THE NEW SYSTEM OF VENTILATION.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4472, 20 July 1875, Page 3

THE NEW SYSTEM OF VENTILATION.

(From the Dunedin Evening Star,) We have received from the Government printer a reprint of an article from The Times of April 12, describing a process of ventilation invented and patented by a Mr. Tobin. Wegather from the fact of its being circulated by the Government, that the subject is considered of national importance, and that the information is disseminated as a discovery calculated to be eminently useful to tbe public. As Mr. Tobin has patented his plan, and as it appears to have been tried and found successful in Leeds in the City Council Hall, the Mercury office, the Liverpool Police Court, St, George’s hospital, London, and other places, the plan seems likely to find general acceptance. We do not know sufficient of the patent law of England to say whether a royalty could be claimed by Mr. Tobin for adoption of the system inthecolonies. Mostprobahly it could; and therefore, lest any claim of the sort should be set up, it becomes our duty to state that the principle, with very important improvements, has been known and practised in one instance in Victoria seventeen or eighteen years ago, and in severalinstances in Dunedin withinthelastthree years. Priority of invention, therefore, must operate as a bar to the claim of any patent right here. The plan has not been patented in the colonies, but is a free gift ‘to the public by the inventor, who considers it now a duty to secure it to them by establishing his prior claim to that of Mr. Tobin by placing on record the history of its adoption. About eighteen years ago a congregation of Independents worshipped in a small church at Kew, near Melbourne, under the pastoral care of the Rev. R, Connebee, an able minister, some time afterwards resident in Dunedin. The church was a small building, capable of seating about 150 people, or, in case of crowding,. 200. It was only about 12ft. high to the eaves, built of brick, and plastered inside, the ceiling being partially raised by the ceiling-joists being fixed to the rafters about 3ft. above the height of the walls. There was one door at the end opposite the pulpit, three side-windows, and in the ceiling the architect’s ventilating apparatus—an opening about 2ft. long by 14 or 15in. wide, covered with perforated zinc., and with no outlet through the roof. It needs no description to lead our readers to imagine the discomfort consequent upon a crowded congregation gathering together in such a place, especially in a warm climate like that of . Victoria. Attempt after attempt was made to introduce fresh air by usual and unusual expedients. The windows were opened, then the lower sashes were thrown back and lids provided ; but instead of curing the evil they only made it worse, for when opened cold air poured into the heated apartment like a torrent. The discomfort prevented many from worshipping there, and at the same time increasing interest in the services rendered enlargement of the church a necessity. It was determined to add another structure to the old one, identical in form and dimensions, and Mr. Bell, the proprietor of this journal, then resident in Kew, was asked by the minister and congregation to undertake the contract. Although not at all in his line of business, early education and employment in calculation of building contracts had, however, prepared him for such a work, and he consented, making it a sine qua non that he should not be interfered with in the matter of ventilation. Prior to deciding upon his plan, he had noted well the causes of failure of previous efforts, and had instituted a of experiments, besides carefully investigating every plan in Melbourne aud the neighborhood that was pronounced more than usually effective. Some were expensive, some simple, but wrong in' principle ; none realised what Mr. Tobin and Mr. Bell claim to have secured, viz., the means of obtaining a full supply of pure air without draught. The new part was built and ventilation provided for after the following fashion, the principle being identical with that laid down by Mr. Tobin, that the pressure of air outside a building is greater than the warmer air within, and that, therefore, free admission of fresh air from below causes the heated and vitiated air to rise to the upper parts of apartment. Below the floring joists, ventilating bricks — iron gratings of the form and size of a brick—were built into the walls at distances of 6ft. apart; and in the floor, on each side of the aisle, five openings each lin, wide were loft from end to end of the building. In the ceiling an opening on each side was left, extending also from end to end, with large octagonal openings above the chandeliers. These were covered with perforated zinc, and, being ornamented with beading, presented a handsome appearance. The space between the ceiling and the slates was thus converted into a hot-air chamber, and in order to allow its escape, the slates were left short of the ridge on each side about two inches, and the saddleboards raised an inch from the slates by blocks. There was thus an inch opening for the escape of foul air the whole length of the building on each side of the roof. The plan succeeded admirably. So perfect was the ventilation that the builder remarked “ not even the smell of paint was felt.” Like all new plans, its usefulness had been nearly destroyed by a whim of the pastor. Without a word to the contractor, he one day had his pulpit removed from the spot intended for its position by all the arrangements, to one alright angles to it, thus rendering it necessary to bring all the seats across the openings for admission of air. Very little inconvenience resulted. A few ladies, not knowing what they were about, placed mats beneath their feet, but as by closing the openings on the side opposite the wind, air could be received from the lee side of the building, a congregation numbering between 400 and 500 used to worship weekly in comfort. When the little church was superseded by a more imposing Gothic structure, it was used as a Denominational school,

and nearly the master’s first work was to stop up the openings in the floor, lest the children should amuse themselves by dropping their pencils and pens down them. As no effort was made to bring the system into notice in Victoria, we are not aware that any other building was ventilated on the same plan. In our next we purpose showing that Dunedin, and consequently New Zealand, have better claims to exemption from royalty than Victoria, through a more extended use of it.