The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-08-30
HEATING nv URUGUAY.
The American style Of Stove. About
the Only One Used.

the Only One Used.
Uruguay's inhabitants are not both
cred by steam heating. They are not
even vexed by big coal bills. They do
not believe in heating dwelling houses
at all. According to United States
Consul Swain, at is very safe to say
that SO per cent. of the houses have
no heating arrangements whatever
specially designed for the purpose. 1t
is claimed by many of the inhabitants
that heat Is at no time required in
the houses; that heat in the house IL
not healthy, but conduces to maladies
of throat and lungs. Yet, during the
winter season. from April to October,
the dampness In the houses is far more
unpleasant than crisp and snappy cold.
With the frequent and heavy rains,
the walls become very damp, and
clothing or books must not touch
them or a mold will form. Such "a
condition has for one Of its results an
enlarged percentage of pulmonary
troubles, and death rate out of all
proportion to the general salubrity OF
the climate, There are no chimneys
for either fireplaces or stoves. A $14,-
900 residence, built this season, has
for its only chimney a stovepipe let
through the kitchen roof for the cook
stove. -'.;'sE -.S' ''s.n..
1.-The American style Of heating stove
is about the only one seen in the mar
ket the smaller and simpler forms
being used They are popular with
those who have their homes reason
ably heated but the demand is small,
and only one house in Montevideo
keeps a stock. The American oil
stove has found a good market here,
and the sole competitor is one Of Bel
gian make, with first class blue flame
combustion. The Belgian stove sells
at about one-half the price asked for
the American, on account of the fact
that the United States article is usual
ly combination of lamp and stove,
and SO comes under a different and
higher customs classification.
The native cooking stove is a very
substantial affair of heavy wrought
iron, made in local factories from i'm
ported plates. The stoves are good
cookers and roasters, but do not bake
so we'll. They are made with or with
out water reservoirs, and are very
durable-somethi like the wrought
iron range About 80 per cent. more
fuel is used by these than by Ameri-
can stoves of the same capacity. They
cost from 500 to $40, according to
style of finish and completeness of the
water outfit.
Cook stoves have been imported for
some years from the United States, and
are gradually winning their way, es-
pecially in the European households
The fact that they save fuel tells in
their favor, as coal costs from $40 to
$14 per ton. The coal is all imported
from Wales or the United States.
Wood is even higher in price than COAL
considering results.
The duty is a serious drawback to
trade in this line. 1t amounts to eight
cents per kilogram (2,2046 pounds in
Guiding the package AS the stoves
must be well packed the additional
weight adds heavily to the cost, and
a heating stove that could be bought
at from 81 to So retail in any city in
the United States must sell here for
at least three times that amount, and
then leaves only a fair margin for
profit to the dealer. The @,ted
States cook stove sells at about the
same rate as the one made in Uruguay,
but the wrought-iron article, with its
power to withstand hard usage, has
been so widely employed that only
when the better methods, greater
economy and generally superior char
acter of the United States stove be-
come known will our manufacturers
win the market to any extent"