24. The sewage flows into the air chamber formed by the half-open

pipe _a_, being ventilated through the grating _b_; thence it passes through the siphon _c_ to the sewer in the direction of the arrow. There is a raking entry into the sewer side of the siphon at _d_, closed by a plug, thus preventing any smell from the sewer or drain beyond the siphon entering the air chamber _a_. If the sewers are at a great depth, the walls of the air chamber are made thicker, and a manhole is built the length of the open channel, an arch being turned over when the siphon is fixed, as in Fig. 25. The sewage passes from _a_ through the siphon _b_ to the drain _c_, _d_ being the air inlet. (Eassie.) [Illustration: 26. Houghton’s Trap.] One of the best modern traps is that introduced by Houghton (Fig. 26), in which the outlet _a_ at the bottom of the gully can be pointed in any direction, and the inlet _b_ to the basin _c_ of the gully, forming a movable half, can be turned round to accommodate the entering waste pipe _b_; _d_ is the open grating which covers the gully. _Drains._--Tho drain itself is got at by opening down to it in the front area. It may be found to be an old brick-drain, in which case it ought to be taken out. Brick drains are pervious, they allow the escape of foul air, and with contaminated air rats also get in the house. Wherever rats can get, foul air can go; and rats coming in through these holes may carry with them the poison of disease, such as typhoid fever. Rats generally go to the larder, and carry with them often the poison of such diseases, which are very largely spread by their poisons being taken in this way by rats into the milk and other foods, and also into the water in the cisterns. Whether a brick drain or a pipe drain, it should be trapped before it is connected with the main sewer or cesspool. This trap, in the case of a brick drain called a “dipstone” trap, is a brick pit with a stone across it from one side to another, and dipped into the water which remains in the pit. The object of this stone is to prevent foul air coming into the house. As a matter of fact, the pit holds a large collection of foul matter and becomes a small cesspool, indeed, there is no difference between them. A drain may be made of glazed stoneware pipes, which may be joined together in one of several ways. They may be laid “dry,” i.e. without any jointing material between the ends, in which case they are, of course, not water-tight; or they may have clay in the joints, in which case you cannot fill them with water--that is to say, they will not hold water under pressure. (If you fill them with water, by plugging at the lower end, the water will come out at the joints.) Or they may be laid with the pipes the wrong way. When the joints are made with clay they will very soon become leaky; and when that happens, the water oozes through the joints, filth collects in the trap, and it gradually plugs up the whole drain from one end to the other. This may go on for years without being found out, and so cause the ground under the house to gradually become a large cesspool. This is an extreme case. Or they may be jointed with cement, and there are some other ways. They may be perfectly well jointed with cement, so as to be water-tight. The drains, then, should answer to this test, i.e. you should be able to plug them at the lower end, and fill them with water. They should not be under the house, if possible. In London we cannot help it as a rule. If under the house, the straighter the course of the drain the better. Do not let it wind about in order to get away from different rooms. The best thing is to have a straight course through and to see that it is water-tight. It should hold water like a teacup. The drain must not be directly connected with the main sewer or merely separated by a siphon trap; but there should be an air inlet into the drain between the siphon trap and the house. This opening may be of different kinds. The best kind is that of a manhole for access to the drain and trap (so that the trap can be examined and cleared out at any time); the air inlet should be a grating either over the manhole or in the nearest wall opening into a pipe leading into the manhole. People who are afraid of foul air coming out of these inlets put on a valve with mica flaps, so that the air can blow in, but foul air cannot go out. But, if there are no D traps under the water-closets and sinks, if the pipes are straight and sufficiently large ventilators are used, if the ventilating pipes go up above the roof and are not protected from the action of the wind, you will never find foul air coming out at the air inlet though you will find that fresh air is drawn in. There can be no accumulation of foul air, and the air that may be occasionally forced out is the last fresh air that has entered. Should you, however, find foul air coming out you will know that there is something wrong with the drain, that the drain or siphon is plugged, so that this air inlet becomes most valuable in pointing out when anything is going wrong. Brick drains, says Eassie, are variously shaped. The worst sections are those upon which two upright sides of brick have been built upon flat stones, so as to form a bottom, and then covered over with other flat stones, because the bricks can never joint tightly with the stone, and there is always a leakage going on into the surrounding subsoil. One great objection to brick drains is due to the fact that they cannot be constructed sufficiently small to meet the requirements of a house, and consequently are seldom found less than 9 inches in diameter, which is far too large a sectional area to properly drain a house. However compactly and well-burnt the clay has been made into bricks, a brick drain has only a certain life, so to speak, before its decadence begins with the usual attendant danger. Its lifetime is longer or shorter according to the subsoil in which it is placed, the material used as mortar, the gradient at which it is laid, the sewage which it removes, and the quantity of water, and especially of heated water, which passes through it, but the consensus of opinion in their disfavour for use in the interior of a house is overwhelming, and a universal preference is accorded to drains formed of earthenware pipes. A second objection to brick drains, however well they may have been built, is their want of smoothness, especially at the bottom, whereby the effete matters are not carried easily away; and this want of smoothness is aggravated by the roughness due to the unequal perishing of the bricks. One of the first proofs of the perishing of a brick drain, making it past redemption, is the appearance of rats. Rats will go always to that place which affords them most food; and it is the brick barrel drain which receives the washings from meat plates, and the grease from the scullery pots, which rats most commonly frequent. They will leave a drain, and nest themselves in the thatched roof of a farmhouse, and they will form whole villages under the floors of a town house. Rats generally find their way into houses by means of holes which have been formed in brick drains by the falling down of perished bricks from the arch, or owing to their having contrived to make a passage through the brick drain above the usual wetted perimeter. These rats, in the case of country houses, may come from the stables, the barns, or the brooks; but in town houses they chiefly emanate from the sewer. No matter whence originally derived, they soon become habituated to a house and its dainty scraps, and having once engineered their way thither, are seldom effectually dislodged, especially in country residences. As fast as a hole is discovered and stopped up, another is made by these persistent vermin, until the foul air evolved from the house drain becomes so distressful, and the rats so multiply, that some further steps are necessary in dealing with them. Where the evil has not yet grown formidable, traps are made use of, or poison; but this last is a dangerous resource, as the rats are apt to die underground and emit during decomposition, which lasts for months, the most horrible smells. It may be added that rats are remarkably clean animals, and will never allow their fur to come in contact with anything that cannot easily be immediately cleaned from it; hence, very often a dairy, larder, or granary is surrounded by a trench outside the brick walling to a certain depth, by broken glass and gravel, well grouted with tar. Never rely upon a siphon trap in the drain, as a means of keeping out these voracious and fast-breeding animals. They will eat even through lead pipes ⅛ inch in thickness. Having shown the necessity for discarding brick drains underneath a house, Eassie next considers alternative clay-derived materials, such as pipes formed of baked clay, after the latter has been worked to a consistency which would not naturally allow of an escape of their contents. There are, however, two or three subdivisions of this class. First of all come those kinds whose ends are merely abutted together, and not, as at the present day, socketed at the joints. These are almost equally faulty with brick drains, because when once they are poisoned and become the habitat of life-destroying germs, their normal tone cannot possibly be recovered. The only kind of earthenware drains which ought to be permitted inside a house are glazed socketed pipes, well formed, well kilned, and properly laid down, the whole of the pipes having been set on a concrete bed, and afterwards covered over with properly made concrete, so as to prevent any possibility of sewage reaching the subsoil, and especially water-tanks. It is not every glazed socketed drain-pipe that is fit for laying down, for the most abominably shaped pipes are often met with. There are many makers beyond reproach, and there are scores of pipes showing patent methods of jointing more or less complicated. The majority of the improvements refer to the fast seating of the ends of the pipes in cradles, well covered in cement, and one especially much in use, Stanford’s, provides a ring of material fitting truly upon a ring of similar material in the socket of the pipe, so that when the two ends are put together, with a little grease or resin between them, the pipes fit closely in every direction, and require but little other luting. These pipes are generally adopted for use under a house, and ordinary socketed pipes for outside. Cast-iron drains are now very often used in place of earthenware pipes, and there is a great deal to be said in their favour, especially since the invention of several processes whereby the interior is prevented from rusting and scaling. Pipes of this material are useful underground in rows of houses, and wherever straight lines of delivery are obtainable, and compared with drain pipes of earthenware, with their necessary surrounding of concrete, they would prove not more expensive. Unfortunately, however, this system cannot always be adopted, unless the house has been planned with a view to this method of drainage; and in most houses it will be observed that the pipes would have to run in front of fireplaces and across doorways if above ground. When iron piping is used, great care should be taken with the jointing, to see that it is properly packed, and with material calculated to last as long as the pipe itself. Iron pipes with merely leaded joints are subject to galvanic action, whereby the iron, sooner or later, thins out by corrosion, the iron perishing by “abnormal local oxidation,” as has been very forcibly stated by B. H. Thwaite. When iron is contiguous with lead, a galvanic action is set up, and, the latter being electro-negative to the iron, the iron suffers. There ought, therefore, always to be an assistant packing in the pipe, and the majority of engineers make use of this. Eassie advises in addition, a luting of Portland cement with the other materials, which may include a previous stuffing of fibrous packing material together with the old-fashioned iron filings and acids. Given the best kind of drain to lay down, there is still the question as to where to lay it, and here lamentable errors are frequently made. The chief fault perpetrated in this particular is the laying of drains inside a house, when they might just as easily have been laid outside. When a drain is laid down, care is exercised to get the pipes as much as possible in straight lines; and at each departure from a straight line a manhole is formed, enabling any one to inspect the drain at any time, by lifting the manhole cover. If a lighted candle is placed at the bottom of the drain in the manholes, the freedom of the drain from obstructions can be ascertained by looking from manhole to manhole. These inspection chambers should be placed at every departure from a straight line, and where several drains junction together; thus each drain delivery is open to sight, and rods can easily be introduced up the drain pipe should any obstruction occur. These inspection chambers are always best protected by an iron manhole cover, fitting down perfectly into their iron frames, which are sunk into the stone floor. Most houses in connection with a large brick sewer have a “flap-trap,” just where the house drain enters into the sewer; this flap opens to allow the house sewage to enter the sewer, whereupon it should immediately close again to exclude foul air and rats from invading the house. They sometimes, however, do not shut closely, and in that case their action for good is almost at an end. A householder can have an occasional inspection made of the trap by the sewer men, by paying a small fee to the vestry. _Precautions after Floods._--Dwellings which have been invaded by the waters should receive special care, so that those whom the flood has expelled should not occupy them before they have been made sufficiently healthy for habitation. They should first be cleaned out as quickly and thoroughly as possible, and freed from all dirt and debris deposited in different parts by the water. Continuous aëration and the most active ventilation are the best and most energetic agents. To increase these as much as possible, where it can be done, a large fire should be maintained on the hearth, and the doors and windows opened, so that the light and heat of the sun may contribute their part to purifying the air. At the same time care must be taken to dig a ditch 10-15 in. deep around each house, whose interior is in many cases below the level of the ground. It will also be well, after having torn down all plastering, which will be in a bad condition, to scrape to their bottom all joints in the walls, and to replaster them in the parts of the house most injured, and where bad deposits have principally accumulated. The floors, where such exist, should be carefully attended to, and the soil under them covered with a disinfecting substance, such as pounded charcoal, or sand, or else with an impermeable material, such as flagging, paving blocks, cement, &c. Where the house is several stories high, the top stories should be the first occupied. Great precautions should also be followed in the treatment of certain articles of furniture, such as beds and mattresses, which must be renovated or replaced, and which should never on any account be used until thoroughly dried. Sanitary treatment, such as adopted for houses, should be applied with no less vigilance to stables and barns. One peculiar feature it is important to note, though it can only be accidentally produced: it is the possible alteration of the water of wells and springs of potable water, in whose neighbourhood matter in a state of decomposition may have been deposited, or piles of excrementitious and organic debris, or sources of water supply which may have been contaminated by the contents of privy vaults. Attention should be directed to this danger. To disinfect cellars into which, by agency of the inundations, the contents of privy vaults may have penetrated, commercial zinc sulphate may be used, either by sprinkling it in powder in the cellar, or by watering the ground when the water has gone down with a concentrated solution of this salt. Concentrated solution of iron sulphate does well, but the disinfection is not so complete as with salts of zinc; it is, however, cheaper. =Ventilation.=--The objects of ventilation are twofold--first to get rid of the poisonous gas (carbonic acid) exhaled from our lungs, and second to furnish a supply of life-supporting gas (oxygen, as it exists in fresh air) to our lungs. For healthy living, every adult individual requires at least 1000 cub. ft. of space, or a room 10 ft. square and 10 ft. high; into this room should pass 3000 cub. ft. of air every hour. In dwelling-rooms, and especially in bedrooms, the fireplace should always be left unclosed, and the flue or damper open for ventilation. The windows should pull down from the top, and a piece of wire gauze should be fixed along the open space at the top; or a pane of glass should be perforated with holes capable of being closed in stormy weather. All rooms, and especially sleeping apartments, should be well aired during the day. A good and simple test for impure air is to take a clear glass bottle with a glass stopper, holding about 10 oz., and wipe it carefully inside and out. On entering a room, the air of which you wish to test, stuff a linen cloth into the bottle and rapidly withdraw it, so as to allow the air of the room to enter the bottle. Then carefully place a tablespoonful of clear lime water in the bottle, and replace the stopper. Shake it for a few minutes; then, if the air is pure, the lime water will remain clear. If bad, and loaded with carbonic acid, the lime water will become turbid, or even milky. This is because lime and carbonic acid together form chalk, which gives the milky appearance. It must be remembered that this test has no reference to the ammonia which often exists abnormally in the bad air of towns, nor does it indicate the presence of disease germs or poisons due to paint, wall-paper, &c. A fire in an open fireplace is a good ventilator in a way. We may ventilate a room easily by raising the lower window sash, and by placing inside the frame a piece of wood 3-4 in. high, and 1 in. in thickness, and reaching from one side of the frame to the other. When the inside sash is brought down to rest on this piece of wood, it is thus raised 3-4 in. A current of fresh air moves inwards and upwards to the ceiling between the sashes, and if a piece of wood or glass, sloping upwards, be attached to the top of the lower sash, the current of air will be sent upwards to the ceiling, whence it will diffuse itself through the room. Draughts must be avoided; and it is wonderful how easily they may be prevented. Pettenkofer has shown that if air at ordinary temperatures does not move at a greater rapidity than 1½ ft. per second, its movement is not felt. What is needed, therefore, is some kind of screen that will not prevent the entrance of air, but that will break its force, divide its currents, and make it flow unfelt into the room. Perhaps the simplest plan of effecting this is the following: Open your window at the top to whatever degree is necessary to prevent closeness in the room, but if there is a draught open it wider still; place a little loosely-packed cotton-wool between the upper and lower sash, and in the open space above the upper sash place a strip of perforated zinc, with its lower edge turned upwards, so as to direct the draught towards the ceiling. If there is still too much draught, open it still wider, but fasten in front of the perforated zinc a screen of gauze containing loosely-packed cotton-wool. It is noteworthy that there must be a sufficient current to carry the air upwards along the slanting piece of zinc, and towards the ceiling, otherwise, as Corbett has pointed out, the cold air will trickle over the edge and cool the feet of the inmates of the room. In the hot months it is worth while to bear in mind the plan adopted by Martin in order to keep the rooms of the sick in a state of freshness. This consists in opening the windows wide, and then hanging wet cloths before them. The water, as it vaporises, absorbs the heat, and lowers the temperature of the apartment by several degrees, while the humidity which is diffused renders the heat much more supportable. By adopting this plan, the inmates find themselves, even in the height of summer, in a freshened atmosphere, analogous to that which prevails after a storm. This fact is well known to and utilised by the natives of India. Another plan is to close all windows facing the sun and cover them with