The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1886-01-20
COUNTY, KY. WEDNESDAY. JANUA
THE FAMILY FRIEND.
asw the People of Different Ages Have
Kept Warm.

asw the People of Different Ages Have
Kept Warm.
Stove is derived from the Saxon stofa.
One of these sources of domestic infe-
licity, however modified its form, is
merely Fireplace inclosed on all sides,
the air entering from below and carried
of, as in common CRATE, by vent.
The general principle is first, to employ
the fuel in the most advantageous man.
ner for heating the external part of the
stove. and secondly, to keep within the
room as much of the air so warmed as
Is consistent with wholesomeness and
cleanliness.
A fixed stove (stuba) was used in the
time of the Roman Empire for heating
baths, and in Germany and Scandinavia
for baths and lighthouses. In the mid
die ages they We're generally construct
ed of brick or tiles, sometimes of slate
or steatite (soapstone), and used for
warming Iiwtafrrngs. ff tkssy Were huge
structures, sometimes occupying the
whole side of Il room, and in Scandi-
navia their broad flat surface was the
sleeping-place of the household. The
fire was kindled at the bottom, and the
heat and smoke passed through various
ffues before reaching the chimney.
These stoves were economical ofsfuel, a
matter of much Importance in some
parts of Europe. In the homes Of the
rich they were sometimes faced with
porcelain or highly ornamented tiles.
Many will remember, no doubt, "a por-
celain stove of this description exhibited
in the Swedish department at the Cen
tennial Exposition in 1876. They have
ovens and fiues for cooking, and need
to be replenished with fuel but once in
twenty-four hours.
One of the first attempts at making a
stove of iron was that of Cardinal
Polignac in France, early in the eigh-
teenth century. The Polignac fire.
places, so called, We're constructed with
hollow backs, hearths and iron iambs,
to economic heat. In l7l6 DIR. Desau-
oilers, of London, modified these fire
places to use them for coal instead OF
wood. But neither these nor the Hol-
| land stoves ever became popular in En-
! gland, owing To the strong prejudice in
/ favor of open fires.
| Dr.. Franklin stove, invented in l745.
! was great improvement on all that
had preceded IL The principle of its
/ action was the same as that of the air
| tight stoves introduced many Years
| later. Indeed, it would have been air.
| tight had it been possible at that time to
make the castings sufficiently close-fit-
| ting. About 1775 Franklin invented
several other stoves, among them two
| for the burning of bituminouS coal, One
| Of these had downward .draught, and
consumed its own smoke; the other had
| the basket CRATE or cage, with movable
bars ut the top and bottom, which, after
being filled and kindled at the top could
| be inverted. and so made to burn at the
| base Between 1856 and 1895 Benjamin
Thompson Count Rumford) devised
several improvements in stoves, ovens,
etc, all intended to economic fuel and
| heat. n
Previous to 1926 the use of st&yeS,
generally of the box pattern and of very
| rude construction, was confined to
stores, hotel bar-rooms, schoOl-houses
and churches in the cities and larger
| towns. Country churches were not
| usually warmed. but the older women
carried their foOt-stoves and the men
protected their feet with stout leather
| overshOes known as boxes" In the
residences of some of the more wealthy
city families camel and other English
coal, generally referred to at the time as
sea coal" was burned in imported
CRATES or in Rumford stoves lined with
fire-brick A large number used thu
Franklin stove as an open fireplace
burning wood in it. The rest of tn,
world used the capacious, old-fashionet
fireplace. The cheapness of fuel, tht
cheerfulness of an open fireplace ant
the great weight and rough construction
of the stoves Of those DAYS, made tn,
latter in but little demand. After tn,
opening of the Erie and Champlair
canals, the introduction of river steam
boats, and the beginning of railroad
travel, the facilities for transporting
heavy goods were so much increased
that the manufacture of stoves soon be
came leading industry. These weT,
wood stoves, but anthracite coal. which
was gradually coming into use when
ever high degree of heat was required
and strong draught possible, wa
destined to create a revolution in TIT
business.
The first attempts were failures, ant
il was not until 1888, when Jortlon L
Mott demonstrated that an anthracit
fire could be made from nut and pea
sized Goals, and established several othe
facts concerning the Laws of combus
ton, that anthracite coal stoves becam
saleable. The first cooking stoves man
ufactured in Albany were of the old til
plate oval pattern, the oven above tn
fire. A description of the invention
and improvements in stoves since thel
would fill volumes. II is doubtful
nevertheless, if any of them can com
pare in cheerfulness or in healthfulnes
with the old-fashioned, capacious wood
fire places of our grand-daddies.-Bos
ton Globe.