p. 10 | AIR by Lottie Hall

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 6, 1896

AIR

By Lottie Hall

BY LOTTIE HALL.

CAN any of the children of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES family tell which, of all the things necessary to sustain life, the Creator has given in greatest abundance?

What does every one, even the very poorest, have all of the time?

I think I hear some little boy exclaim, “Air, of course; any one could tell that!”

Yes, air; but does every one have the right kind of air, all the time? This is a very important question, because without good air we can not have good blood, good muscles, good lungs, or good brains.

The air, or atmosphere, is an invisible gas which surrounds the earth, and extends to a height of from fifty to two hundred miles above its surface.

It is composed of oxygen and nitrogen. Besides these, a small amount of watery vapor and carbonic acid gas are always present, but not in sufficient quantities to do harm, if the air is allowed to circulate freely.

If the air is shut in by closed doors and windows, these and other impurities increase to such an extent as to be a source of danger to those who breathe them.

In many public places the air is unfit to be taken into the lungs. Have you ever been in a schoolroom where the pupils were dull and stupid? or in a church where the grown people went to sleep while the minister was trying to teach them the things of God?

Do you not think it makes the Lord sorry to see his people, who should have wide-awake, active minds, ready to take in the lessons he sends them, nodding and sleeping in his house, upon the day that he has set apart for his worship, when he has provided means by which the air may be kept fresh and pure? When it leaves our lungs, it is warm, and at once rises above our heads. If the windows are open, it passes out, and good air comes in to take its place.

Once outside, the thousands of little mouths which are on the leaves of all trees and plants drink up the impurities and return oxygen to the air.

If, on the contrary, our windows are kept closed, or only open a little, the impure air soon becomes cooled and comes down for us to breathe over again.

Sleeping rooms, especially, should always have a large supply of fresh air. Have a window open at the top, where the old air may pass out, and one open at the bottom, where the new, life-giving air can come in. Then you will awake in the morning rested and refreshed, and ready for a good day's work or play.