St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-05-25
LIFE A CENTURY AGO.
Dtscomforts Our Ancestors Had to
Endure.
without stoves Or Coal. Gas. Matches or
Carpets. Their Trials Were Heavy In
Severe Winter we.ther-Modern
Comforts and C0uvcniencos.

The people OF to-day, with all the
comforts and cOnveniences which sur
round them. with almost wonderful
means to meet every emergency. do
not realize the contingencies OF climate
and weather which their ancestors. a
hundred years ago. were annually
called upon to meet, and. We may say,
TO suffer and endure. Home-lifc in
New England q hundred years ago. to
say the least of it, as compared with
the present time. was a wonderful ex-
perience. At that time. and even for
some years later. the people were with
out stoves and knew nothing Of the use
of coal. The Franklin fireplace. approx
imating toward the stove. for the use of
wood. was invented by DIR. Franklin in
the year 1745. He had given much at
tention to the subject of warming
rooms and apartments, and this iron
fireplace was thought to be q great
improvement upon the ordinary brick
fireplace. Count Rumford also made
some Improvements in the matter. and
in 117l DIR. Franklin. then in London.
completed and used a design for burn
ing bituminOus coal and cOnsum-
ing the smoke. Some years later
Count RumfOrd made some val
liable improvements and sug-
gestions in the matter of cooking
stoves, and in a few years cooking
stoves in great variety came into gen.
eral use. In thousands of cases, at tho
present time, the numerous cooking
stoves Of years ago have given place
70 the cooking range for kitchen use.
in which all kinds Of cooking is done
with great facility and convenience
with the use of coal For warming pur-
poses. day and night alike. the stove.
however enlarged and improved. now
gives place very extensively to the
furnace in the cellar. by which all the
rooms in the houss are kept warm and
by q continuous coal fire.
These are things Of invaluable use
and benefit. relieving winter of its
trials and discomfOrts. to which the
people OF q hundred years ago we're so
exposed. In addition to all
these, in thousands of cases in the
cities and larger towns of the common
wealth, the use of double windows has
been adopted TO keep out the cold air
anc make the dwelling-houses still
more comfortable in very cold weather.
So that, in point of fact. excepting in
the interior towns. brick fireplaces
and wood fuel are but little used in the
cities and populous towns.
As a general thing, at the time of
which We speak, only one room in the
house was kept warm during the day.
lime. and this was in many cases the
kitchen. where the cooking was done.
In case Of sickness . fire might occa-
be made in . sleeping-roOm;
but otherwise the sleeping-rooms were
,f the temperature Of the atmosphere.
and in winter weather often below
zero. OF this, it is said, 1.-The men and
women a hundred years ago undressed
md went to their beds in tempera-
ture colder than that Of our barns and
and they never COM
plaincd." This Was the case less than |
fifty years ago. when it was q common
hing to have the wa.er in the bed
,oom freeze every night and the occu-
PANTS were obliged to dress themselves
Zach morning in q freezing tempera-
ure during the winter.
In the matter of lighting rooms.
apartments. public houses. ETC.. tallow
.andles succeeded pine knotA until |
amps and whale oil were introduced |
these last within the remembrance
# the present generation. and candles
# superior make are still very largely
lscd. together with kerosene oil lamps
n great variety. Gas from coal ap-
sears TO have been first discovered and
,sed BY Mr.. William Nurdock, fore
nan Of Bolt & Watt engineers Of Bir-
ningham, England. shout the year
800. He may be said 70 have discov-
'red the combustible. and. when his
lays work was over. devoted him
self to experiments ON the nature
md use OF coal gas Among other
things he contrived lantern with .
bladder filed with gas attached to it,
which he used 70 light himself about
the streets and lanes at night, very
much to the amazcment Of the people,
TO see lamp without . wick. The
first. shop lighted with gas in London
was thsss OF Mr.. Ackermau in the
Strand au~Nl0s and il i said that ! |
lady OF rank was % delighted with the