Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-12-06
The Management Of Furnaces,
Stoves, and Crates in Dwelling

HtOuSeSs
Now that heating houses by furnaces is gen
eral, in accordance with the season, greater at
tention than ever should be paid to the condi-
ton of the cellar. II the furnace can be COM
that it draws its breath. The common idea of
publication by means of heat does not hold
good with the air in our houses. If the atmOS-
phere in the cellar be Initiated, it will be taken
up by the furnace and distributed as foul air
through the rooms. Now, as cellars are, by
untidy persons, two often made receptacles for
eindels and garbage that combination is ex-
actly offered which Is the most dangerous for 1t
is heated air, which is not only tainted, but, in
addition, it contains an increased quantity OF
dust. Nothing is more ,permeable than air.
up stairs the bad air OF the cellar. rendered
worse by being heated, the air from the
cellar will naturally rise through all
cellar should always be clean is thus advo-
Gated by Dr.. Lincoln, of Boston: mo point Of
domestic economy is more often neglected than
The necessity of such neatneSs is perfectly obvt-
GUS In the case of house warmed by furnace.
but it equally exists In houses where the cellar
is unprovided with this apparatus. In the case
of hospital, it is proper to exclude all kinds of
stores from the cellars; nothing but fresh air
should be kept in them. In the case OF many
schools, it is thought proper to admit air from
the cellar to the furnace-boX in very cold
weather, with view to economy. In dwell
ing-house it can rarely be prudent to do this as
provisions" In great many books written on
this subject it will be found that the advice l.
from a certain height above the level OF thu
ground, but, even under these conditions II
there is some escape from certain disadvantages,
others are found. One never can be absolutely
sure Of the quality Of the air taken Outside Of a
house; so, after all, under proper conditions OF
cleanliness, air from the cellar is quite as good
as that taken elsewhere.
In heating a house with furnace heat, the
great thing is to maintain an equal temperature
in the rooms. Now, it is well known that, as
heated air rises and cold air descends, the upper
regions are hot, while the lower are cold. In
rooms where the furnace-airiS Stagnant, an alb
solutely different stratum of air is found 1t Is
better, then, to give circulation and movement
to the air in every way. This cannot. Of course
be done by taking cold air from window, but
by occasionally opening doors which lead to the
entries Of the house. A door swung to and fro
sometimes does this, 1t looks as Ii it were q
very simple thing to do, but few seem to know
that, by having the heat to enter freely into the
lowest stories of the house during the winter
nights and allowing the doors below to be wide
open, the heat ascending will quickly warm the
walls OF the house and save notable amount OF
fuel for the next cold day. There can be no
eSSary evils OF our present condition of Ameri-
can civilization that it is nevertheless, deleter-
iOus to health and the most expensive method
OF warming which can be found. The great
difference between direct fire and warmed
air or indirect heat arises from the man.
ner In which the Objects such as the walls
vi d must, art Ndlultu. oue luOSU uTOuDItsSOmc
effect of furnace-heat is that it attracts more
moisture from the human body than does d.
rect fire, and the consequence is that at high
temperatures evaporation from the body appar-
emily cO0lS the inmate OF furnace heated room.
AS to the use of artificial moisture in ROOM Its
advantages are Well-knoWn, but 1t is something
which can never be regulated with accuracy,
for, II in excess, such saturated atmosphere
tends to become oppressive Somewhere be-
tween 20 degrees, and never higher than "a de-
grees, are about the limits OF heating rooms,
lie II
SuppOrtable, outside of Russia. We can stand
more artificial heat in these northern and mid
die states than anywhere else. There has been
great deal written Of Late on the filterng or
emulation Of carbOnic acid gas and oxide of car
bon through the pores OF red-hot cast-iron, such
as forms the heating surface of stores, and
remedy has been proposed by using wrought-iron
in its stead. But this seems to be rather ques-
ton as TO the capacity of the draft in the stove
II noXfous qualities there are, eminattng from
red-hOt surface, 1t is more reasonable to suppose
that they arise from the particles OF matter ever
In suspension in the air being absolutely burned
by contact. The peculiar odor arising in
surface, is known as a burned smell. 1t must
be stated that, though hardly available yet In
private houses, air heated by hot water or
steam pipes presents great many advantages
though ventilation is one OF the necessities of
this system. The perfection Of house in WIN
ter, where the means will allow it, is to have
the halls heated by a furnace, while dining and
drawing rooms have still their CRATE for coal or
their fireplace for wood, and where ventilation
has not been forgotten. Modern cOnvenienceS
in more than one respect, have rendered the
house at the close of the nineteenth century less
wholesome than it was one hundred years ago.
Ever since Runferd, the experiment has been
going on, to devise a method to utilize the
greater proportion OF the caloric to be derived
from pound OF fuel. 1t may seem not in &C.
cordance with the dictates Of common sense to
try and heat the human body as If it were a
steam boiler, under the superstition that in
creased vital energy would be developed, just
as Is steam. Looking over table of amount OF
heat, as rendered by various apparatus, while
and ordinary furnace gives O.10 as the percent
age of utilized hd improved fireplaces show
0.33, while stoves give from OBS to O6s With
furnaces the range ifs from 0.sO to 0.6s, with
heating by warm water, between O.s5 and O.ss.
Save for ordinary and improved f1replaces the
general comment Of experts Is that all the rest
Fare not good for health."-[N 2. Times.
A MINISTER who had been reproving one Of
his elders for Over-indulgence observed COW go
down to stream, take drink and then turn
away. There" said he to his offending elder,
sis an example for you. The cow has quenched
Its thirst, and has retired" yes replied the
other, ''that Is very true. But suppose another
cow had come to the other side Of the stream
and had said, Here's to you, there's no saying
how long they might have gone On"
w"Oh. do let me 60 and tell mamma" was
Drx