The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1875-07-19
A NEW FUEL. BURNING HAY.

We heard last winter of families in
Renville county, who, dwelling in
prairie region, and rendered too poor by
the grasshoppers to purchase " ood, kept
themselves warm all winter by burning
hay. Their meadows furnished an mex
haustible supply of wild hay; they twist
ed it into ropes and crammed it into
their stoves; stove full lasted about
twenty minutes.
II seems that in Iowa this kind Of fuel
has been resorted to on large scale. A
correspondent OF the Chicago Inter-
Ocean writing from Cresco, Iowa, says:
Thousands of families all over the West have
successfully withstood the fury of a "blizxard,"
protecting and keeping those gathered about
the sacred hreside Of prairie home from suf-
ferin. from its rude blasts by burning twisted
wisps of prairie grass or straw. Nume rous
other families in the belt of country devastated
by grasshoppers, deprived of the means to pro-
vide fuel have supplied their homes during the
long months of winter amply, in the use of hay
twisted into solid ropes. These well -authenti-
Gated facts demonstrate that the great obstacle
in the way Of using such fuel, so abundant in
such regions, is the great prepOnderance of OK
ygen with it causing too rapid combustion.
| This has resulted in the manufacture Of q
stove, patented and known as the Hamilton
Prairie Stove. Over twenty years ago the in
| ventor Of this stove, Alexander Hamilton. be-
came resident Of this county, locating where
it was oftentimes impossible to procure the
needed fuel to prevent his family from al solute
suffering. With more ingenuity than his
massive ropes for fuel, and knowing that such
material to he burned economically must be
burned centrally and In mass, devised and
carried out his first project for q stove to con-
sumo such fuel. With improvements fiom
time to time, this idea has now resulted in pro-
ducing stove adapted to all the purposes Of
heating and cooking, combining ali the desira-
bic qualities Of the best heaters with the beauty
and flush Of II g best cooking stoves in use
OF course this stove demands, ard has q
large fire chamber with a suitable opening for
putting in ten to fifteen pounds of hard pressed
| hay, straw or stalks at time. The burning
OF this mas Is then regulated and controlled by
means OF a crank, shaft and chains to the top
Of the stove, from which position it descends
upon the burning mass, causing it to burn ont
Centrally and gradually, single stove-full last
ing to make hot iie from an hour to an hour
ana naiI. Every person VINO ever Witnessed
the burning Of stack Of hay or straw, seeing
it retain fire for days, has observed natures
method Of cutting off the supply of oxygen Or
air that would cause its rapid combustion. All
this is regulated by opening orclosing the draft
as in other stoves. The large surface Of the
stove, and the combustion Of the fuel being
next to the outside plates causes direct rsdia-
ton, the sort required for perfect heating. md
subject to the same laws as light For surnmer
use by means Of simple CRATE, it il readily "a .
justed and ADAPTED to the milder atmosphere 81
that season. Its oven is the most perfectlv-
adapted to baking Of anything coming 10 os,r
observation. On the score Of economy and
comfort it is just the stove need.d in the nr1irie
country of the West. One hundred pounds a.
hay or sfr0T triu supply all the fuel thnf ,cosH
be required for the coldest rintey day: abouf
ix or seven tons during the winter Farmers
eight or ten miles from timber devote every dsy
| during an entire winter, where suitable 10 s.
out, to procure the supply NEEDED for comfort.
The sams time devoted TO procuring fuel for
the Hamilton Prairie Stove would furnish 8
supply sufficient TOR a neigbborhood. The
quantity Of strrw burned up by most fasmesy
every fall TO get It out Of the way for fall plow-
Ing would amply provide the lsgeA praisie
farmhouse with an abundance Of good G,G1 "a
one Of thsse stoves through the entire wiuter.
The cost Of one of these stoves viii b about