our bo- 1®,%^°^,'*^" ^^^^^^ of these changes is inconsistent with these continuance of life. The problem consists in getting rid of these effecte particles af- ter they have been separated from the living mass. Hence the urgency of adopting some rational system of ventilation. More especially is this urgently necessary in public buildings, schools, gaols, lunatic asylums, chyches and other buildingf. where large numbers of persons are met to- gether. The Court House of our City has been long known to be very defi- cient in ventilation. So much so that on more than one occasion the Judges on the Bench have been obliged to relinquish their ofiicial du- ties through indisposition. The Quebec Government have wisely deter- mined to endeavour to improve the present state of that building, and we believe that Dr. Howard has in hand the contemplated improvement. If he succeeds as well as he has in the Lunatic Asvlum at St. Johns, it will go far to secure the confidence of the public 'in his invention, and will we trust, lead to the adoption by other ill-ventilated public buildin<»s throughout the country of the Howard system of ventilation. ° The Editor of the Montreal IIcmldoU\i\y L'lst, say.s :— - The pro- priety of ventilating every building, for whatever purpose it is occupied has not yet been recognized. The fact is beginning slowly and o-ra- dually to penetrate the public mind, that buildings in which human beings meet, or in which they live, should have some means provided for carrying off foul and providing pure air. In an article published in a lato number of the Canada Medical Journal, it is stated that the experiments of Dr. Howard at the Lunatic Asylum at St. Johns, have been successful. The writer states that when 'he visited the Asylum in 1865, he was horrified with the condition of affairs. The experiments however, carried on by Dr. Howard, at his own expense, were so effective' that last April, when he again visited the institution he found the air sweet and endurable, and believes that no more positive evidence could be adduced of the success of Dr. Howard's method of ventilation than the result observed in his own asylum." ' The Editor of the Framo-Canadien of St. Johns, says: " We have ourselves examined in each particular, and are acquainted with Dr. Ho- ward's Patent Exhauster, and we believe that its success is perfectly es- tablished by the trial it has undergone in the Asylum of this town. No- thing, in fact, is more perfect than the ventilation of this establishment. As to its application to the Court House, in 3Iontreal it has given, since our preceding article was written, proofs as satisfactory as can possibly be, in favour of the system. It stands proved to-day that Dr. Howard's invention is a complete success and that it deserves to be applied without delay to all our public buildings, and particularly to the Houses of Par- liament at Quebec whose ventilation is so imperfect. The moderate cost of its introduction is a further consideration which especially re- commends it." a (f ul