blinds or curtains, to exclude the sun’s rays and the heated external air. Carpets may be replaced by matting, and the latter may be sprinkled with plain or perfumed water. In very cold weather it is equally desirable to close all cracks and chinks against the influx of draughts. Cracks in floors, around the skirting board, or other parts of a room, may be neatly and permanently filled by thoroughly soaking newspapers in paste made of 1 lb. flour, 3 quarts of water, and a tablespoonful of alum, thoroughly boiled and mixed. The mixture will be about as thick as putty, and may be forced into the cracks with a case knife. It will harden like papier-maché. Old windows that do not close tightly may be remedied by smearing the edge on which they close with putty, and that of the sash with chalk, and then closing them as firmly as possible. The putty will fill up the crevices, and the excess pressed out at the sides may be removed with a knife, whilst the chalk prevents adhesion to the sash. A system in very general use is Moore’s patent glass louvre ventilator, consisting of a number of louvres (or slips of glass), which can be opened to any angle up to about 45°, thus always directing the incoming current of air upwards. They are easily regulated and secured by a cord, which when released allows the louvres to close practically air-tight. Moore’s circular glass ventilator, which consists of (usually five) pear-shaped openings, neatly cut in the window square, and fitted with a circular glass cover with corresponding holes working on a centre pivot, are also very effective for admission or extraction of air. Moore’s sliding ventilator consists of oblong vertical holes, with the cover sliding between guides horizontally, the principle being the same as in the circular ventilator, but it is more suited for the top of shop fronts or shallow fanlights. These are all made by J. Moore and Sons, Sekforde Works, St. James’s Walk, Clerkenwell Green, E.C. Another simple method of admitting fresh air to a room consists in leaving an aperture in the external wall, at a level between the ceiling of one apartment and the floor of the room immediately above, then to convey the fresh air through a channel from the external wall to the centre of the ceiling of the apartment below, where the air can be admitted by an opening, and dispersed by having a flat board or disc to impinge against, suspended 4 in. or 6 in. below the opening of the ceiling, and so scattered over the room. The cold air, however, thus admitted, plunges on the heads of the occupants of the room and mixes with the hot air which has risen near the ceiling. A top window-sash lowered a little to admit fresh air has the same disagreeable effect, the cold air being drawn towards the floor by the chimney draught, and leaving the hot air to stagnate near the ceiling. In any siphon system placed vertically the current of air will enter by the short arm, and take its exit by the long arm, and thus the chimney flue acts as the long arm of a siphon, drawing the fresh air from the nearest opening. Fresh air may be introduced through perforations made in the woodwork of the bottom rail of the door to the room, or through apertures in the outer wall, admitting the fresh air to spaces behind the skirting board, and making the latter perforated. The only objection to this plan is the liability for vermin to lodge between the skirting board and the wall. This may be prevented by covering the outside apertures with perforated zinc, but such covering also helps to keep out the full supply of fresh air. Butler recommends, while admitting the cold air through side walls near the floor level, and allowing the foul air to escape at the ceiling, that the fire draught should be maintained quite independent of the air inlet to the room, the requisite amount of air for combustion being supplied by a separate pipe led through the hearthstone with its face towards the fire, the latter acting as a pump, which is sure to procure its own allowance from the nearest source; thus the draught which would otherwise be felt by the fire drawing its supply from the inlet across the room is considerably reduced. The foul air may enter the ceiling in the centre, and be conducted by an air-flue either to the outside or to the chimney. The chimney is the best extractor, as its heated condition greatly favours the ventilating power. Dr. Arnott was one of the first to draw attention to the value of a chimney as a means of drawing off the foul air from the interior of an apartment. He invented a ventilator consisting of a well-balanced metallic valve, intended by its instantaneous action to close against down draught and so prevent the escape of smoke into a room during the use of fires. If the fire is not alight, what is known as the register of the stove should be closed, or a tight-fitting board placed in front of the fireplace, with the adoption of all chimney-ventilators fixed near the ceiling. [Illustration: 27. Harding’s Ventilator.] Harding’s ventilators are better known in the north of England than the south. They are recommended by Pridgin Teale, surgeon to the General Infirmary at Leeds, as a means of securing freshness of atmosphere without draught, and free from all mixture of dust, soot, or fog. The outside air is conducted through a grate and aperture in the wall about 7 ft. 6 in. above the floor level, where it is made to pass through a series of small tubes fixed at an angle of about 30° with the wall. The currents of air are said to be compressed while passing through the tubes, but to expand and diffuse in all directions as soon as they are liberated into the apartment. In all filtering arrangements it must be remembered that if air is to pass through a screen or filter without retarding the current entering the room through a tube, the area of the screen must be greater than the area of section of the tube. This can be effected by placing the screen diagonally within the tube which admits the air. In some buildings the filter is dispensed with, and the apparatus is used simply to diffuse the air as it enters the room. An outlet for the vitiated air is provided by the chimney flue, either through the fireplace or by a mica valve placed in the flue near the ceiling. In rooms where flues do not exist an air extractor is provided, consisting of two perforated cones and a central tube. The external air impinging upon the perforated cones is deflected, creating an induced current up the vertical tube, drawing the foul air from the interior of the room, and expelling it through the perforations. In fixing the extractor, a wooden base or frame is placed on the ridge and covered with lead to make it watertight; the extractor is then placed over this and fixed in the ordinary manner. A small inner cone is provided simply to prevent rain from getting into the tube. Harding’s extractors are so designed that they may be easily fixed inside an ornamental turret without in any way affecting their action. They can be obtained in London from Strode & Co., at prices varying from 15_s._ to 6_l._ and upwards. Their action is illustrated in Fig. 27: _a_, wall; _b_, grating outside; _c_, filter. Another system for admitting fresh air into a room, free from fog and other impurities, is that recommended by the Sanitary Engineering and Ventilating Co., 115, Victoria Street, Westminster. They provide for the introduction of fresh air in vertical currents by means of a suitable number and disposition of vertical tubes, varying in size, section, and weight according to each special case. The current can be regulated in amount by throttle valves, and the heated or vitiated air is removed by means of exhaust ventilators, placed directly over the roof or in connection with air flues and shafts. The exhaust ventilator is thus described by the makers: There are no working parts to get out of order, and no attention is required to ensure its constant action. In this respect, a great improvement is claimed over the numerous forms of revolving cowls, which require occasional lubrication, otherwise the working parts become corroded and the cowl ceases to act. They are made of circular or rectangular section, or other shapes to suit special circumstances. One great merit of the system is the element of length which is introduced by means of the tube arrangement, and thus a current is continually passing which diffuses itself over the room. The system admits of a patent air-cleansing box being built into the wall at the foot of the tube, fitted with special deflector plates and a tray to hold water or, when necessary, disinfectants. When the arrangements of furniture or fittings in a room preclude the use of vertical tubes fixed near the ground, they recommend the substitution of a ventilating bracket fixed at 6-7 ft. above the floor. This bracket may contain an air purifying or cleansing box; if required, a valve is provided for regulating the admission of fresh air, and a 9 in. by 6 in. hinged air grating to cover the opening outside. The air-cleansing box is illustrated in Fig. 28: _a_, inside of room; _b_, floor; _c_, trough or tray for holding water or disinfectant fluid; _d_, tube. [Illustration: 28. Sanitary Ventilating Company’s Ventilator.] Boyle’s patent self-acting air-pump ventilators are well known, and are found to answer well in their continuous action under all varieties of wind pressure; they are often adopted without any inquiry being made as to the scientific principles on which they are constructed. They consist of 4 sections, each acting independently of the other. The exterior curve baffle-plate prevents the wind blowing through the slits formed in the immediate interior plates, and tends to concentrate the current. These interior plates are curved outwards, so as to take the pressure off the vertical slits, which form a communication with the internal chambers, through which the air impinges on inner deflecting plates, and is further directed by the radial plates. The external air impinging on the radial plates is deflected on to the side plates, and creates an induced current. In its passage it draws the air from the central vertical chambers, expelling it at the opposite opening. The vitiated air immediately rushes up the shaft connecting the ventilator with the apartment to be ventilated, extracting the air and producing a continuous upward current without the possibility of down draught. The partitions separating the chambers prevent the external air being drawn through the slits upon which the wind is not directly acting. The whole arrangement being a fixture, with no mechanical movement, it is never liable to get out of order, and the apparatus can be easily fixed over a wood base or frame covered with zinc or lead to secure a good water-tight connection. Where Boyle’s ventilators are used the air is renewed imperceptibly, the vitiated air being extracted as rapidly as it is generated. A somewhat similar arrangement to Boyle’s ventilator is patented by Arnold W. Kershaw, of Lancaster, and consists of 3 rims of deflectors or plates with openings in each, so arranged that the openings in one rim are opposite the deflectors in the next inner or outer rim, the effect being that whatever the direction of the wind, it passes through the ventilator without being able to enter the central shaft, and in passing creates a partial vacuum, which induces an upward current in the upcast shaft without the possibility of down draughts. Both Boyle’s and Kershaw’s roof ventilators are suitable for fixing in ventilating towers or turrets. While Kershaw’s is somewhat simpler in construction, Boyle’s is said to possess the additional advantage of preventing the entrance of snow by the curve in which the inner plates are fixed. In the case of chimney flues where there is any obstruction that breaks the wind and produces a swirl, such as would be caused by close proximity to higher buildings or raised gables, a down draught may be prevented by the use of a properly-constructed chimney cowl. Kershaw’s chimney cowl is a modification of his pneumatic ventilator, and consists of deflecting plates so arranged that there is no possibility of a down draught. Boyle’s chimney cowl is better known than Kershaw’s, and is very effective. It consists of deflecting plates so fixed that if a body of air is forced in at the false top, instead of passing down the vent, it is split up by an inner diaphragm, deflected over the real top, and passed over at the side openings, thus checking the blow down and assisting the up draught. Kershaw’s patent inlet and air diffuser consists of a tube connection between the outside and inside of an apartment rising vertically on the inside, the upper extremity having radiating plates, which diffuse the incoming current. Generally speaking, a sufficient amount of fresh air enters under the door to a room or between the window sashes or frames; but in apartments where doors and windows fit tightly, some arrangement for the admission of fresh air becomes indispensable. In this climate, during 7 months of the year, the external air is usually too cold to be admitted directly into the room. The plan of admitting fresh air to a space behind the grates, leading up the air through channels on each side of the fireplace, and ultimately passing it through perforated gratings within the wall or through perforations in the skirting board on each side of the fireplace cannot be commended, as the passages are apt to get choked up with dust, and the temperature of the air cannot be well regulated in its passage into the room. The true object of a fire and chimney flue should not be to supply fresh air, but to extract it after it has done its work. [Illustration: 29. Boyle’s Air-cooler.] Fig. 29 illustrates Boyle’s arrangement for cooling the air entering a room in hot weather. It consists of an air-inlet tube of bracket form, made of iron. The part which penetrates the hole in the wall has an outer casing, so that a space of about ½ in. is left between, which is packed with a non-conducting substance, for the purpose of preventing the heat from the wall penetrating into the interior of the opening and acting upon the blocks of ice, which are placed in a movable drawer, and kept in position by means of open galvanised iron or copper-wire netting. The front of the drawer is also double, and packed same as casing. The outer air entering through the grating is deflected by a metal shield on to the suspended blocks of ice, and from thence on to the ice at the bottom of the drawer, and thence up the tube into the room. The air is not only cooled, but purified thoroughly from dust. See also p. 991. =Warming.=--In connection with warming an apartment, it is obviously a necessary condition that the warmth shall be conserved as much as possible. Hence there is an evil in having too much glass, as it cools the room too fast in the winter season: 1 sq. ft. of window glass will cool 1½ cub. ft. of warm air in the room to the external temperature per second; that is, if the room be warmed to 60° F., and the thermometer stands at 30° F. outside, there will be a loss of 90 cub. ft. of warm air at 60° per second from a window containing a surface of glass of 60 sq. ft. In colder climates than that of England, this subject is of much greater importance. In America, for instance, during the cold weather, there will always be found, no matter how tightly or closely the sashes are fitted and protected with weather-strips, a draught of cold air falling downward. This arises from the contact of the heated air with the cold glass, which renders the air cooler and heavier, and causes it to fall. The air, at the same time, parts with a considerable proportion of its moisture by condensation upon the glass. The cold air thus formed falls to the floor, forming a layer of cold air, which surrounds the feet and legs, while the upper part of the body is enveloped in overheated air. The layers of cold and warm air in an apartment will not mix. The warm air will not descend, and the cold air cannot go upward, except the one is deprived of its heat by radiation, and the other receives its heat by actual contact with a heated surface. This radical difference in the upper and lower strata of atmosphere of the rooms, in which people live during the cold season, is the prolific cause of most of the throat and lung diseases with which they are afflicted. Double windows to the houses, therefore, would not only be a great economy as to fuel, but highly conductive to human longevity. There are only two ways in which dwelling-houses can be heated, namely, by radiant heat and by hot air. The former is produced by the open fire, and by it alone. The latter is obtained in various ways. The question whether we shall use hot air or radiant heat in our rooms is by no means one to be lightly passed over. Instinct tells us to select radiant heat, and instinct is quite right; it is so because radiant heat operates in a very peculiar way. It is known that as a matter of health it is best to breathe air considerably below the natural temperature of the body--98° F.; in air heated to this temperature most persons would in a short time feel stifled. But it is also known that the body likes, as far as sensation is concerned, to be kept at a temperature as near 98° F. as may be, and that very much higher temperatures can be enjoyed; as, for example, when we sit before a fire, or bask in the sun. Now radiant heat will not warm air as it passes through it, and so, at one and the same time, we can enjoy the warmth of a fire and breathe that cool air which is best suited to the wants of our system. Herein lies the secret of the popularity of the open fireplace. But in order that the open fireplace may succeed, it must be worked within the proper limits of temperature. If air falls much below 40° F. it becomes unpleasant to breathe; and it is also very difficult to keep the body warm enough when at rest by any quantity of clothes. In Russia and Canada the temperature of the air outside the houses often falls far below zero, and in the houses it cannot be much above the freezing-point. Here the open fire fails; it can only warm air by first heating the walls, furniture, and other materials in a room, and these, in turn, heat the air with which they come in contact. But this will not do for North American winters; and accordingly in Canada and the United States the stove or some other expedient for warming air by direct contact with heated metal or earthenware is imperatively required. But this is the misfortune of those who live in cold climates, and when they ask us to follow their example and take to close stoves and steam-pipes, and such like, they strongly remind us of the fable of the fox who had lost his tail. How accurately instinct works in the selection of the two systems is demonstrated by the fact that a succession of mild winters is always followed in the United States by an extended use of open grates; that is to say, the English system becomes, or tends to become fashionable, while, on the other hand, a succession of severe winters in this country brings at once into favour with builders and others a whole host of close stoves and similar devices which would not be looked at under more favourable conditions of the weather. While English winters remain moderately temperate, the open fireplace will enjoy the favour it deserves, as not only the most attractive, but the most scientific apparatus available for warming houses. (_Engineer._) Heat radiated from a fire passes through the air without increasing its temperature, in the same manner that the sun’s rays in warming the earth pass through and leave the atmosphere at the higher altitudes so bitterly cold that water and even mercury will freeze: it is for this reason that open fires should be lighted some time before the apartment is required for use, so that firstly a glowing fire be obtained (flames do not radiate any material quantity of heat, and practically heat by contact only), and secondly the surrounding objects, walls, &c., be heated by radiation, and these in their turn warm the air. In discussing the various methods of warming, it will be convenient to classify them under general heads. To put the reader upon a more familiar basis with this subject, a short explanation of the cause of heat will be here given. Combustion is the chemical union of oxygen (contained in the air) with some other substance for which it has an affinity; as applied to coal, it is the combining of oxygen and carbon producing carbonic acid gas, and it is known to every one that all chemical combinations evolve heat. Combustion may be said to be