Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-02-05

dreamed of, but, at the same time, it
would be a great mistake to suppose
the Japs and the Chinese had nothing
that in return for all We taught them
to give in return, Ecer since the
Spanish-American war and the Pekin
campaign we have learned the value
of many new conveniences for when
the Orientals are famous. One OF
these is the ''kiro" In Japan they
are carried by all classes, rich anQ
poor alike patroniZing the little hand
warmers during the short, though
sharp and severe japanese winter
The kiro is a tin or aluminium box
made somewhat in the shape of a
purse or cigaret case, and covered
with silk or velvet, save for the ends,
which remain uncovered, and upon
one Of which there is a slide which
"Opens and shuts, and through which
the fuel is inserted This fuel Is
made N Japan, in the form Of short
sticks, about the length of a cigar,
wrapped in tissue paper, and put in
packs of six, which fit snugly inside
the tin box.
The ends Of the box are perforated
with series of holes, through which
enough oxygen reaches the interior to
keep the fuel burning at the proper
rate to generate a comfortable tenn
.perature. What this fuel is made Of
is mystery. Like many other orr
entail combinations. from chop suey
to India ink, it is a mixture of strange
ingredients, and thus far no Ameri-
can has been able to determine the
nature of this fuel or to manufacture
an imitation worthy of the name
Thousands of these hand-warmers are
now being sold in the United States,
and hundreds have realized that if
they could only succeed in producins
"a fuel having the same properties as
would be made. Yet, despite numer-
Gus experiments and efforts to worm
the secret from the Japs, they have
failed siSnaIJy in every instance, and
today every one of the thousands Oh
kiro@ use,i in this country is import
sticks Of fuel from the package of
six, strir of the tissue paper wrap
per, and it looks like an electric light
cal Don, loser inspection will reveal
the presence of some variety of fiber
or woody substance running through
tho cfirlz which Ix-bnn ho
tween the fingers, looks somewhat
like that grade of gunpowder used III
making fire-crackers.
The stick itself is as light as So
much dried fungus, yet for all that
the texture is surprisingly dense ana
compact. A pack of this fuel lighter
and placed in the kiro will last "a
hours. 1t burns so fast and no fast
er, and the kiro, during the time that
the fuel lasts, remains at an even
temperature, regardless of any
change or fluctuation in the outer
atmosphere. The astonshingly low
rate at which this fuel burns can only
be likened to that of spontaneous
combustion. The nearest that one
could come to describing it is to say
that the manner and rate at which il
burns is midway between that Of
straw placed in hotbed and wood
being converted into charcoal. The
kiro never becomes too hot to hold in
ones hands, nor yet too mild to rem
der it of little service for heating pur-
poses. A large number of people il,
this city use them for warming beds,
for they can be placed under the COW
er and left for an indefinite period,
without the slightest danger of the
heat becoming intense enough to set
fire to the bedclothes. Those who for
the past several years have tried
hard to initiate these kiros and to
have been unable to produce fuel hav-
ing the peculiar properties of that
made by the Japs. The fuel made in
this country either smokes, burns too
fast or too slow, too hot or too cold
or else gives forth a Iisagreeable
odOr.
Last spring, when one of the geo
IOSIcdl survey expeditions started LOT
Alaska, the chief of the party pur-
chased 80 of these kiros and 300
packs of fuel. On his return he stat
ed that they had proved of enormous
value, and that time and again they
had been the means of saving the
men from suffering from the cold ana
preventing their faces, fingers and
ears from being frost bitten. At 9th
er times, when they were obliged to
camp in localities where fuel was not
obtainable Ga thing by no means rare
in Alaska, a large part of which re-
gion lies beyond the tree and forest
limit the men of his party found
comfort and warmth in these kiros,
which they took with them when they
retired to their sleeping bags for the
night. Six years ago the kiro was
unknown in Washington, but today it
is very much in evidence among all
classes. Hackmen and cab drivers,