The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-01-26
HOW TO SAVE COAL.
The Principles Of Making and Keep
ing a Fire-Practical Hints.

ing q FIre-Practlcai hlnls.
Very few women, servants at least,
understand the first principles of
making or keeping a fire. They will
poke and punch and pack it down
from the top, pour in the coal until It
is piled above the friedrich, shutting
off all chance of a draft at the top.
and then wonder why the fire doesn't
burn when the poor thing simply can't
burn without air.
A fresh fire consumes more coal
than one that is kept burning, besides
requiring the additional outlay for
wood. One barrel of kindling wood
should be an ample supply for a am
lily for a whole winter; a fire started
the right way and properly managed
need never go out from the be-
ginning of winter to the end. Before
building a fresh fire, see that every
part of the stove, range or heater IS
cleaned out; remove all ashes. bits
of coal or elinker, and brush OIL every
particle of dust and ashes inside as
well as out. Then lay across the bars
of the CRATE, about an inch apart, sew
eral pieces of kindling wood the
length OF the ire-box and at least an
inch In thickness. These will pre-
vent the Goals dropping through the
crate, and, as they burn, will form a
bed Of live Goals for the fire to rest on.
On these sticks of wood place a hand
full or W of shavings, leaving n
sticking through the CRATE as a light
er. If YOU have no shdvings you car
use pieces of newspaper, not lying fiat
and smooth across the wood, nor
twisted tight and hard, but lightly
crumpled together so as to leave a
free passage Tor the air.
On the top of these papers or shaw
ings, lay a good many very thin sticks
of light dry wood crossing and re-
crossing them in all directions, dag
onally and straight, resting the ends
oil them against the sides of the fire.
box so as to form a support for the
top pieces, else they might press down
on the paper and smother the flames.
Now YOU will need some thicker pieces
OF hard wood, both long and short,
and enough OF them to fill the fire-box
to the top. Lay these in such a man
e that they cross each other at right
angles, and put a small shovelful OF
fine coal on top of all. | know that
this is not the usual way to build a
fire. but to me IL has been the most
successful method, and since | have
adopted it | have never had to re-
build it; it is sure to burn. Now light
the shaving or paper left out for this
purpose, after putting on the lids of
the stove, and rs the fire burns away
add coal. a little at a time, alternat-
ing with a stick or two of wood until
you are sure that the coal itself is
burning. when you need not use any
more wood.
Continue to add coal gradually I'M
til it reaches nearly, IL not quite, to
the top of the fire brick, never at any
time above it. Now that the fire is
made, allow it to burn freely until the
blue flames disappear; close front
hampers, shut the lower dranght en-
tirely. and very nearly close the
hampers in the pipe. In the heater
this fire will keep and give a steady
heat until night, unless the weather
is very cold or windy, when you may
have to add coal at noon. In the
evening rake it thoroughly from the
bottom, never from the top; fill it, as
in the morning, with fresh coal; al
low the blue flames to burn off; open
the pipe damper wide, close all the
lower draughts and open the furnace
door.
One ton of coal will last two months
in cold weather, and three or four
months when it is warm. Indeed, the
average amount of money spent for
coal in one year for cooking and one
heating fire should not exceed "a a
month. The same general principles
apply to a cooking stove, and any
good heating stove-namely to keep
the fires free from ashes and clinker,
never to pile the coal above the fire
brick, and to exercise intelligence and
understanding in the use of the
hampers. | have taken care of many
fires in many different makes of
stoves, heaters and ranges, and kept
the fires in good condition from the
beginning of October to the last OF
April without their going out once,
and my coal bills have been from one
third to one-half less than some of
my neighbors.-SaHitGay Era.
Fascinating Cuban Women.
Any n who has been about in
Spain knows how the women of vari-
Gus provinces differ one from the
other; how, for instance, the damo-
zels of Catalina are strongly built and
coarsely featured, while those of Val
encia have light, but well-rounded
forms, wonderful hands and feet, and
a walk which is not even eelipsed by
the slighter and more famous Anda-
lusians. In the north of Spain, where
one might expect a certain sameness
of type the difference is even more