complete when coke, wood charcoal, or anthracite coal is burnt, as there is no smoke, the up current is colourless, and these fuels burn quite away, leaving nothing except a little ash, &c., which originally consisted of earthy impurities in the fuel. Ordinary coal contains bitumen (pitch) in its composition, which at a temperature of about 500° to 600° F., distils off as a smoky gas (carbon and hydrogen), but at a higher temperature this is ignited, forming flame by the union of oxygen with the smoke (carbon); the main principles of underfed, smoke-consuming grates are based upon this, with the object of causing all gaseous products from the fuel to pass through the incandescent portion of the fire and so render the consumption of the fuel complete, as will be explained later on. A good authority says that “the correct method of warming is to obtain everywhere, at will, the warmth most congenial to the constitution with air as pure as blows at the mountain top,” and it might have been added “without an unreasonable consumption of fuel.” _Open Grate._--The ordinary open grate is too familiar to need any description, but it is wasteful of fuel to a degree that could only be tolerated in a mild climate where fuel was cheap. As a matter of fact, only some 10-12 per cent. of the heat generated in an open grate is utilised, the remainder going up the chimney. But this very fault is in one sense a virtue, in that it performs the ventilation of the apartment in an eminently satisfactory manner. By the addition of a contrivance for regulating the combustion in au open grate, the fuel consumption is much reduced, the combustion is rendered more perfect (diminishing or preventing smoke), the radiated heat is much increased, while the appearance of an open grate is retained, though it is in reality converted into an open stove. It would not be out of place to explain the cause of draught. After a chimney has been used, the brickwork surrounding and forming it becomes warmed and retains its heat for a very considerable period even if no fire is lighted; this heat is slowly radiated, and warms the air contained in the chimney, rendering it lighter and causing it to rise and flow out at the top; this is immediately replaced by cold air from below, which is warmed and rises as before, and so continues, causing an up current of air to be passing through the flue, its swiftness varying with the heat. The more intense the heat produced by the fire, and the greater the height of the chimney, the more swift is the current of air known as the “draught”; and when once the draught is established it will remain for a very long time without any fire being lighted. A good draught is not to be despised, as can be certified by those who have suffered from the annoyance of a smoky chimney; yet too strong a draught is a disadvantage, as consuming the fuel too rapidly, robbing the fire and apartment of its heat, and causing draughts of another kind, which materially cool the room and tend to cause discomfort; this only applies to the old form of grate, as all or nearly all modern grates have a means of regulating the draught; even the common and old form of grate is provided with a “register” or flap at the back, immediately over the fire (certainly not an economical position for it), through which the smoke passes into the chimney. This flap is provided with the view of having it full open to assist combustion when fire is first ignited, and afterwards partially closing it when fire is established, and so prevent undue loss of heat, but although this “register” is provided with every stove of its kind, _it has not, nor never has had, any means of regulating it_. If the reader has one of these stoves in his residence, as most probably he has, for they are still used in the upper rooms of nearly every building, he can by a simple experiment experience the benefit of regulating this flap. By placing a piece of coal, or stone, or metal, with the tongs, after the fire is established, at the joint or hinge of the register, and then drawing the register forward and letting it rest, so that it is closed all but about 1½ in., it will be immediately found that one-fourth or one-third more heat is thrown into the room, for a similar result is brought about as with the modern projecting or overhanging brick backs, which cause the heat to be deflected forwards which would otherwise have passed directly up the chimney. If an existing stove of this description be fitted with a rack adjustment for the register flap and with an “economiser,” an advance of 30 to 40 per cent. in economy and comfort will be experienced, for in the ordinary manner in which these stoves are fitted and used, it can be taken that one-half the heat passes directly up the chimney; a good proportion of the heat radiated is drawn back by the current of air proceeding from the room towards and up the chimney; a proportion is lost by conduction, the heat being passed away to the walls and surrounding parts, and a fair proportion is lost by the smoke, which is really unconsumed fuel; but this form of stove is improving rapidly in various ways, as will be described hereafter. _Open Stove._--This subject has been most ably discussed by Dr. Pridgin Teale, in connection with the economising of fuel in house fires. His remarks will well bear repeating. “It is hardly possible to separate the two questions of economy of fuel and abatement of smoke. None who, in their own person, or as the companion or nurse of friends and relatives, have gone through the miseries of bronchitis or asthma in a dense London fog, can fail to perceive that this is a serious medical, not less than a great economical, question. Nine million tons of coal--one-fourth of the domestic fuel consumption in this kingdom--is what I estimate as a possible reward to the public if they will have the sense, the energy, and the determination to adopt the principles here advocated, and which can be applied for a very small outlay. Much has been said by scientific men about waste of fuel, and strong arguments have been advanced which make it probable that the most economical and smokeless method of using coal is to convert it first of all into gas and coke, and then to deliver it for consumption in this form instead of coal. Theoretically, no doubt, this is the most scientific and most perfect use of fuel, and the day may come when its universal adoption may be possible. But before that time arrives many things must happen. The mode of manufacture, the apparatus on a mighty scale, and the mode of distribution must be developed, nay, almost created, and a revolution must be effected in nearly every fireplace in the kingdom. At present its realisation seems to be in a very remote future. Meantime I ask the public to adopt a method which is the same in principle, and in perfection not so very far short of it. It is nothing, more nor less, than that every fireplace should make its own gas and burn it, and make its own coke and burn it, and this can be done approximately at comparatively little cost, and without falling foul of any patent, or causing serious disturbances of existing fireplaces. We must, first of all, do away with the fallacy that fires won’t burn unless air passes through the bottom or front of the fire. The draught under the fire is what people swear by (aye, and many practical and scientific men too), and most difficult it is to sweep this cobweb away from people’s brains. They provide 2 or 3 times as much air as is needed for combustion, ⅓, perhaps, being the necessary supply of oxygen, the remainder serving to make a draught to blow the fire into a white heat, and to carry no end of waste heat rapidly up the chimney; ⅔ of cold air chilling the fire, ⅔ more than needful of cold air coming into the room to chill it; and much of the smoke and combustible gases hurried unburnt up the chimney. The two views which I am anxious to enforce upon the attention of the public, of builders, of ironmongers, and of inventors, are these: that the open grating under the fire is wrong in principle, defective in heating power, and wasteful of fuel, and that the right principle of burning coal is that no current of air should pass through the bottom of the fire, and that the bottom of the fire should be kept hot. This principle is violated by the plan of closing the slits in the grate by an iron plate resting on the grate, which cuts off the draught, but allows the chamber beneath the fire to become cold, and when cinders reach the plate they become chilled, cease to burn, and the fire becomes dead. The right principle is acted upon by the various grates with fire-brick bottoms, and the English public owes much to the inventor of this principle as carried out in the Abbotsford grates, which have done much to educate the British public in the appreciation of the fact that a fire will burn well with a current of air passing over it, and not through it. But there is a better thing than the solid fire-brick bottom, and that is a chamber underneath the grating, shut in from the outer air by a shield resting on the hearth and rising to the level of the bottom bar of the range. This hot-air chamber, into which fine ash can fall, produces on the whole a brighter and cleaner fire, and one which is more readily revived when low, than the solid fire-brick. There is another mighty advantage in the principle of the ‘economiser’--an unspeakable advantage, it is applicable to almost every existing fireplace, and it need not cost more than 3-4._s_ This idea has now been long on its trial. It has been applied in hundreds of houses. It has been submitted to the very severe test of being applied to an infinite variety of grates, under a great variety of circumstances, and tried with coke, anthracite, and coal, good, bad, and indifferent. The effect has been, in an enormous number of instances, a marked success in saving coal and labour, and in more comfortable uniform warmth to the room. The failures have been very few indeed. I have drawn up 7 rules for the construction of a fireplace, all of which are pronounced to be sound:-- “1. As much fire-brick, and as little iron as possible. “2. The back and sides of the fireplace should be fire-brick. “3. The back of the fireplace should lean or arch over the fire, so as to become heated by the rising flame. “4. The bottom of the fire or grating should be deep from before backwards, probably not less than 9 in. for a small room nor more than 11 in. for a large room. “5. The slits in the grating should be narrow, perhaps ¼ in. wide, for a sitting-room grate, ⅜ in. for a kitchen grate. “6. The bars in front should be narrow. “7. The chamber beneath the fire should be closed in front by a shield or economiser. “There is one caution which should be given. There is no doubt about the fact that immediately beneath the fire the hearthstone is hotter, and the ashes remain much hotter when the ‘economiser’ is used. This may increase the risk of fire whenever wooden beams lie under the fireplace. In any case of doubt, the best plan would be to take up the hearthstone and examine, and relay with safe materials; but should this be impossible, safety may be secured by covering the hearthstone with a sufficient thickness of fire-brick, just within the space enclosed by the ‘economiser’--leaving a space of 2 or more in. between the fire-brick hearth and the bottom of the fire. In lighting the fire, if there be no cinders on which to build the fire, it is well to draw away the ‘economiser’ for a short time until the fire has got hold; but, if there be cinders left from the previous day, on the top of which the paper and wood can be placed, then the fire may be lighted with the ‘economizer’ in its place. There is a great art in mending a fire. It is wasteful to throw lumps of coal higgledy-piggledy on the fire. The red embers should be first broken up so as to make a level surface, then pieces of coal should be laid flat on the fire and fitted in almost like pavement; lastly, if the fire is intended to burn slowly and last very long, small coal should be laid on the top. An ‘economised’ fire so made will, in a short time, heat the coal through, and give off gases, which will ignite and burn brightly on the surface of the black mass, and when the gases are burnt off there is a large surface of red-hot coke.” [Illustration: 30. Kitchen Economiser. 31. Bedroom Economiser.] The annexed illustrations show the application of the economiser. Fig. 30 is a kitchen range, _a_ being the economiser and _b_ the front damper. The latter should always be used in warm weather, unless the front of the fire is needed for roasting and should be put on at night. Fig. 31 is a bedroom fireplace having fire-brick sides _a_, fire-brick back _b_ leaning over the fire, narrow front bars _c_ movable, grating _d_ with narrow slits, chamber under the fire closed by economiser _e_, and front damper _f_ which can close the lower ⅔ of the front of the fire at night or when a slow fire is needed. The “economiser” is a shield of sheet iron which stands on the hearth, and rises as high as the lowest bar of the grate, against which it should fit accurately, so as to shut in the space or chamber under the fire. If the front of the range be curved or angular, as in most register stoves, the economiser will stand, owing to its shape--but if the front be straight, the economiser needs supports such as are shown. “Ordinary economisers” are made of 16-gauge charcoal iron plate, with ⅜ in. bright steel moulding at the top, ½ in. moulding at the bottom, and 1 or 2 knobs as required. “Kitchen economisers” are made of 16-gauge iron, with ½ in. semicircle iron at the top edge; and with supports in scroll form of ½ in. semicircle iron. Some makers use rather thinner iron plate and give strength by the mouldings. Some have used too thin plates, little better than tin, which have warped and so become more or less useless. Great care should be spent in taking the dimensions--as every grate has to be measured--as a foot for a boot. This renders it almost impossible to send orders to a maker by post. Some skilled person must take the measure, and take it accurately. The dimensions to be taken are: firstly, the outline of the bottom bar of the grate. If it be curved, or angular, the outline can be well taken by a piece of leaden gas-pipe, which, moulded to the outline can then be traced upon paper or carried carefully away to the makers; secondly, the height must be measured from the hearthstone to the bottom bar. This is the “economiser” in its simplest and cheapest form, as applicable to nearly every ordinary range. Ornament can be added to taste. It is obvious that the adaptation of the economiser need not displace the old-fashioned ash-pan, and that the two can be combined, or that the economiser may be made like a drawer and catch the ashes. All such variations will work well, provided that the main principles be adhered to of “cutting off the under current,” and “keeping the chamber under the fire hot.” But the simplest form is the best. [Illustration: 32. Some Modern Open Grates.] Fig. 32 illustrates a few typical specimens of modern improved open grates devised to increase the radiation of heat and perfect the combustion of the fuel: A is a combination of Parson’s grate and economiser with a Milner back; B is Nelson and Sons’ “rifle” back; C is a Galton back; D, Jaffrey’s grate. “The Manchester Warming and Ventilating Grate” (E. H. Shorland, St. Gabriel’s Works, Manchester) is somewhat similar in principle to Captain Galton’s grate, i.e. the warm fresh-air inlet is at the ceiling, and the vitiated air is carried off by the chimney, or in some instances ventilation at a lower part of the room is provided. Fig. 33 will acquaint the reader with the details: _a_, fireplace; _b_, outer wall; _c_, inner wall; _d_, smoke flue; _e_, _f_, cold-air inlets; _g_, _h_, warm-air passages; _i_, inlet for cold or warm air into room. [Illustration: 33. Shorland’s Manchester Warm-air Grate Back.] The shape of the back brick advocated by Dr. Teale (first invented by the celebrated Count Romford, to whom much is owing for the various means undertaken by him to promote the consideration of the question of improving our fire-grates and to abate the smoke nuisance) has since its discovery met with universal favour, and is coming into general use by all makers, as the expense of the stove is scarcely increased and its result in use is a most decided improvement. The actual shape or section of this brick varies with the different stove makers, but the result is the same; the brick is made to slope forward from the bottom up to about 15 or 16 in. high; at that height the top of the brick overhangs the bottom by about 5 to 6 in.; its section is appropriately defined by a maker, who likens it to a “dog’s hind leg.” Some makers shape the brick like a curved scallop-shell, inclining forward at the top; the effect is that as the heat ascends from the fire, it strikes or comes in contact with the projecting part, and rebounds or is deflected into the room; it is a similar action to that which takes place if an object, say a ball, is thrown upon a wall and comes in contact with a similar projection--it would bound off or be deflected. It would be impossible to describe all the existing improvements upon the ordinary or old form of open-fire stove (commonly known as a “register grate”), but the following are some that are tolerably well known and have a good share of favour. “The Abbotsford Slow-combustion Grate” (Mappin and Webb, Cheapside, London), which has now been used some years, was about the first recognised form of stove that had the bottom closed, so that the supply of air for combustion is carried through the front only. This is a great improvement (as explained by the economiser), by lessening the consumption of fuel without decreasing the efficiency or its heat-giving properties. The bottom of the fireplace is a solid fire-brick slab, and the chief property of this stove is truly named “slow combustion.” Many people have tried to apply this advantage to existing stoves by having a piece of iron cut to lie _upon_ the bottom grate; but iron is too rapid a conductor, and failure is experienced by having the lower part of the fire dull and dead. It cannot, however, be said that a solid bottom is the best, for it permits of accumulation of ash, and it is slow lighting. [Illustration: 34. Wharncliffe Grate.] “The Wharncliffe Patent Warming and Ventilating Grate” (Steel and Garland, 18 Charterhouse Street, London, E.C.) Fig. 34, is an excellent form of grate, and is fixed back against the wall, wholly projecting into the room, an air-chamber surrounding the fire-box; this air-chamber is, whenever convenient, connected with the outer air by means of a pipe, and within the chamber gills or ribs are provided, attached to the fire-box (the principle and advantages of these gills or ribs, which are to increase the heat-giving surface and to prevent over-heating of air, will be explained under Gill stoves). When the fire is established, the metal of the fire-box becomes heated, which then heats the air contained in the air-chamber, rendering it lighter, whereupon it rises and flows out into the room through the perforations provided in the pattern of the ironwork; cold air immediately flows in to take its place, which is then heated, and passes out, so that as its name implies it is a ventilating as well as warming grate, and has the further advantage of the cheerful open radiating fire; but it must be remembered that with ventilating stoves there must be provision made for the removal of vitiated air, which in this case is taken up the chimney along with the products of combustion. Another improved form of warming and ventilating grate is that invented by and named after Captain Douglas Galton (makers, Yates, Hayward & Co., Upper Thames Street, London). The principle advocated in this instance is contrary to that generally adopted, insomuch that the warmed fresh air is admitted into the room near the ceiling, and the abstraction of vitiated air is performed through the grate by the chimney draught. This is an open-fire grate fitted within a mantel in the usual way, and is provided with an air-chamber at the back, and which is connected with the outer air as before explained. From this air-chamber a perpendicular shaft or flue is carried, terminating by being turned into the room with an inlet grating or louvre. As before explained, the air within the air-chamber is warmed, and rises and passes into the room close to the ceiling; from there it is drawn down towards the fire, and eventually passes up the chimney, so that there is always a current of warm fresh air from the ceiling downwards. There are as many advocates for this down-current system as for the up current, as in the Wharncliffe and others. The Captain Galton has had about 14 years’ trial, and is still largely used. A rather peculiar and advantageous action takes place, by the fact that the apartment becomes fully charged with fresh air and the supply for combustion and draught is not drawn from the crevices beneath doors, &c., so that when a door is opened no inrush of cold air is experienced. This and the Manchester grate can most conveniently be used for warming another apartment also from the same fire. [Illustration: 35. Nautilus Grate. 