The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-02-13
TO MAKE a FIRE.
Even. .This lioiucIy subject May be Treat
sctautiucnllv.

sCientiiicnlly.
The amount OF heat that is wasted in
the average coolx-stove is probably suf-
fcient to do rs much work as that dole
by the heat retained. twenty-five
pounds of coal is amply sufficient to run
any family cook-stove of ordinary di-
mensons for day, yet by failing to
shut the drafts at the proper time, three
or four times this amount of coal may
be easily burned, and that without Civ.
ing any increased amount of service.
Strange us it may seem, the work.
woman of the kitchen seldom looks
upon her stove as the steam engineer
looks upon his engine-as something to
be run on absolutely systematic princi-
pies 1t is true that the engine has
certain way of averaging itself when it
is run hap-hazard, which the kitchen
stove has not. Even should the kitchen
stove uniformly explode when run by
rnadman's method, it is not likely that
it would impress any very serious les.
son, Even now, when newspapers have
for years chronicled the danger and de-
struction that follow the use of ltero-
sene in ltindling the stove fire, its use is
still common thing. The charwoman
prefers to run the risk of possible cX-
plosion, rather than to undergo the
trouble of liindling up her fire in
the proper manner; or possibly she
can not realize the danger she
un9ergOes and does not understand
how to make up Il fire in the proper
manner 1t seems next to impossible
to teach the average servant how to
treat her stove drafts, AS matter of
fact, many otherwise intelligent house
keepers fail to understand these drafts
or the philosophy of making "a fire. 1t
seems to us that every school course in
natural philosophy should include les
sons in this most essential thing. AS it
is, there arc experiments with fire in
innumerable cases, but there are none
practically applied to the treatment of
kitchen fires. This matter should and
could very easily be put before class
SO that the veriest dullard would readi-
ly understand it. The writer knew a
case whore valuable stove was sold
for trifling sum because it smoked,
when the most trivial inspection of it
showed that no trouble existed except
that the principal draft was scaled up
with SCOT The stove has been in act
ual and excellent service ever since this
| inspection.
| After the fire has thoroughly kindled
up and the Goals have become bright on
top the damper over the oven and all
the drafts in the doors below the fire
should be closed. Unless very hot fire
is needed the damper in the stove pipe
may be opened to throw in little draft
of cold air and prevent the heat from
ascending the pipe. This is a check
damper to the heat and no rule of uni
/ versal application can be given, as its
/ location varies in different stoves. The
, dampers over the oven and below the
! FIRE are about the same in all stoves. AS
/ we said before, these dampers should
| be closed before the fire is used, 1t only
| Injuries fire to use it while it is kind
| ling up. In few minutes after the fire
has kindled up and these dampers
closed the oven should be hot enough
and the top of the stove should be hot
enough to cook anything without talk
ing off the cover A kettle may be set
in without materially disturbing the
| hre, providing IL nus tlSht 10 the stove
hole. AS soon as the meal is cooked all
the drafts that check the fire should be
| opened and the others remain tight
shut Especially should the little door
! in front of the fire, which throws draft
of cold air over it, be opened. The fire
is not for use now, unless it is for very
slow baking in the oven, such as fruit
cake, Indian pudding and other old
fashioned dishes require. 1t does not
require the addition of fresh coal. II
will last in this way for a number ot
hours, and when fresh, hot fire is re
quired in working order for the neXt
meal it will be necessary to rake this
fire down simply to clear out all the
ashes, lay few pieces of wood on the
glowing embers and fill in coaL-N Y
Tribune.