=Site.=--In the selection of a home, due regard should be had to the site. High ground is more healthful than that which is low; a loose, dry, sandy, or gravelly soil is better than one that is wet and clayey. Made ground, as a rule, is unhealthful, as it is usually low to begin with, and is commonly filled up with earth which contains more or less organic matter. =Soil.=--The interstices of the soil are occupied by air, or water, or both. The impurities of the soil mingle with the ground air, and render it unfit for breathing. When this ground air is forced above the surface by an influx of water or by the pressure of the heavier air above, much danger lurks in the surface atmosphere. Damp cellars and basements should be avoided, and the upper rooms of the house selected for living and sleeping rooms. Careful scientific investigation has established a close connection between cholera, typhoid fever, malarial fevers, and the rise and fall of the water in the soil. Dr. Henry I. Bowditch, of Boston, some years ago, formulated these two propositions: First, A residence in or near a damp soil, whether that dampness be inherent in the soil itself or caused by percolation from adjacent ponds, rivers, meadows, or springy soils, is one of the principal causes of consumption in Massachusetts, probably in New England, and possibly in other portions of the globe. Second, Consumption can be checked in its career, and possibly--nay, probably--prevented in some instances by attention to this law. The truth of these propositions was, later, corroborated by Dr. William Pepper, of Philadelphia, and by Dr. Buchanan, of England. It is even suspected by certain physicians that some of the prevalent diseases among horses and cattle are due to dampness of the soil. =Drainage of the Soil.=--In view of the above facts, the importance of draining wet soil is obvious. A noted scientist states that ground in which the water is sixteen or more feet below the surface is uniformly healthy; when it is less than five feet, it is always unhealthy; and that a fluctuating level, especially if the changes are sudden, is very unhealthy. Certain trees and plants, such as the eucalyptus and the sun-flower, whose roots absorb a prodigious quantity of water which is given off through the leaves, are useful in drying wet soils. The close connection between various forms of disease and the condition of the soil has many times been pointed out. Some years ago, the British government instituted an examination of the effects of drainage in twenty-four towns. While the results indicate a general diminution of the death-rate, the deaths from consumption show the greatest reduction. All forms of malarial disease, fever and ague, neuralgia, influenza, dysentery and other diseases of the bowels are also greatly reduced by draining wet soils.