36. Nautilus Grate.] “The Nautilus Grate” (Jas. B. Petter & Co., Yeovil), Figs. 35 and 36, is, as the name signifies, shell-shaped. The products of combustion rise from the fire, and after revolving within the centre or axis pass off by two concealed flues at the back of the grate to a flue prepared in the back of the fireplace; the ashes fall through a small grating into a closed ash pan. The warmth radiated direct from the cheerful open fire and indirectly from the outer case is considerable, and the results are very satisfactory, as no heat is lost by conduction. This grate is also cleanly, economical, and portable. The back, cheeks, and hearth should be tiled; the extra expense is fully compensated for by the handsome appearance. [Illustration: 37. Eagle Convertible Grate.] The “Ingle Nook,” Wright’s Patent (GEORGE WRIGHT & SONS, 113 Queen Victoria Street, E.C.), Fig. 38, is a combination of all the most recent improvements, with two new features never before introduced into this class of grate, viz. the regulation of draught by means of an ordinary damper, and the complete independence of the actual working part of the stove, so that it may be removed at any time for repairs without disturbing the outer casing or brickwork. _Special features and advantages_. [Illustration: 38. PLAN THROUGH LINE C.D. SECTION THROUGH LINE A.B.] Radiation and complete utilisation of the heat generated from all parts of the grate, as not only the heat given off from front of fire, but also all heat radiated from sides and back of grate, which is usually absorbed in brickwork, is here passed into warm-air chambers and thence into the room. Economy of fuel, with increase of heating power. Prevention of down-draught, and partial consumption of smoke. Simplicity of construction and fixing, so that easy access is afforded to all parts of the grate, more especially those likely to want renewing. Pleasing appearance of the ordinary open fire, with heating power of a warm-air stove. This stove being complete in itself can be fixed by any ordinary workman without removing the mantel-piece or in any way interfering with the decorations of the room. The whole construction and principle of the grate are so simple that they can be readily understood by reference to the plan and section annexed. The interior portion of fire-box is of fire-brick, and can readily be removed from the front without disturbing any other portion of the grate. The back leans forward, deflecting the radiant heat into the room, and contracts the throat of the flue so as to quicken the draught directly the fire is lighted, which flue then expands and is again contracted at the top by means of the damper. Less than half the quantity of fuel is required to warm any given space, and more than double the quantity of heat is given off than from an ordinary grate with the usual supply of fuel. By introducing a fresh-air flue where practicable the perfection of ventilation may be obtained. The cost does not greatly exceed that of an ordinary grate, and is very much below that of any other grate of this description at present in the market. _See advertisement in front of title page._ “The Rumford-Teale Grate” (made by Verity Bros., 98 High Holborn, London), is made nearly wholly of fire-brick, upon strictly scientific principles, as the name indicates. There is very little iron in its construction, the front being a steel wire trellis instead of bars; this permits free radiation from the front and reduces loss by conduction. This front, apparently fragile, lasts for a considerable time (4 or 5 years), and is easily replaced by any one at an extremely small cost. An improvement upon the Rumford-Teale grate is the “Eclat,” by the same makers, shown in elevation and section in Fig. 39. Its distinguishing features are a double flue (one for quick and the other for slow draught), and the projection of the fire in advance of the chimney breast. The figure shows: A, damper for regulating combustion; B, perforated fire-clay back; C, tiles to taste; D, economiser; E, ashpit; F, chimney breast; G, frieze; H, removable bottom grate with fine mesh; J, valve for regulating combustion. There are several forms of combined open- and close-fire stoves, which stand independent of any brickwork, and are generally known as “American stoves.” These stoves are good heat givers, ornamental, and have several advantages, and can be obtained at almost any hardware stores; they do not work upon strictly hygienic principles, as they are apt to get overheated when closed, and render the air unpleasantly dry; but this can be remedied to some extent by using a vaporising pan, as will be explained later on. [Illustration: 39. Éclat Grate. Éclat Grate.] There is another form of open-fire grate that should be mentioned, viz. those that have the fire replenished by placing the fresh fuel underneath, and are known as underfed smokeless grates. This idea, which deserves high commendation, has been rendered practical, but cannot be said to be perfected yet. It originated in Dr. Arnott’s stove, which was made with the usual set of front bars fixed about 12 in. high from the hearth, and the space under the bars closed in front. The bottom of the fire, which is movable, is lowered down to the hearth and the space filled with coal: the fire is laid, and ignited on the top of this store of fuel. As the fire burns down, the bottom grating is raised by means of a lever bringing fresh fuel within the fire-basket, and this bottom is raised as often as the fire burns down; it will be seen that the gaseous products given off by the fresh fuel must pass through the incandescent fire, and so be perfectly consumed, and the space below the front bars is sufficiently large to hold fuel for one day’s consumption. “The Kensington Smoke-consuming Grate” (Brown and Green, Finsbury Pavement, London) is an underfed grate, and has received high commendation from good authorities; it has not the complication of Dr. Arnott’s, and is of good appearance, being fixed in a similar manner to any ordinary grate. “Hollands’ Patent Underfed Grate” (Hollands & Co., Stoke Newington) is a still further improvement, and, except for a little complication in construction, may be considered the best in action and results. The advantages of underfed grates are, firstly, an abatement of the smoke nuisance, full utilisation of the fuel, and more powerful radiation from the top of fire, which is always incandescent. There is commonly no provision made for the supply of air for combustion, nor to replace that which is taken from the apartment by the draught in the chimney--the cracks and fissures around doors and windows sufficing for this purpose, is the too commonly general idea; but for perfection in warming upon hygienic principles, there must be a proper supply from external sources; but this will be more fully treated under Ventilation; it will, however, be noticed that some of the ventilating stoves make provision for this in themselves; this particularly applies to Captain Galton’s principle. _Close-Fire stoves._--The old form of close-fire warming and ventilating stove is that known as the “Cockle.” It consists of a closed circular fire-box with a dome top and a similar shaped outer casing; between the fire-box and the casing is a space of a few inches all round, known as the air-chamber, which by means of a pipe is connected with the outer air. The action is similar to a flue; the air within the air-chamber, being in contact with the heated surface of the fire-box is warmed, and rises and flows out at the top through an aperture provided at the top (as explained with the Wharncliffe grate), or it is made with a nozzle at top to attach a pipe and carry the warm air wherever required, so making it a hot-air furnace, in which case it would be fixed in a basement or cellar as at the best it is not ornamental, but this primitive form of stove has gone somewhat into disuse. [Illustration: 40. Thames Bank Iron Co.’s Stove.] Where a continual genial warmth is required at little cost in an apartment, the slow-combustion stove, such as that made by the Thames Bank Iron Company, London, (Fig. 40), may be employed. The external air is drawn in by a smoke-pipe channel and impelled through orifices in the stove. The smoke can be made to pass out at any level in the stove that may be found most convenient, but unless there is a high chimney shaft 25 to 30 ft., an underground flue connection is not recommended. The fuel, consisting of coke or cinders broken small, is supplied at the top, the ashes or cinders being removed through a sliding door at the base; a special soot-door is provided for clearing the flue before lighting the fire. This appears an appropriate moment to mention that additional results can be obtained from close-fire stoves, by carrying the smoke flue down, and just below the floor level, in a properly made channel, and covered by a grating, as with hot-water pipes. It is known that a good proportion of the heat must be carried away by the flue, so that by this means nearly the whole of the heat evolved by combustion can be utilised; but it is necessary to bear in mind that the Building Act prescribes that no hot-air or smoke-pipe shall be nearer than 9 in. from any woodwork or inflammable material, and it is necessary that the main flue be high, as a good draught is needed to withdraw this nearly cold smoke or vapour, and in many instances where the under-floor horizontal flue is of good length, a pilot stove or rarifier is necessary at the foot of the main up-flue to keep up the draught, but in most cases the rarifier is only needed at first lighting. This arrangement is rarely applicable in dwelling-houses. Improved forms of close-fire stoves are as multitudinous as improvements in open-fire grates; they are made either wholly closed, generally called “slow-combustion stoves,” and are arranged to burn many hours without feeding; or, as convertible open and closed; the latter have the advantage of the cheerful radiating fire when open. “The Tortoise Slow-combustion Stove” (makers, Portway and Son, Halstead, Essex) is finding a ready sale and considerable favour, as maybe judged by the fact of its being obtainable at nearly any ironmonger’s. This stove, as with the majority of slow-combustion stoves, consists of an ornamental outer casing (cylindrical, square, or hexagonal), the height being about 2½ times the diameter; this casing is lined with fire-brick, and constitutes the fire-box; there is an ash-box and door below, in which is fitted a ventilator or damper to regulate the draught and speed of combustion. The fuel is supplied through a door provided at the top, and the smoke outlet is also placed near the top. In use, the fire-box is filled with coke and cinders, and the draught is regulated by the ventilator; it will then burn, and heat an apartment for many hours without attention. It is a very useful form of stove for greenhouses (in which case it would be fitted with a vaporising pan), halls, offices, &c., but hardly suited for living-rooms; the fire-brick lining tempers the heat, but if in use where children or dresses would come in contact, a guard must be provided. Slow-combustion stoves are made in a variety of forms, and the effect is very pleasing when externally fitted with tiled panels, &c. For slow-combustion stoves that are required to burn for a longer than usual period without attention a chamber or hopper is fitted on top to take a further charge of fuel; it is taper-sided and open at the bottom, very much like an inverted pail, but about 2½ ft. high. It will be readily understood that as the coke is consumed, the upper supply gradually sinks down until the whole is consumed; this would utterly fail with a fuel that cakes, such as soft or bituminous coal. [Illustration: 41. Musgrave’s Stove.] “Musgrave’s Patent Warming and Ventilating Stove,” Fig. 41 (Musgrave & Co., Limited, 97 New Bond Street, London), is made upon the slow-combustion principle, to burn from 8 to 24 hours, but is much more highly finished than the last named, and is constructed in so many patterns and sizes as to be suitable for almost every purpose, from small dwellings to the largest buildings. The stove consists of an outer casing, within which is contained the fire-box and an air-chamber. The latter is provided with gills to increase the heating surface (see Gill stoves). The smoke and heat when leaving the top of the fire-box is carried down a flue-way to the bottom of the stove, and then up to the top again into the smoke-pipe; this flue-way is within the air-chamber, and so utilises the major portion of the heat passed into the flue; the fuel to be used is coke, which is the most suitable fuel for all slow-combustion stoves. For conservatories or where the air requires moistening these stoves are very neatly and effectually fitted with vaporising pans; and these stoves are also made to act as hot-air furnaces, and in combination with hot-water-pipe heating apparatus. Roberts’ patent terra-cotta stoves operate also by slow combustion and are self-acting, but possess the additional advantage of purifying and radiating the heat by the terra-cotta, which is contained between 2 concentric cylinders of sheet iron united at the base and top, the outer cylinder being perforated to allow of direct radiation of heat from the terra-cotta. The stove consists of 4 separate parts, namely, the stove body, its top or cover, the fire-box, which can be lifted in and out, and the stand, with draw and damper. The fire is lighted at the top and burns downwards, the air sustaining it being drawn upwards through the bottom of the fire-box and thence through the fuel. The stove can be placed in any position on an iron or stone base and connected with the nearest chimney flue by an iron pipe provided with soot-door elbows, care being taken to form a complete connection by abandoning any other open fire-grate in the room and screening it off by an iron or zinc plate. They emit no effluvium, as the terra-cotta gradually and completely absorbs all the caloric in its permeation through the shell before it is communicated to the outer air, which is thus warmed and diffused in a healthy condition over the room. The top of the stove is movable, so that the fire-box can be removed to be cleaned and recharged without moving the stove body, and a sand groove is inserted at the top where the cover rests, which is filled with fine dry sand to prevent any escape of smoke. Close-fire stoves, consisting of a strong iron fire-box, on to the outside of which is cast a series of vertical, parallel plates or ribs, are known as “Gill” stoves, as the plates or ribs referred to somewhat resemble the gills of a fish. These stoves are provided with a door for replenishing the fire, with ash-pan and ventilator below, and the iron base upon which the stove stands is made hollow, and has a series of holes or perforations opening between the gills, and provision is made for connecting the base with the outer air whenever convenient. It must now be explained that the object of the gills is to extend the heat-giving surface of the stove. It is known that iron is a very rapid conductor of heat, and consequently when the iron of the fire-box becomes heated, the heat is as quickly transferred to and felt at the extremities of the gills. It will be readily understood that only a certain amount of heat is given off by the fire, and the greater amount of metal it is transferred to, the lower must be its temperature; this is the chief and real advantage, as instead of a small volume of air being heated to a very high temperature, off a plane surface that would possibly get red hot, there is a larger volume of air at a lower temperature, and this has the further decided advantage that the air does not become unpleasantly dry, and the particles of dust, &c., in the air do not get scorched and burnt, and cause the unpleasantness commonly known as “burning the air.” A further advantage possessed by these stoves is that they are not so much a source of danger, as the size of the gills is so proportioned to the size of the fire-box, that in ordinary use they cannot become excessively hot, and this is especially desirable where children or ladies’ dresses, &c., might come in contact. These stoves can be obtained at any ironmonger’s or stove maker’s. A good form is that made by the London Warming and Ventilating Co., 14 Great Winchester Street, London, and is called the “Gurney” stove (Fig. 42). This is circular or cylindrical in form, with a dome top, and the gills, which are perpendicular, extend around the stove. A novel feature with this stove is that it is provided with a water-pan or trough carried round the base of the gills; when this pan is charged, the lower ends of the gills are immersed, and the heat that is conducted there causes the water to slowly evaporate. The advantage of a vaporising pan is this: before being warmed by an ordinary stove, fresh air holds a certain and proper amount of moisture, but as it becomes heated by such a stove the temperature is raised without proportionately increasing the moisture, and this is apt to make it unpleasantly dry, particularly to those suffering from asthma or any bronchial affection. The reverse is the case when the air becomes heated naturally (except when the wind is in the east); the proper proportion of moisture increases as the temperature rises; for instance, the atmosphere at 80° F. would contain about four times as much moisture as when at 32° F. The principle of the Gurney stove is such that the _natural_ degree of moisture is always maintained in the heated air. The greater proportion of modern close fire-stoves and furnaces have gills applied in some form or other. It might be mentioned that 13 Gurney stoves have effectually coped with the problem “How to heat St. Paul’s.” [Illustration: 42. Gurney Stove. 