=Common Errors as to Ventilation.=—(1) In relation to the cubic space of a room, it is most important to note that a _lofty ceiling does not compensate for deficiencies in floor-space_. One hears, “lofty” and “airy” rooms spoken of as though the two terms were necessarily synonymous. This is by no means the case. The impurities produced by respiration tend to accumulate about the persons who have evolved them, although it is true that in rooms heated by gaslight, a large amount of hot and impure air collects near the ceiling. The necessity of an abundant floor-space is shown by the fact that a space enclosed by four high walls and without a roof, will, if crowded, speedily become offensive. Twelve feet is quite high enough for large rooms in schools, hospital wards, etc., and nine feet suffices for the rooms of a private dwelling-house. There is no objection to a greater height, if it is remembered that in reckoning the _practical_ cubic dimensions of a room, the height should only be reckoned as twelve feet. Supposing 500 cubic feet is the amount allowed per individual, then the floor-space should be forty-two square feet, which would be furnished by a room about 8½ feet long and 5½ feet wide. In barracks, soldiers are allowed fifty square feet of floor-space. In school-rooms the Education Code requires that at least ten square feet of floor-space, and at least 120 cubic feet shall be allowed for each child in average attendance.
(2) It is commonly supposed that a large room compensates for a deficient circulation of air. _The cubic space of a room is really of less importance than the capacity for frequent interchanges of air._ Even the largest enclosed space can only supply air for a limited period, after which the same amount of fresh air must be supplied, whether the space be small or large. Thus, supposing that as large a space as 10,000 cubic feet per head were allowed, the limit of purity would in the absence of ventilation be reached in three hours, and after that time an hourly supply of 3,000 cubic feet of air would be just as necessary as if the space were only 200 cubic feet.
(3) It must not be overlooked that the _furniture in a room_ must be deducted from the breathing space, as the amount of air is diminished by the space occupied by the furniture. About 10 cubic feet ought to be allowed for each bed, and 3 to 5 cubic feet for each individual in a room; projecting surfaces must be allowed for by subtraction, and recesses by addition. The deductions to be made for furniture are not of any great consequence, if there is a free interchange of air; as the cubic space is of less importance than free ventilation.