Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-05-30

any ttutI SOilu ODjtCI Ill tlle IoOll- Dl
the direct glow of the fire, while the ali
around him may remain comparatively
cool. 1t does not, in point of fact, gel
to be quite as warm as the walls and
furniture, while by choosing less OF
greater distance from the fire, or by the
use of screens, you can adjust the heat
of direct radiation exactly to your per.
sOnal comfort.
This is not the case with any other
system of heating. Warmed pipes, a
stove at anything short of red heat, and
a hot-air register directly heat the air
itself, leaving the walls comparatively
cool. The room is full of hot air, which
you can not temper instantly to your
comfort as YOU can temper the radia-
tion of the open fire, while the walls re-
main cooler than the air when these
heating appliances are used, and ab-
stract heat from the occupants of the
room instead of supplying heat to them,
as they do when warmed by the open
| fire.
The cheerfulness of the open fire re-
quireS no eulogy. But the open flame,
whether of wood, soft coal or hard coal, d,
is a costly luxury. Soft coal is with us
one of the most expensive kinds of fuel;
but it is worth remembering that one
good lump of it upon a hard-coal fire
| will ill room with cheerful flame for
hourS.
For these reasons the open fire is the
most comfortable way of heating. As
To Its virtue i'll producing ventilation,
an open fire lis powerful enough to
draw into the room all the air it wants,
| and for this iSpurpoSe Will use indiscTimin-
ately all openings, whether inletS or
! outlets, if necessary" If, as often hap
pens, when this is cold and the house is
not tightly built, the fire may easily cause
too much ventilation, so that the feet
become chilled, and the temperature of
the room does not reach "A comfortable
degree of warmth. In such case a
register supplying warmed air from
furnace below Is Il necessary supplement
to the open fires; similar cOmpenSa-
ton is needed IN large buildings where
hot pipes are used to warm the halls.
The open fire, indeed, is often, in our
climate, a luxury for a single room,
rather than a sufficient me. rs of heat
ing the house; but the open fire is
great comfort. Other sources of heat
may usefully supplement it; but no
other, at whatever expense of money
and scientific cOntrivance, can take the
place of it. | have known more than
one builder of his own house who has
found out that its winter comfort was
by no means wholly decided by the
height of the thermometer.
OF the heat furnished by an ordinary
open coal fire only about one-eighth is
utilized in room. This waste has led
inventors to cOntrive various means for
retaining part of the heat that escapes
directly up the chimney. The principle
is 10 warm an ascending current of air
in proximity to the fire, but not to an
excessive degree, and to disengage the
air near the top of the room. GaltOn
has devised one of the best of these
contrivanceS, but it is little known in
this country. In any fireplace the
forms and materials employed make
good deal of difference with the amount
of heat saved. Brick and tiles are bet
ter than iron for the backing; the CRATE
should project certain distance into
the room, and "A projecting chimney
piece absorbS and r;ldiateS consider
able amount of heat. The fashion, now
going out, of concealing the mantel-
piece with board, suitable trimmed
and decorated, was thus a thrifty as
well as pretty one, the fringes and
other coverings of the false mantel-
piece serving to retain and distribute
the heat of the fire beneath.
The hob is an attachment that should
be found upon the CRATE of every open
fire. Any one can make good hob III
five minutes. Take a piece of stout
wire one-tifth of an inch III diameter
and twenty TO twenty-four inches long,
bend it into the shape of Il long capital
u. five or six inches broad, put the
points of this L between the two upper
CRATE bars and bend down the loop of it
until it stays level, and you will have a
convenient movable hob, and quite as
good one as can be bought for money.
The hob and kettle are very serviceable
for evapOrating water, according to
the plan have recommended for keep
ing the air moist A hob thus makes
the CRATE fire i'll the parlor more health
full, while the tea-kettle Slmmerlng
upon it adds its own element of dOmeS-
tic comfort.