43. Convoluted Stove.] Another good form is “Constantine’s Convoluted Stove” (J. Constantine and Son, 23 Oxford Street, Manchester), Fig. 43. Instead of solid gills, there are a series of perpendicular convolutions which double the heating surface, and the makers’ claim to greater efficiency is no doubt correct. This stove, however, should be classed with hot-air furnaces, as it is not made in small sizes for direct heating; but for warming large buildings, churches, &c., for heating laundry drying-rooms, Turkish baths, &c., it is to be highly recommended. The German principle, which might advantageously be adopted to a greater extent in England, is to build a fire-brick structure with the furnace at the base and the flue winding from side to side 3 or 4 times, and terminating at the top into an ordinary brick chimney; this structure projects into the apartment and is covered with porcelain ware, and the appearance often exhibits great taste and skill, as it will be understood that the structure is not rigidly square, but is often very beautiful from an architectural point of view. The good effect experienced is that after 3 or 4 hours’ firing, the mass of brickwork becomes thoroughly heated and the fire is permitted to go out; communication with the chimney is stopped by means of a damper, and every confidence can then be placed in the stove giving out abundance of warmth for the remainder of the day, as the brickwork takes hours to become moderately cool, and the whole of the heat it contains must be diffused into the apartment. It will be noticed that a minimum of heat is lost by this arrangement, and the result is very satisfactory from an economical standing; but it has not the cheerful appearance of our open fires, and efficient ventilation is required. This plan can, however, be satisfactorily adopted for halls or cold situations; in the former it has the further advantage in most instances of warming the stairways and landings in the upper part of the house by the ascension of the heated air. Fire-brick stoves are made by Doulton & Co., Lambeth, London, and are finished in their majolica and Doulton ware; it is needless to add, these wares give the stoves a very handsome appearance. _Hot-air Furnace._--The close stove is really a hot-air furnace, but it is restricted to heating the air in the room. Other hot-air furnaces are designed to obtain a supply of fresh air and heat it before passing it into the room. The heated air from a fireplace is available to the apartment for only about 12 per cent. of the total amount of heat produced; all the rest passes up the chimney. The close stove, on the contrary, utilises 85-90 per cent. of the heat produced, and loses through the smoke-pipe only about as much as the open fireplace saves--10-15 per cent. And herein lies the striking difference between the relative healthiness of the atmosphere heated by a close stove and an open fireplace. The amount of air which hourly passes through a close stove, heated with a brisk fire, is, on an average, equal to only about 1/10 the capacity of the room warmed, and consequently such stove requires, if unaided, 10 hours to effect a change of the atmosphere in every such apartment. Thus stagnant and heated, the air becomes filled with the impurities of respiration and cutaneous transpiration. Moisture, too, is an important consideration. The atmosphere, whether within doors or without, can only contain a certain proportion of moisture to each cub. ft., and no more, according to temperature. At 80° F. it is capable of containing 5 times as much as at 32° F. Hence, an atmosphere at 32° F., with its requisite supply of moisture, introduced into a confined space and heated up to 80° F., has its capacity for moisture so increased as to dry and wither everything with which it comes in contact; furniture cracks and warps, seams open in the moulding, wainscoting, and doors; plants die; ophthalmia, catarrh, and bronchitis are common family complaints, and consumption is not infrequent. But this condition of house air is not peculiar to stove-heat. It is equally true of any overheated and confined atmosphere. The chief difference is, that warming the air by means of a close stove is more quickly accomplished and more easily kept up than by any other means. Sometimes, by the scorching of dust afloat in the atmosphere, an unpleasant odour is evolved which is erroneously supposed to be a special indication of impurity, caused by the burning air. It is an indication of excessive heat of the stove. But the air cannot be said to burn in any true sense of the word, for it continues to possess its due proportion of elementary constituents. Such is the close stove and its dangers, under the most unfavourable circumstances. The essentials for healthy stove-heat are brick-lined fire-chamber, ventilating or exhaust-flue for foul air, means for supplying moisture, and provision for fresh-air supply. A brick lining is requisite for the double purpose of preventing overheating, and for retaining heat in the stove. For the supply of moisture the means are simple and easy of control, but often inadequate. An efficient foul-air shaft may be fitted to the commonest of close stoves by simply enclosing the smoke-pipe in a jacket--that is, in a pipe of 2 or 3 in. greater diameter. This should be braced round the smoke-pipe, and left open at the end next the stove. At its entry into the chimney, or in its passage through the roof of a car, as the case may be, a perforated collar should separate it from the smoke-pipe. For stoves with a short horizontal smoke-pipe, passing through a fire-board, the latter should always be raised about 3 in. from the floor. A smoke-pipe thus jacketed, or fire-board so raised at the bottom, affords ample provision for the escape of foul air. Hot-air furnaces are simply enclosed stoves placed outside the apartments to be warmed, and usually in cellars or basements of the buildings in which they are used. The manner of warming is virtually the same as by indirect steam heat--by the passage of air over the surface of the heated furnace or steam-heated pipes, as the case may be, through flues or pipes provided with registers. The most essential condition of satisfactory warming by a hot-air furnace is a good chimney-draught, which should always be stronger than that of the hot-air pipes through which the warmed air is conveyed into the rooms, and this can be measured by the force with which it passes through the registers. A chimney-draught thus regulated effectively removes all emanations; for, if the chimney-draught exceeds that of the hot-air pipes, all the gaseous emanations from the inside of the furnace, and if it have crevices, or is of cast iron and overheated, all around it on the outside will be drawn into the chimney. Closely connected with this requirement for the chimney-draught is the regulating apparatus for governing the combustion of fuel--the draught of the furnace. This should all be below the grate; there should be no dampers in the smoke-pipe or chimney, and all joints below and about the grate should be air-tight. The fire-pot should be lined with brick and entirely within the surface, but separate from it, so that the fresh air to be warmed cannot come in contact with the fuel-chamber. An excellent plan for economising a good portion of the waste heat from a kitchen range is to have (previous to the range being fixed, or after, in some instances) a sheet-iron box or chamber made to fit at the back of the oven flues or wherever the most intense heat is felt. This box, which we may call an air-chamber, should be connected with the outer air, and a pipe for the warm air carried from the top of the box to the part where warmth is required; the heat from the range warms the air in the box and it ascends in exactly the same manner and upon the same principle as a hot-air furnace, but great care must be exercised to see that this box and all connections are made air-tight, or this plan will prove an unusually speedy means of indicating what is being cooked for dinner. The Americans adopt what is called the “drum” principle of heating by means of a furnace; they not only encase the stove with an air-chamber, but the smoke-pipe is surrounded with a larger pipe encasing it all the way up; the space between the smoke-pipe and the outer pipe is thus an air-chamber and has free connection with the furnace air-chamber, but of course is closed at top; from the chamber surrounding the smoke-pipe, branch pipes are taken to the apartments, terminating in perforated cylindrical “drums,” from which the heated air is emitted. It should go without saying that the air which passes from furnaces into living-rooms should always be taken from out of doors, and be conveyed in perfectly clean air-tight shafts to and around the base of the furnace. Preferably, the inlet of the shaft, or cold-air box, should be carried down and curved at a level (of its upper surface) with the bottom, and full width of the furnace. Thus applied, the air is equally distributed for warming and ascent through the hot-air pipes to the apartments to be warmed. On the outside the cold-air shaft should be turned up several feet from the surface of the ground, and its mouth protected from dust by an air-strainer. A simple but effectual way is to cover the mouth with wire cloth, and over this to lay a piece of loose cotton wadding. This may be kept in place with a weight made of a few crossings of heavy wire, and it should be changed every few months. And here, too, outside the house, should be placed the diaphragm for regulating the amount of cold-air supply, and not, as commonly, in the cellar. As the best means of regulating the temperature and purity of the atmosphere from hot-air furnaces, it is necessary to provide sufficiently large channels for both the inlet of fresh air and its distribution through the hot-air pipes. The area of the smallest part of the inlet (or inlets, for it is sometimes better to have more than one) should be about ⅙ sq. ft. for every lb. of coal estimated to be burnt hourly in cold weather; and to prevent, in a measure, the inconvenience of one hot-air pipe drawing from another, the collective area of the hot-air pipes should not be more than ⅙ greater than the area of the cold-air inlet. These proportions will admit the hot air at a temperature of about 120° F. when at zero outside, and the velocity through the register will not exceed 5 ft. per second. A large heating surface of the furnace is a well-recognised condition of both economy and efficiency. As a rule, there should be 10 sq. ft. of heating surface to every lb. of coal consumed per hour, when in active combustion; and the grate area should be about 1/50 of that of the heating surface. For the deficiency of heat, or the failure of some of the hot-air pipes of hot-air furnaces in certain winds and weathers in large houses or specially exposed rooms, the best addendum is an open fire-grate. With this provision in northerly rooms, to be used occasionally, hot-air furnaces may be made to produce all the advantages of steam heat in even the largest dwelling-houses. [Illustration: 44. Boyle’s Warm-air Stove.] Boyle’s system of warming fresh air is suitable where hot air, water, or steam pipes are not available. The arrangement (Fig. 44) consists of a copper or iron pipe _a_ about 1½ in. diam. placed in an inlet tube _b_, preferably of the form of a bracket. This pipe is not vertical, as in the so-called Tobin’s shafts, but of zigzag shape, crossing and recrossing the tube from top to bottom, and so causing the incoming air to repeatedly impinge in its passage through the tube. At the bottom of the tube an air-tight chamber, so far as the interior of the tube is concerned, is fixed, in which a Bunsen gas-burner _c_ is placed, the flame of which plays up into one of the lower ends of the pipe, the upper portion being about 5 ft. 9 in. from the floor. The other lower end of the pipe either dips into a condensation box _d_ in the bottom of the tube or is continued into an existing flue or extraction shaft. If the pipe terminates in a box, the vapour is condensed there and carried off through the outside wall by means of a small pipe. At the bottom of the box is placed some loose charcoal, which needs renewing at intervals. This charcoal absorbs any products of combustion which have a tendency to rise. The heat thus passes through the entire length of the pipe, and warms the air as it travels through the tube to the room or hall as required. Heating by gas is now growing in favour, and under favourable circumstances is to be recommended. There are two general methods adopted; firstly, by gas fires, which are asbestos or metal made incandescent by gas heat; these are made either portable, or by fitting a specially made burner to an existing fireplace, and filling the grate with Lumb asbestos (which is made for the purpose, and when heated has the appearance of glowing coals); and secondly, by gas stoves acting upon a similar principle to a hot-air coal stove. The former are now made in great variety; they chiefly take the form of an ornamental iron frame, in the centre of which is fitted a fire-brick thickly imbedded in front with asbestos fibre; the burner beneath comes immediately under the front of the fire-brick, and when the gas is ignited, the asbestos at once becomes incandescent, making it of cheerful and fire-like appearance, and the fire-brick in a few minutes becomes highly heated, radiating its warmth into the room. This description of stove and also the burner for existing fireplaces can be obtained at any ironmongers or gas-fitters. In nearly all gas fires and stoves the gas is burnt with an admixture of air (atmospheric gas, 1 of gas and 2 of air), by means of an atmospheric burner; this is not only a source of economy, but atmospheric gas has the very great advantage of being smokeless; but for this, a gas fire would be an impossibility; it must, however, be borne in mind that although smokeless this gas gives off products of combustion (carbonic acid, watery vapour, &c.), which must be carried away by a flue or other means. The portable stoves are always provided with a nozzle for attaching a smoke-pipe. There is still a doubt as to which is most economical, coal or gas: we cannot do better than quote the words of a well-known gas-stove maker, Chas. Wilson, of Leeds. He says, speaking of heating by gas: “It is not cheaper than coal, taking fuel for fuel and continually used, unless, as in the case of offices where labour has to be employed to light fires, clean grates, &c.; but it is cheaper than coal if occasionally used, as in the case of bedrooms, or sitting-rooms used by visitors, or rooms used by children for music, &c.; for bedrooms it is especially adapted for use for an hour or two at night or in the morning or for giving an unvarying heat all night. It is preferable in the matter of cleanliness, and a true solution of the smoke-abatement problem” (probably a coal-stove manufacturer would speak as much in favour of fire-grates). It should be seen when purchasing gas fires that they have silent burners, as some make an objectionable hissing noise when in use. [Illustration: 45. Calorigen Stove.] “The Calorigen” Gas Hot-air Stove, Fig. 45 (Farwig & Co., 36 Queen Street, Cheapside, London), consists of an outer sheet-iron casing with a burner at the base inside, and proper accommodation for exit of products of combustion. A coil of good-sized sheet-iron pipe is affixed within the stove; the lower end of the coil is connected with the outer air and the upper end opens into the apartment, thus producing a free inflow of fresh air at any temperature desired, from 60° to 200° F. or higher at will. The chief advantage of a gas stove is the immediate lighting and extinguishing, and needing no attention. Another modern and very useful application of gas as a heating medium is the “Geyser” or rapid water heater for the supply of hot or boiling water to baths, lavatories, &c., or for business purposes where it is not convenient or desirable to fit up a circulating boiler (see hot-water apparatus). These heaters can be obtained from any ironmonger’s or gasfitter’s. The principle is somewhat different in the various makes, but it all results in the same thing, which is to bring a small volume of water in contact with a large heating surface. The apparatus is generally cylindrical in form. A cock is at one side for attaching the cold supply, and the heated water flows out from a spout at the other side; there is also a cock for attaching the gas supply; they are made in various sizes to supply and fill a bath three parts full of water at 100° F. in 5, 10 or 15 minutes, or to boil water at the rate of ½, 1 or 2 gal. per minute. These are extremely useful appliances where gas is available, being ready for use at a moment’s notice, and the water can be had at any temperature at will; with a modern and properly constructed “Geyser” the water is quite suitable for drinking purposes. The Marsh-Greenall Gas Heating Stove, Fig. 46 (makers, Greenall and Company, 120 Portland Street, Manchester), is both regenerative and radiating, the heat developed and utilised per foot of gas by this system being far greater than by the ordinary atmospheric stoves. Ordinary luminous flames are used, these being fed by superheated air. There is no smell and no danger “of lighting back.” The great heat obtained by this system is radiated from a polished reflector. The consumption of gas is only 12 ft. per hour. See Gas Heating also, p. 994. [Illustration: 46. Marsh-Greenall Gas Stove. 47. Eureka Oil Stove.] _Oil Stoves._--Warming stoves which burn oil fuel are to be commended for many purposes, but are not generally considered suitable for living rooms--bedrooms, for instance--unless the air is continually changed by open doors, &c., as there is a noticeable odour from the burning oil. Rippengille’s are considered the best, and are obtainable at almost any oil, lamp, or ironmonger’s store, or at the chief retail agents, the Holborn Lamp Co., 118 Holborn, London. Fig. 47 is their “Eureka” cheerful reflector stove, suitable for office or shop use. These stoves are adapted for warming conservatories where a high temperature is not required, as a very small stove will suffice to keep the frost out; they are also suitable for servants’ bedrooms and attics where no fireplaces exist. They are made with metal (unbreakable) oil containers, which slide out for lighting, trimming, &c., and they burn the ordinary petroleum oil; it naturally follows that the better and more refined oils give the best results with these stoves, with less liability of smell. _Flues._--It will not be out of place to give a short treatise upon flues, as the flues in a residence govern the efficiency of the stoves and the comfort of the whole household. There is a common error in blaming the flue for all faults. It can be asserted that half the smoky chimneys are in no way the fault of the flue at all, and when a smoky chimney does exist, nearly every one flies to the chimney top with some device to govern the wind, and this in very many cases is a total failure. Flues are now generally constructed of two sizes, 9 in. and 14 in. A 7 in. flue would be sufficient for most warming stoves, but it has to be borne in mind that the accumulation of soot quickly diminishes the size internally, so that they are now never built less than 9 in. internal diameter. In building a residence, the following plan is often adopted when cheapness is not the primary object, that is, to build the usual square brick chimney, and within this to carry up a 9 in. flue of glazed earthenware pipe (drain pipe), and the space outside this pipe filled with concrete: this pipe flue is so easily cleaned and is much less quickly fouled, and improves the draught. The very general cause of smoky chimneys is that the chimney top is below the level of some adjacent building, tree, or other object that obstructs the free passage of the wind. In this instance the trouble is only experienced when the wind is in certain quarters, and sometimes this can be cured by a wind-guard or cowl (no particular make can be recommended, as their efficiency differs under different circumstances); but the only reliable remedy is to raise the chimney either by pipe or brickwork to the required height. The manner in which the annoyance is brought about is, that when the wind passes over the chimney top its progress is arrested by the higher object, and it may be said to rebound (the action is rarely quite alike in any two instances), causing either a portion of the gust to pass a short way down the chimney or to momentarily stop the up draught; this will be noticed by the gusts of smoke that come from the stove into the room. When the smoke slowly oozes into the room, it is caused by sluggish draught, or often by the construction of the grate. If the grate has considerable distance between the fire-bars and the opening into the chimney above, it permits the heavy cold air to accumulate and obstruct the heated up-flow from the fire; this generally is only noticeable when the fire is first lighted or heavily fed. It is exactly the same result as is experienced with the old-fashioned open kitchen ranges, which nearly always require a sheet of metal or “blower” across the opening to prevent their smoking. The above-mentioned grates require a strong draught to work them perfectly; or if a strong draught does not exist, a small piece of sheet-metal should be provided to fit over the open space above the front bars when necessary to establish the fire, as explained with the “Eagle” grate. Sluggish draughts are from a variety of causes, among which might be named, insufficient height of chimney; chimneys which by any cause may become damp or cold, or lose their heat rapidly; leakages, holes or fissures, and a variety of causes too numerous to mention here. The interior surface of a chimney should be as smooth as possible, and should be swept at regular and moderately frequent intervals, otherwise the draught will be reduced. Every fireplace should have a distinct and separate flue; sometimes two fireplaces can be successfully worked into one chimney, but provision must be made for tightly closing off either one when not in use. _Hot Water._--Heating by means of the circulation of hot water has been in vogue many years, but has not found favour for warming living-rooms and apartments, owing chiefly to the want of the air of comfort, and the warmth is not quite so agreeable as that radiated from an open fire; but this mode of heating is especially well adapted for conservatories, cold halls, public buildings, &c., as the heat-giving surface can be extended wherever desired, and so heat the place equally throughout; and upon the low-pressure system there is no danger, as the water cannot heat higher than boiling-point, 212° F., an advantage that the hot-air system does not possess. The principle and cause of hot-water circulation will be found fully described under hot-water apparatus; but in this arrangement there are no draw-off taps, the services being for circulating only. For small purposes the apparatus can be attached to the ordinary bath boiler of the kitchen range; but there is a serious disadvantage in this when the heat is for conservatories or where warmth is particularly required at night, as that is the time when the kitchen fire is not in use. For larger purposes, independent boilers are used, varying in size according to the requirements. Portable boilers with fire-box, &c., complete, can be obtained almost anywhere, and most slow-combustion stoves (the “Tortoise,” for instance) can be fitted with boilers for this purpose. It will be understood that these boilers do not require cleaning out like kitchen-range boilers, as there is no appreciable deposit, the same water being heated day after day and only losing say a quart per month by evaporation. The arrangement for a hall with an independent boiler is to have several horizontal pipes suitably fixed one above the other and known as a “coil,” from which the heat is radiated, and this coil is connected by a “flow” and “return” pipe with the boiler: a small cistern of about 2 gallons capacity is connected with, and fixed a little above the level of the highest part of the coil in some convenient place. The apparatus is charged through this cistern, and a small quantity of water is added thereto periodically to make good loss by evaporation and to keep the coil full; these coils are usually covered with an iron grated casing, with a metal, slate, or marble top, which is both a useful and ornamental adjunct to the hall. For conservatories the coil is not used, the radiating pipes being run along the wall near the ground; a portion of the pipe has a shallow open trough cast upon it, and this is filled with water. As the apparatus becomes heated, evaporation takes place, and this saturates the air, moisture being essential for this purpose. For public buildings, &c., coils are sometimes used; but more often the pipes are run in grated-topped channels just beneath the floor, the grating being level with the floor-boards; they are taken around or across the building, as is most desirable to obtain an equable heat. The radiating pipes, whether single or forming coils, are generally 4 in. diameter, of cast iron (cast iron being a better conductor or dissipator than wrought), and at the highest point m the apparatus a hole is drilled and a small cock is inserted; this cock is opened when charging, to allow of the free escape of the air in the pipes, and it is sometimes of service to discharge any steam that is generated. The pipes are made with a socket at one end, into which the plain end of the next pipe is inserted and packed with yarn, &c.; but a modern and rapid method of joining the pipes is that patented and manufactured by Jones and Attwood, of Stourbridge; this joint consists of two flanges with indiarubber packing between, which makes a perfectly secure joint by tightening the flanges together; in this method the ends of the pipes are of equal size. As explained, the principle of circulation is exactly the same in this as in a domestic hot-water supply apparatus. The most popular form is that known as the Desideratum. The makers have also introduced a singularly useful tool for cutting all pipes from 2 to 13 in. diameter. _High-pressure Heating_, or which might be correctly termed steam heating, consists of piping wholly, the pipe is smaller and of wrought iron unusually strong, and a coil of it placed within the fire-box fulfils the duty of a boiler (no boiler or large container can be used on account of high pressure); from the furnace coil the pipe is carried wherever required, a small quantity of water is put within the apparatus and the air is driven out, after which the apparatus is sealed or closed air and steam tight. When the heat is applied, the water quickly forms steam, which at once finds its way throughout the apparatus and heats it to a much higher temperature than boiling water; and there is comparatively no danger whatever pressure is exerted, as at the worst the pipe only splits, and no disastrous explosion can occur; but this mode of heating cannot be recommended, as it rarely works for any length of time without requiring attention or repairs. Bacon’s system of heating by water under pressure (J. L. Bacon & Co., 34 Upper Gloucester Place, London, N.W.) is very good, as the pressure is regulated by a valve, and the temperature and pressure never become excessive. This system is worked by small, strong wrought-iron pipes, and the apparatus is wholly filled with water. The great convenience of the small-pipe system recommends it for all purposes, as it can be carried into almost inaccessible places, and can be utilised for warming air, as it passes through inlet ventilators, and for small drying and airing closets, towel dryers, and for numberless small but exceedingly convenient purposes which large cast-iron pipes would be very unsuited for; and the advocates of this system contend that as much heat is radiated from their small pipes as from the ordinary large ones, as the former are heated to a much higher temperature than the latter: in Bacon’s system the highest limit is about 300° F. The subject of a supply of hot water for baths and other purposes will be discussed in the chapter dealing with the Bath-room. See also p. 995. _Steam Heat._--Steam heat may well be compared with stove and furnace heat. Stove heat corresponds to direct radiation by steam, and furnace heat to indirect. The supply of fresh air from the outside to and over the hot-air furnace, and through hot-air flue into the rooms through registers, is virtually the same as when it is conveyed by means of steam-heated flues in the walls. Exhaust flues, for getting rid of foul air, are equally essential. The stove, as representing direct radiation in the same manner as the steam coil, or plate, in the room, has the advantage over the latter of some exhaust of foul air, however little, even when the smoke-pipe is not jacketed, for the steam heat has none. In comparison with open-stove heat, steam heat is at still greater disadvantage; for open stoves supply all the qualities of complete radiation--the introduction of fresh air and the escape of foul--to a degree wholly unattainable by steam heat, whether direct or indirect, or by hot-air furnaces, which always require special provision for the escape of foul air. The advantage of stove and furnace heat over steam may be summed up thus:--It is more economical, more uniform, more easy of management, more suitable for small areas to be warmed, and is free from the noises and dangers of steam. Irregularities of the fire in steam heating are a constant source of inconvenience, and sometimes of danger. The going down of the fire during the night-time, or its neglect for a few hours at any time, is followed by condensation of the steam. On the addition of fuel and increase of heat, steam again flows quickly into the pipes where a partial vacuum has formed, and here, on coming in contact with the condensed water, it drives the water violently, and creates such shocks as sometimes occasion explosions; or, at least, produces very disagreeable noises and general uneasiness, and frequently causes cracks and leaks. Hence direct steam heat, which for warming purposes alone is altogether superior to indirect, has been well-nigh abandoned. Indirect steam heat places the leaks out of sight, but they commonly lead to mischief, and require special and expensive provision for access and repair. _Chemical Heaters._--Many salts in solution are capable of absorbing a considerable amount of heat and slowly giving it off as they resume a crystalline state. That most generally used is soda acetate, but an improvement consists in mixing 1 lb. of soda acetate with 10 lb. of soda hyposulphite, the latter assisting the melting of the mass and retarding crystallisation. The mode of applying this principle is to nearly fill a sheet copper or other metallic vessel, such as a foot-warmer, with the solution, and seal it up. When required for warming purposes, the vessel is placed in boiling or hot water till the contents are quite fluid, after which it may be used as a source of heat for 12-15 hours. Obviously the vessel may be placed in an ornamental structure resembling a stove, or used as a foot-warmer, or a muff-warmer, and in many other ways where fire is inadmissible. _Hints on Fuel, &c._--Suggestions for materials which may be used to eke out a scanty supply of coal cannot fail to be useful. One plan consists in well bedding lumps of chalk under small coal. This gives a long-lasting fire, but is apt to emit an unpleasant odour. Another plan is to make clay fire-balls, using common clay, coal dust and cinders with sand, in about the following proportions:--1 cwt. coal dust, 2 cwt. sand, 1½ cwt. clay, well mixing the ingredients, shaping into fist-like lumps, and drying over night before the fire; to be put on when the surface of the fire is clear. Some further hints for reviving fires will be found under the Sick-room. =Lighting.=--The illumination of a dwelling is a most important consideration, as regards comfort and health. _Daylight._--Natural lighting is provided for by windows. The window area of a room should be well proportioned. In dwelling-rooms, it may amount to half the area of the external wall containing the windows; in churches, &c., ⅓ will suffice. Too great a window area is objectionable, as it considerably lowers the interior temperature in winter, unless very thick glass and double windows are provided. When windows become steamed or covered with condensed moisture in frosty weather, this can be cured by applying a very thin coat of glycerine on both sides of the glass. When direct daylight cannot be got, great advantage may be derived from using polished metallic reflectors. _Luminous Paints._--Several bodies possess the property of absorbing a certain amount of light and emitting it slowly. The most important of these is calcium sulphide. This property has been utilised by mixing the mineral with paint as a covering for surfaces where the light is required. The illumination, however, is very feeble. _Candles._--Candles will long retain a place in domestic lighting from their safety and convenience for carrying about. At the same time they are an expensive source of light, and not very powerful. It may here be mentioned that there is a right and a wrong way of blowing out a candle. If the candle is held on a level with the blower’s mouth, or blown down upon, as usual, as it stands on a shelf or table, the wick will smoulder and smoke till the room is filled with its disagreeable smell, and the wick burned away so that it can be lit next time with difficulty. If the candlestick is held well above the blower’s head, and the flame blown out from below, the ignited wick will almost immediately be extinguished, and no trouble will be found in re-lighting the candle. Avoid cheap candles; they burn rapidly to waste and play havoc with clothes and furniture by “dropping.” The best form of candlestick yet introduced is the “silver torch,” made by Wm. Nunn & Co., 204 St. George Street, London, E. By this the candle is converted into a lamp, with or without a globe as desired; the candle is completely consumed, leaving no ends, and guttering and dropping are quite prevented. Nightlights should always be burned under a glass shade, such as Clarke’s. _Oil Lamps._--All lamps intended for burning animal, vegetable, or mineral oils as illuminants should have the following objects in view:--To supply oil regularly to the wick; to apportion the supply of air to the description and quantity of oil to be burnt; to provide simple means for regulating the height of the wick, and consequently, the flame; and finally, to place the burning portion of the lamp in such a position as not to be obscured by the reservoir and other portions. The oldest lamps, as the antique Etruscan, and the cruisie of Scotland, were on the suction principle, and the wick depended for its supply upon its own capillary action. As the level of the oil was constantly varying, so the light varied also, and the first attempts of inventors were directed to maintaining an equal level of oil. The bird-fountain and hydrostatic reservoirs partly attained this end, and the Carcel and Moderator systems were perfect of their class, mechanical or pressure lamps. It is evident that suction lamps depend for their efficacy upon the gravity of the combustible. A spirit lamp, with a good wick, will burn very well, though the wick be several inches above the liquid. With liquids volatilising at low temperatures, there is always a danger of the formation of explosive mixtures. In the Silber lamp the burner is a simple aggregation of concentric tubes. The use of these, especially of the innermost, bell-mouthed pipes, becomes very apparent in the lighted lamp. Remove the interior tube, and immediately the flame lengthens and darkens, wavers and smokes. The current of air which is, by this internal conduit, directed into the interior flame surface, is the essential principle of Silber’s invention. The wick is contained in a metal case, surrounded by an air-jacket, which passes down the entire length of the lamp, leaving a small aperture at the base, through which the oil flows from the outer reservoir to the wick chamber. Thus, by the interposition of an atmospheric medium, the bulk of the oil is maintained throughout at a low temperature; 2 concentric bell-mouthed tubes pass down the interior of the wick case, and communicate with the air at the base of the lamp, which is perforated for the purpose; 2 cones, perforated, the inner and smaller throughout, the largest only at the base, surround the wick, and heat the air in its passage through the holes to the flame. The effect of these appliances is, firstly, by the insulation of the outer reservoir, to avoid all danger of vaporisation of the oil, till actually in contact with the wick. As it is drawn nearer and nearer the seat of combustion, the hot metal wick-holder heats, and ultimately vaporises the luminant, so that at the opening of the wick tube concentrically with the air conduits--all of which are exceedingly hot--a perfect mixture of vapour and hot air is formed, and burned. An all-important feature is the shape and position of the chimney, which influences the flame to the extent of quadrupling its brilliancy if properly adjusted. (Field, Cantor Lecture.) [Illustration: 48. Hinks’s Safety Lamp.] The many fires and fatal accidents arising from explosions of mineral oil lamps has drawn official attention to the subject of rendering them safe. Sir F. Abel has stated that all channels of communication between the burner and the reservoir of mineral oil lamps should be protected on the principle of the miners’ safety lamp; he added that a simple arrangement which effected the desired object “with perfect safety” was to attach to the bottom of the burner a cylinder of wire gauze of the requisite fineness, which prevented the transmission of fire from the lamp flame to the air-space of the reservoir. Acting upon this suggestion, Hinks and Son, 60 Holborn Viaduct, have introduced a wire-gauze cylinder for use with their duplex lamps, which renders them absolutely safe. Another advantage with their lamps is the ease with which they are lit and extinguished, as shown in Fig. 48: for lighting, a turn of the thumb-key _a_ gently raises the cone, globe, and chimney, giving free access to the wicks; to extinguish them, it is only necessary to press the lever _b_. The Defries safety lamp (Defries Safety Lamp and Oil Co., 43 Holborn Viaduct) is attracting much notice, on account of economy, safety, and illuminating power. The construction of the lamp is such that neither ignition of the vapour, nor outflow of the oil in the event of the lamp being overturned, can occur. Moreover, the oil reservoir, being of metal, is not liable to fracture. It therefore follows that the risks attaching to the employment of mineral oils as illuminating agents in lamps of the ordinary description are non-existent in this lamp. The light emitted is remarkably white, the flame is perfectly steady, and the combustion is effected without the production of the slightest odour or smoke. Results of photometric tests by Prof. Boverton Redwood were more favourable than any he had hitherto obtained with mineral oil lamps of other forms. The illuminating power is, for the size of the burner, in each case very high, while the consumption of oil per candle light per hour is remarkably small. The products of combustion are odourless, even when the normal size of the flame is much reduced by lowering the wick. Any mineral oil, as well as the Defries safety oil, can be used in these lamps. This is quite odourless when spilled or heated, requires a temperature of 308° F. (or 96° F. above the boiling point of water) for its ignition, and does not vaporise below 270° F. Such oil is no more inflammable than colza oil, and is moreover free from the risk of spontaneous combustion. Its price is 1_s._ 6_d._ per gal. The absolute necessity for using, in any and every lamp, the most refined and safest grades of mineral oil cannot be too seriously insisted upon, Cheap low oils mean personal risk. _Gas._--Though gas is long since established as one of the most successful and general illuminants, it is surprising what ignorance exists as to the simple rules which should govern its use. This section is not intended for the guidance of the professional gasfitter, yet some of the points to be noticed are really within his province, and are mentioned because the householder should be in possession of such knowledge as will enable him to discover or prevent faulty work. Coal gas, being much lighter than air, flows with greatest velocity in the upper floors of houses; hence the supply pipe may diminish in size as it rises, say from 1¼ in. at the basement to ¾ in. on the 3rd floor. At a point near the commencement of the supply pipe it should be provided with a “siphon,” which is simply a short length of pipe joined at right angles in a perpendicular position and closed at the lower end by a plug screwed in. As all gas-tubes should be fixed with a small rise, this siphon will collect the condensed liquids, which may be drawn off occasionally by unscrewing the plug end. When the lights flicker, it shows there is water in the pipes: the siphon prevents this. The number of gas-burners requisite for lighting a church or other large building may be computed thus. Take the area of the floor in ft. and divide by 40, will give the number of fish-tail burners to be distributed according to circumstances. Example: a church 120 ft. long by 60 ft. wide, contains 7200 ft. area; divided by 40, gives 180 burners required for the same. Burning gas without a ventilator or pipe to carry off the effluvia, is as barbarous as making a fire in a room without a chimney to carry off the smoke. If a pipe of 2 in. diameter were fixed between the joists, with a funnel elbow over the gaselier, and the other end carried into the chimney, it would be a general ventilator. Of course, an open ornamental rosette covers the mouth of the tube; or an Arnott valve ventilator over the mantelpiece would answer the same purpose. In turning off the gas-lights at night, it is usual, first, to turn off all the lights, except one, and then turn off the meter main cock, and allow the one light to burn itself out, and then turn it off. The evil of this system is this,--by allowing the one light to burn itself out, you exhaust the pipes and make a vacuum, and of course the atmospheric air will rush in. The proper way is to turn off all lights first, and finally the meter, thus leaving the pipes full of gas and ready for re-lighting. These few remarks have been derived from Eldridge’s ‘Gas-Fitter’s Guide,’ an eminently useful and practical handbook. It was formerly the practice to make all gas-burners of metal; the openings, whether slits or holes, from which the gas issued to be burned being small, in order to check the rate of flow. This was an error, for heat and light go together, and the metal, being a good conductor of heat, kept the lower part of the flame cold. The part of burners actually in contact with the flame is now invariably of some non-conducting material, such as steatite; and the effect of this simple improvement is most noteworthy. Bad burners show a great proportion of blue at the lower part of the flame, and the upper or luminous portion is small and irregular in shape, and dull in colour. These effects are due to gas issuing at too great velocity from small holes in burners, as well as to improper material in the latter. The illuminating power of coal gas depends upon the incandescence, at the greatest possible heat, of infinitesimal particles of carbon which it contains, invisible until heated. In the lower, or blue portion of the flame, the heat is not sufficient to render these particles incandescent; and it is necessary that this effect should be secured at the nearest point to the burner. Unless this is done, the light is not only lessened, but the unconsumed carbon passes off and is deposited as soot on ceilings and furniture. Blackened ceilings are a measure of the badness of the burners. It will now be seen why a material which cools the flame should not be used for a burner, for the hotter the flame, the more perfect is the incandescence of the carbon for which in reality the consumer pays, and the less danger there is of blackened ceilings. But in addition to the better material, the construction of even the cheapest modern burners is very greatly improved; although even a good burner may be subjected to such conditions--e.g. allowing gas to be driven through it at a high velocity, a condition usually accompanied by a hissing or roaring sound--as to give a bad result. The capacity of burners should moreover bear a reasonable proportion to the quality of the gas for which they are required to be used. Thus with rich Scotch gas, burners with very small holes, consuming only about 1½ cub. ft. hourly, are sometimes adopted for economical reasons. Occasionally these burners find their way South, but their use for the ordinary qualities of English gas is the worst possible economy. It is difficult to lay down hard and fast rules for the sizes of burners, the purposes for which gas-light is required being so various. For an ordinary apartment, however, wherein distributed lights are adopted, 5 ft. burners with 14 or 15 candle gas, 4 ft. burners with 16 or 17 candle gas, 3 or 3½ ft. burners with 18 or 20 candle gas, and 2½ ft. burners with richer gas will be found to give satisfactory results. It may be remarked that these figures apply to burners regulated in some way to the given rates of consumption, and not to those merely reputed to be of the stated sizes. Various means are adopted for checking the flow of gas, not at the point of ignition, but at some prior point of its course; because it has been found that the slower the rate of flow at the commencement of combustion, the better the result obtained. Clustering of gas-lights is bad. All parts of a room should be as nearly as possible equally lighted, the only noteworthy exception to this rule being in the case of a dining-room, where concentration of light upon the table is not only permissible but is even demanded. Hence in most cases wall brackets give the best effect, and such masses of light as are afforded by pendants of many arms are to be avoided, or are only required in very large rooms where portions of the floor area would otherwise be insufficiently lighted. When it is desired to light a drawing-room with wax candles--than which nothing is more beautiful--they are distributed wherever support can be found for them. As every gas flame may be considered equal to 12 or 15 candles, with all their wicks together, the inadvisability of further concentration is evident. In fact, gas is if anything too brilliant for living-rooms, and if it were always properly distributed, many a dimly-lighted apartment would be perfectly illumined with the same number of burners which, when massed, appear insufficient. Where concentrated ceiling lights are needed for dining-rooms, many-armed pendants are seldom satisfactory, owing to the shadows which most of them cast. In these cases a single powerful argand light in a suitable reflecting pendant, or a cluster of flat flames similarly provided, will give a better result than the usual branched chandelier, and with a material saving in gas. For it is a curious and valuable property of gas, that large burners can be rendered much more economical in proportion than smaller ones. Thus, if the 4 burners of a branched chandelier give altogether the light of (say) 50 candles, the same illuminating power may be obtained from a greatly reduced quantity of gas when concentrated in a single burner of the most improved kind. With regard to the smaller flat flames, which are the most general for ordinary lighting, the selection of glass globes is a very important matter. It may be said at once that all the old-fashioned style of glasses, with holes in the bottom about 2½ in. diam., for fitting into the brass galleries of the older pattern pendants and brackets, are objectionable. The reasons for this condemnation are few and simple. It seems never to have occurred to the makers of these things that the gas flames inside the globes are always wider than the openings beneath them, through which the air required for combustion passes; and that, as a rule, the light of the flame is required to be cast downward. Gas flames always flicker in these old-fashioned glasses, because the sharp current of entering air blows them about. And the light cannot come downward because of the metal ring and its arms, and the glass, which is always thicker and generally dingier at this part of the globe. Perfectly plain and clean glass absorbs at least 1/10 of the light that passes through it; ground glass absorbs ⅓; and the ordinary opal obstructs at least ½, and generally more. Only those globes should be chosen therefore which have a very large opening at the bottom, at least 4 in. wide, through which the air can pass without disturbing the flame. The glass then fulfils its proper duty, screening the flame from side draughts, and not causing mischief by a perpetual up-current of its own. Good opal or figured globes of this pattern may be used without disadvantage, because the light is reflected down through the bottom opening more brightly than if there were no globe, while the flame is shaded and the light diffused over other parts of the room. The degree to which the luminosity of gas is utilised depends very largely upon the burner, people too often setting down as the fault of the gas, defects which should really be ascribed to the burner. In 1871, the Commission appointed by the Board of Trade to watch over the London gas supply, and whose prescriptions in these matters are more or less recognised by the whole country, made an examination of a collection of gas-burners from a large number of sources, and including those in general use. The greater portion of these gave only ½, some even only ¼ of the light that the gas was actually capable of affording. Two points very often neglected are: (1) that the size of the burner should be proportionate to the quantity of gas required to be consumed by it, and (2) that the gas should issue at a very low velocity. In good argands, the pressure at the point of ignition is almost nil; and in flat-flame burners, the pressure should be only just sufficient to blow the flame out into the form of a fan. It is also very necessary that the body of the chamber below the point of ignition should be of material with low heat-conducting power, so that the gas may undergo no increase in volume which would occasion a proportionate increase of velocity, and that the heat may not be conducted away from the flame. To establish this, Evans had 2 argand burners made, differing only in that one had the combustion chamber of brass, and the other of steatite. The latter gave more light than the former in the proportion of 15 to 13 for the same quantity of gas. As another example a No. 8 metal flat-flame burner, consuming 5 cub. ft. of gas per hour, gave a light equal to 11·5 candles, while a steatite burner of corresponding size, with non-conducting combustion chamber, gave 14·6 candles. Another metal burner of a description somewhat generally used, gave about ⅜ of the light that the gas was capable of yielding. Worn-out metal burners generally give the best results, as the velocity of the issuing gas is lower than when the burners are new. A much better result is obtained by burning, say 20 cub. ft. of gas from one burner, than by using 5 burners, each of which consumes 4 cub. ft. This is the reason why the modern argands give so much more light than the older ones, which were drilled with a very large number of holes, and were more suitable for boiling water than for illuminating. If the air which is to support the combustion be heated before it reaches the flame, especially in the case of flat-flame burners, better results are produced, as was pointed out by Prof. Frankland more than 10 years ago, and this principle is now being carried out by some Continental burner makers. Of modern argands there are many excellent varieties, which can evolve 15-30 per cent. more light for the same quantity of gas than the best flat-flame burners. One kind consisting of 3 concentric rings of flame with steatite gas chambers was first used in the public lighting of Waterloo Road in 1879. In another the products of combustion are brought down in a flue fastened round the burner, so as to heat the air which supports the combustion as it passes in pipes through the flue above mentioned to the flame; while a third kind has an arrangement for admitting separate currents of cold air to keep the chimney cool. There seems little doubt that the argand lamp will play a leading part in the gas lighting of the future. An important point connected with the use of gas is that the heat generated by combustion, may be made to do the work of ventilation, as in the fish-gill ventilator invented by the late Goldsworthy Gurney. In this strips of calico are nailed, by the two upper corners, across an opening in the wall, in such a way that each strip laps over the strip next below it. This contrivance, opening and closing like the gills of a fish, is self-acting, as the heated air passes away through the porous material, and cold air is admitted without draught. Gas is often accused of heating the rooms; but if persons, when burning candles would increase the number of the candles so as to equal the light of the gas-flame, the heat given out would be found to be less when burning gas than when burning lamps or candles. [Illustration: 49. Stott’s Governor.] It is very beneficial to regulate the pressure at which gas reaches the burners, and many complaints of impurity of the air of a room, caused by gas, arise from this want of regulation of pressure. It can be attained by the use of a governor, placed either at the meter or in proximity to the light itself. These are of many forms. Those adapted for placing near the meter are Stott’s, Fig. 49 (174 Fleet Street, E.C.), Parkinson’s, Fig. 50 (Cottage Lane Works, City Road), Strode’s, Fig. 51 (67 St. Paul’s Churchyard), Hargreaves and Bardsley’s (Hobson Street, Oldham), Hulett’s, Fig. 52 (55 High Holborn), Peebles’ (Tay Works, Edinburgh), and Smith’s (130 Fleet Street). Self-regulating burners are the “Christianson,” made by Sugg (Grand Hotel Buildings, Charing Cross), and those made by Bolding--Heran’s patent--(South Molton Street, Oxford Street), Milne, Sons, and Macfie (2 King Edward Street, E.C.), Parkinson (Fig. 53), Peebles, and Kinnear (91 Finsbury Pavement). A little steel blade, costing only a penny, is made by W. H. Howorth, Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, for use on 2-holed burners, which has the effect of silencing a roaring flame and increasing the luminosity. Another contrivance having some of the effects of a regulator, augmenting the light and consuming the smoke (therefore lessening the contamination of the air), is the Spencer Corona, Fig. 54 (3 Hyde Street, New Oxford Street), fitting closely on the top of ordinary gas globes. [Illustration: 50. Parkinson’s Governor.] [Illustration: 51. Strode’s Governor.] [Illustration: 52. Hulett’s Governor. 53. Parkinson’s Burner.] [Illustration: 54. Spencer Corona.] The most practical methods which have been devised for combining the purity of air in a room with artificial light produced from ordinary coal gas, may be classed under four heads:-- (1) The sun burner, in which the products of combustion are removed rapidly from contact with the air of the room. (2) The globe light, in which the fresh air is supplied and the products of combustion are removed to the outside without any contact with the air of the room. (3) The regenerative gas light. (4) The incandescent gas light. Their several merits are thus discussed in one of the Health Exhibition Handbooks. The sun burner is practically a powerful ventilator, which, by means of the great heat generated, draws a large volume of air away with the fumes of the gas; it thus relieves the air of the room of the impurities caused by combustion, and at the same time removes impurities generated from other causes. This burner is indeed a sufficiently powerful ventilator to continue acting even in the face of the counteracting draught of an open fireplace; and is consequently much used for crowded rooms. For this dual purpose, it requires to have its fumes carried up through a straight vertical tube direct to the open air. This burner is made by Strode & Co., 67 St. Paul’s Churchyard, and shown in Fig. 55. [Illustration: 55. The Sun Burner.] The globe light has been designed to prevent the products of combustion from mingling at all with the air of a room, but it does not provide for the ventilation of the room at the same time. The principle of the best form is that it should be burned in a glass globe separated from the air of the room; that is to say, the air required for supporting combustion is brought into the globe from the outer air, and the products of combustion are carried away into the outer air without mixing with the air of the room. This light, like the sunlight, is limited in its application. It can be placed near an outside wall, or in a room directly under a roof. If fed with fresh air from the room itself, and if a fire-proof flue be constructed in the ceiling leading into a vertical flue, this light can be put in any part of a room; but the draught from the open fire would be very likely to draw the products of combustion back into the room. This is also made by Strode & Co. The Grimston regenerative burner looks like an inverted argand burner. The gas is brought down a central tube, and the products of combustion are carried away through a tube which lies round it, and the air required to feed the burner is brought through passages in this latter tube which are heated by the products of combustion in their course. The light is enclosed in a half globe, and the products may be carried away into the outer air, so that the light need not injure the air of the room in which it is burned. A very remarkable feature about these regenerative arrangements is that the temperature of the outflowing products of combustion at the top of the tube is so low that the hand can be held over the top of the tube without any unpleasant sensation of heat; and the combustion appears to be so perfect that even if the products are not removed from the room, there is much less unpleasantness than with ordinary gas-burners. Other very important regenerative burners are that bearing the name of F. Siemens, the Fourness (S. Gratrix, jun., and Bro., Alport Town, Manchester), and the well-known Wenham (Wenham Co., 12 Rathbone Place, W., and Milne, Sons, and Macfie, 2 King Edward Street, E.C.), two forms of which are shown in Figs. 56 and 57. Sugg’s “London Argand” and “Cromartie” burners are sufficiently familiar to need no description, and are made in a great variety of designs. The “Osborne” pattern is shown in Fig. 58. [Illustration: 56. Wenham Pendant Light. 57. Wenham Standard Light.] Incandescent gas lamps, even if burned in contact with the air of a room, present certain hygienic advantages. In the first place, the air required for combustion is brought into the room from the outside, in the proportion of six volumes of air to one of gas, and therefore the oxygen in the air of the room is not consumed for combustion. In the second place, the gas is consumed in a very perfect manner, so that the injury to the air of a room produced by the combustion is reduced to a minimum. These lights can be placed wherever ordinary gas-lights can, and it is probable that from the hygienic and photometric value of this class of light it is destined at no distant date to replace ordinary gas-burners. The principle of construction is as follows. In the flame of a Bunsen burner is placed a hood of cotton webbing, previously steeped in a solution containing oxides of zirconium, lanthanum, &c. The average consumption in each burner is 2 ft. gas per hour at 9/10 in. pressure, with an illuminating power of 17 candles. The Albo-carbon light, Fig. 59, (74 James Street, Westminster), consists in superheating ordinary gas and carburetting it by admixture of the vapour generated from the albo-carbon material, which is stored in a reservoir that can be attached to any existing fittings. By its means, the light is very much intensified, steadied, and purified, at very small cost for albo-carbon with a reduced consumption of gas. [Illustration: 58. Sugg’s “Osborne” Burner. 59. Albo-carbon Light.] When gas has been laid on to a house, and the main connected with the meter or even before the latter has been done, it is extremely important to have all the gas-pipes tested, in order to ascertain whether any leakage exists. A very good method is as follows:--All the brackets and pendants, with one exception, are first stopped up with plugs or screwed caps, and the meter is turned off or disconnected. Upon the one outlet not stopped up a force-pump is attached, into the interstices of which have been poured a few drops of sulphuric ether. The force-pump is then connected with a gauge, and is worked until a high pressure has been registered upon it, in order that should the pipes have any latent weaknesses, the pressure exerted will develop and discover them. When the gauge indicates a certain figure, the pumping is stopped, and if the mercury is noticed to fall, it is evident that there are palpable leaks, which are at once searched for. The escaped ether will guide the operator to the whereabouts of these leaks, and the defaulting pipes are at once replaced by others. The pumping is then continued, and the same routine recommences. If the mercury still descends in the gauge glass, and the sense of smell cannot detect where the leak exists, the joints and portions of the pipes are lathered over with soap, whereupon the weak places will be found indicated by bubbles. These parts where the bubbles escape are then marked, heated by means of a portable spirit lamp made for the purpose, and covered over with a durable cement. After a short time, the pump is once more set in action, and if the pipes are tight, and the column of mercury in the gauge maintains itself at the same figure, the soundness of the pipes is assured. An excellent portable gas-making apparatus is made by H. L. Müller, 22 Mary Ann Street, Birmingham. See also p. 998. _Matches._--An American writer, speaking of the defacement of paint by the inadvertent or heedless scratching of matches, says that he has observed that when one mark has been made others follow rapidly. To effectually prevent this, rub the spot with flannel saturated with any liquid vaseline. “After that, people may try to strike their matches there as much as they like, they will neither get a light nor injure the paint,” and, most singular, the petroleum causes the existing mark to soon disappear, at least when it occurs on dark paint. Matches should always be kept in metallic boxes, and out of the way of children and mice. Countless accidents, as every one knows, arise from the use of matches. To obtain light without employing them, and so without the danger of setting things on fire, an ingenious contrivance is now used by the watchmen of Paris in all magazines where explosive or inflammable materials are kept. Any one may easily make trial of it. Take an oblong vial of the whitest and clearest glass, and put into it a piece of phosphorus about the size of a pea. Pour some olive oil heated to the boiling point upon the phosphorus; fill the vial about one-third full, and then cork it tightly. To use this novel light, remove the cork, allow the air to enter the vial, and then re-cork it. The empty space in the vial will become luminous, and the light obtained will be equal to that of a lamp. When the light grows dim, its power can be increased by taking out the cork and allowing a fresh supply of air to enter the vial. In winter it is sometimes necessary to heat the vial between the hands in order to increase the fluidity of the oil. The apparatus thus made may be used for six months. (_Chicago Times._) _Electric Lighting._--This must not be undertaken without due knowledge or the assistance of skilled workmen. The subject is altogether too large for discussion here with any chance of making it clear and simple. The reader should refer to the works of Hospitalier and others who have made it a study. Allusion may here be made, however, to an essentially domestic system recently introduced by Hospitalier. His object is to provide 10 volt and 1½ ampère lamps operating 3 or 4 hours daily. The result aimed at is that the pile shall daily furnish a quantity of electric energy equal to that expended, and keep the accumulators continually charged. The accumulators form a reservoir, and compensate for the differences between the daily production (which is sensibly continuous) and the irregular production according to needs. This demands a continuous pile of slow discharge, in which the products consumed can be easily renewed, while repairs and supervision are minimised. The choice is a potash bichromate battery. In a single liquid potash bichromate pile, the elements to be renewed are the zinc and the liquid which contains at once the excitant (sulphuric acid) and the depolariser (potash or soda bichromate). In order to obtain an easy renewal of the zinc, Hospitalier employs the metal in the form of a rod 18 in. in length that dips for about 3 in. only into the liquid, and that is placed in a perforated porous vessel which supports it and prevents all contact with the carbon. A certain mobility is secured to it by means of flexible attachments, so that as it wears away it descends into the liquid. Its lower extremity dips into a mass of mercury, and this keeps it amalgamated. When one rod is used up, another may be substituted for it in a few seconds. The remaining portion of the old zinc is thrown into the porous vessel. The mercury suffices to set up a perfect electric communication with the new rod that has just been introduced. The zincs are thus entirely utilised. The flow secures the continuous renewal of the exciting and depolarising liquid. The precaution to be taken is to cause the liquid to enter at the upper part, and to remove it from the lower. This prevents the elements from getting choked up, and so they may remain mounted several months, operating day and night, without any attention having to be paid to them. The positive pole consists of three or four carbon plates which surround the porous vessel that contains the zinc, and which are connected with each other by a strip of copper and screw clamps. The connection of a zinc with the following carbon is made by means of flexible wires, in order to permit the zinc to descend into the liquid as it wears away, as has already been seen. The four elements are mounted one above another. The liquid enters them from an earthenware reservoir of 5-6 gal. capacity, through a rubber tube. The discharge is regulated by means of a pinch-cock. Practice has shown that it is useless to make the solution of bichromate. It is only necessary to throw some crystals into the upper reservoir and to pour into the latter some water, acidulated with a tenth of its volume of sulphuric acid. A sufficient quantity of the salt dissolves every time to assure depolarisation. The same liquid may serve 10-12 times before renewal. There are no precise directions to be given as to the velocity of the discharge, since this must vary according to the needs of consumption. A good average is 1-1½ gal. per day. When the liquid is nearly exhausted, it is well to cause it to circulate a little more quickly. The regulation of the velocity of the flow by the Mohr pinch-cock is one of the simplest operations. After traversing the four pile elements in succession, the liquid enters glass bottles of 2 gal. capacity provided beneath with a pipe to which is affixed a rubber tube. It is only necessary to take a full bottle, place it over the reservoir, and put the pipe into the reservoir, in order to empty it in a few minutes. An inspection of the piles is advisable every two days. Were a larger reservoir employed and the velocity of flow moderated, the interval might be still longer. The four elements in tension alternately charge two series of accumulators each containing three elements. This arrangement allows the use of two kinds of lamps, 6 volt ones in the cellar and small rooms, and 10 volt ones in the dining-room and office. The cellar lamp is so arranged that it is lighted by opening the door, and extinguished by closing it. Aside from the lamps just mentioned, another is arranged for lighting a dark ante-room, and which lights up for three minutes, only, whenever a button near the door is pressed. The use of accumulators and flowing piles presents the following advantages: (1) Convenience, the apparatus being always ready to furnish light upon turning a tap; (2) Ease of keeping in repair and of supervision, the flow and the dimensions being capable of regulation so that the consumer need look after the piles only at irregular intervals. (3) Better utilisation of the products as a result of the use of a pencil of zinc instead of wide plates. The surface attacked is reduced to the dimensions that are strictly necessary for the production of a current, and local action is thus diminished. On the other hand, the active liquor is not thrown away until completely exhausted. (4) Quality of the light. This remains steady during the entire time of the lighting, without any manipulation of the pile or any special appliance. A few hints may be culled from Preece’s lecture on Domestic Electric Lighting, read before the Society of Arts last session. Makers of lamps seem to consider that there is great credit in securing long life. Unfortunately, glow lamps deteriorate sadly with age. The carbon wastes imperceptibly away, and we are scarcely conscious of the fact that, after 200 or 300 hours, the lamp gives only half the light it did at first. The fact is lamps last too long. The price of a lamp should be such that we could afford to give them a short and merry life. Long life is therefore an objection. Lamps fail in giving their light occasionally from having an imperfect vacuum. This is very easily detected by feeling the globe. If the vacuum is bad it gets quite hot. Occasionally, but very rarely, lamps explode with a loud report when the current is first put on. This is, perhaps, due to a slight leakage of air making an explosive mixture with the residual gas. At the present moment, both the nomenclature and the efficiency of glow lamps are in a very unsatisfactory state, and we are buying pigs in a poke at a very high price. Considerable difference of opinion exists as to the character of the globe enveloping the carbon filament. Some like them clear, some like them ground; others envelope them in shades, or make the globe of a beautiful opal glass. It is very objectionable to have the optic nerve irritated by a brilliant glowing filament; but it is equally absurd to produce a good thing and then strangle it. Grounding and shading mean loss of light. Lamps can be placed so high that they need not affect the eye, and if they do, the light can be so reflected as to be useful elsewhere. The art of lighting a room is to flood it with light without the delicate eye being offended with the direct rays from the source of light. Switches to turn the lamps on and off are a source of great trouble in a house. As a rule, they are cheap and nasty. When fixed away from the lamps, they introduce into the circuit additional resistance, and therefore waste energy, but they are distinctly serviceable when they are fixed outside the door of a room, so that you can light it before you enter it. In many cases the lamp is its own switch, but it is objectionable to handle a lamp, and attempts have been made to utilise the weight of the lamp itself when suspended from the ceiling to maintain contact, and to break that contact when the weight is released. Cuts-out or safety-valves are essential to the security of a house. Short circuiting ought not to occur, but it does, and generally when showing off. It may occur when cleaning. The cut-out is so cheap and so effective that there is no excuse for its neglect. They should be fixed on every circuit. No one must imagine that electric lighting is absolutely safe from fire. It certainly possesses elements of danger, but elements that are perfectly under control. It is very simple to secure safety if the rules and regulations to avoid fire risks be carefully followed. The simplest rule is to use nothing but the best insulated wire, and to employ none but experienced men to put it up. All accidents that have occurred have arisen from careless wiring and ignorant handling. The design of the circuits of a house, the dimensions of conductors, the quality of the materials used, the provision against fire risks, the testing of the work done, the adaptability of means to an end, should come within the province of the professional adviser, and not be left to the successful competing contractor, however eminent the firm may be. Estimates for furnishing electric light installations, ranging from about 3_l._ upwards, can be had from Messrs. Woodhouse and Rawson United, Limited, 88 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., and of Messrs. Appleton, Burbey, and Williamson, of 91 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C. See also p. 1001. =Furniture and Decoration.=--Obviously half the benefit to be derived from good sanitary arrangement of the house itself will be lost if the internal fittings are not arranged with similar regard to healthy conditions. Good drainage and ventilation are thrown away if every corner is to be a receptacle for accumulated dirt and every carpet and curtain a resting-place for dust. Yet that is just the condition of ninety-nine houses out of every hundred. Existing systems of furnishing and decorating are faulty to a degree in this respect, and have called down the strictures of many sanitary reformers. Foremost among them is Edis, who has made this branch of sanitary science a special study. His suggestions for improvements in furnishing and decorating our homes are worthy the attention of every housewife. The following remarks are mainly culled from his paper in one of the Health Exhibition handbooks, and deserves to be more generally known. _Kitchen Walls._--Commencing at the bottom of the house, Edis advises lining the whole of the scullery walls, and, as far as possible, those of the kitchen also, with glazed tiles, so that there be no absorption and retention of the smells, which must necessarily accrue with the ordinary work of this portion of the house. For a large house, he strongly advocates finishing all the walls in a London basement, so far as the working portion of it, together with the passages, are concerned, with glazed tiles; they are cleanly, absolutely non-absorbent, reflect and give light, are easily washed, and tend to make the house sweet and healthy. The pantries and larders should be so arranged that they have continual ingress of fresh air, and should in all cases be lined with glazed tiles or bricks, so that the smells arising from the contents should not be allowed to be absorbed in the distempered walls, and to render them stuffy and unhealthy. The shelves should be of slate, or better still, of polished marble, so as to be absolutely non-absorbent and easily cleaned. In every basement a comfortable room for servants should be provided: some small sitting-room fitted up with book-shelves and cupboards, and, if possible, facing the street, so that the workers of the house may have some sort of spare room, in which they may be at rest from their ordinary duties; for, if we want good servants, we must treat them as ordinary beings like ourselves. _Floors._--It is particularly desirable to counteract as far as possible the deleterious influences which are brought about by the absorption of offensive odours in the common deal floors of the various rooms, by having all the joints carefully stopped in, and the whole surface painted over with three or four coats, so that the pores of the wood may be effectually closed, and the crevices, through which dirt and filth of all kinds can enter, and lodge in the spaces between floor and ceiling, practically sealed up. Or the floors may be stained and varnished all over, for varnish of the cheapest kind, whether made with resin in place of hard gums, or petroleum in place of turps, is not only healthy in its application, but cleanly and economical, as it can be readily cleaned of all impurities by a wet cloth, and lasts longer than a mere painted surface, if done properly at the onset, and every coat left to dry and become thoroughly hard before a second coat is put on. Good varnish will dry and be free from all stickiness in one or two days, if the general atmosphere is free from damp. (Edis.) Boarded floors are at present much more fashionable than carpeted. Whether they are stained or not is a secondary consideration. In hospital wards it is, no doubt, desirable that the boards should be as closely laid as possible, and well waxed, to obviate the necessity of scrubbing, and the possibility of any organic matter sinking into the floor. But in private houses, so long as the carpets are loose and can be taken up, and the boards either scrubbed, dry rubbed, or waxed, we have all that health demands. Were it practised by some Continental nation, and not by ourselves, we should be horrified at the custom of keeping carpets nailed down for a year or more to collect all the dirt that falls throughout that time. Of course, a stained floor looks better than plain deal boards, and oak parquet looks better than either. But in a bedroom the appearance is of secondary importance, and staining, however it is put on, does not last long in a room where there are children or schoolboys. A strip of carpet by the side of the bed, and a square of matting or linoleum before the washing-stand, is sufficient for health. All carpets, of whatever kind, wear better if the boards are perfectly even, and if they are laid down over “carpet lining,” brown paper, or coarse canvas; but this plan is not feasible unless the carpet is fastened down, and a much better plan than nailing is to have loops on the carpet and nails in grooves on the floor, when it can so easily be unhooked, that there is no excuse for not taking it up frequently. Very often carpets and heavy furniture are left untouched because of the difficulty of getting a man in to help where a man-servant is not kept. Of the different sorts of carpeting, those that cost most to start with are certainly not the dearest in the end. Compare, for instance, a good Brussels with a tapestry of about half the first cost, and probably not a sixth part of the durability. The only rooms where tapestry carpets are admissible are where there is little or no traffic, and where the mistress desires much appearance for little money. Inferior floor coverings of whatever kind are dear. A small pattern cuts to greater advantage, usually looks better, and always shows dirt less than a large one,--looks better because the floor is not the part of the room where we wish all eyes to be at first directed; and, therefore, though a light ground often wears better than a dark, we cannot venture to recommend it. Kidderminster is now fashionable; it wears well and can be turned. Small patterns in Kidderminster, as in all double wool fabrics, wear best, because the threads decussate more frequently. Felt carpets wear much better if the colour runs through; if it is only stamped on the top, white patches appear long before the carpet is in holes, which, however, are not long in coming with even a moderate amount of wear. The cheapest carpets have cotton or jute woven in them, and very quickly fade. As to matting, it, too, is of many kinds. The coconut matting, with a coloured pattern or border, looks well on dark wood stairs, and wears better than any other, but it is too rough for most sitting-rooms, even if we do not experience its rapid fraying of skirts and wearing out of thin house shoes that walk over it. India matting of good quality wears a long time, especially if it is kept damp. It is made of grass fibre, and if it gets too dry it quickly splits. In hot weather it must be washed over with water once or twice a week and left wet, and the fibre will absorb enough moisture to keep it fairly tough. Oilcloth, kamptulicon, linoleum, and similar floor coverings, are made of canvas with layers of oil paint. It must be kept for some time after it is made, to harden the paint; if this is not done it splits, and soon wears out. The quality can be judged by the weight, and the heaviest is generally the best. It can be scrubbed with soap and water, and then polished with a dry cloth and a little oil; as little water as possible should be used, or it runs underneath, and causes the cloth to rot. In the country it is a good plan to wash oilcloth with a little skim milk, thus cleaning and polishing it at the same time. (E. A. B., in the _Queen_.) _Furniture._--It must be evident to common-sense people, that all furniture which collects and holds dust and dirt, which cannot be easily detected and cleaned; that all window valances and heavy stuff curtains with heavy fringes, which cannot be constantly shaken; and that all floor coverings which are fastened down, so that it is impossible to clear away the dust, that gradually, but surely, finds its way under them, and prevents the coverings themselves from being constantly shaken, are objectionable and unhealthy. Such people will therefore avoid all wall coverings which offer resting-places for dirt--such as the high-relief flock patterns, which, however good artistically, are certainly to be avoided on sanitary grounds; will not cover the whole of the floor surfaces with thick carpets, which absorb and retain dust and disease germs, and which cannot be easily removed and cleaned, or shaken, at least once a month; will do away with all heavy window-curtains and valances, which, in small rooms, add so materially to their stuffiness and unhealthiness; and will, as far as practicable, avoid filling their rooms with heavy lumbering furniture, which cannot easily be moved for cleaning purposes, and under and above which dust and other impurities may collect and remain. (Edis.) Second-hand furniture is often preferable to new. The warps and started joints are plainly visible if bad wood has been some time in use; no more warping will take place, and the price, in comparison with that of new, is often much less than the amount of wear and tear would indicate. There are circumstances that give to old furniture a distinct excellence, quite apart from the existence of a fashion for buying it. It was made by hand; generally the same man worked on each piece throughout, acquiring a special interest in every detail, and thinking no trouble too great to make it more perfect. (E. A. B.) In choosing chairs and tables for the drawing-room, the more varied they are in size and shape the better. Let the wood be all fairly similar, but the materials may be as widely different as possible, and a judicious blending of several colours is the one thing aimed at by those who have good taste. Let me warn my readers against cheap cretonnes; they wear atrociously, and only look well for the first few months. Plush and Utrecht velvet last for ever, but, as they are rather expensive, less costly material can be used for the sofa and a few of the chairs. Do not get one of those dreadful curved sofas that only admit of being sat on, for the primary object of a sofa is to allow of your reclining at full length when fatigued or ill. In a good-sized drawing-room a centre ottoman is allowable, but never in a small room, as it would take up too much space; it is a good plan to have the ottoman made to come to pieces, it will then form several small couches in the event of a large “at home” or dance being given. With regard to dining-room furniture, get a suite of some light wood--ash or oak--and leather seats to the chairs, or American leather. Sideboards of the present day are very handsome and rather elaborate. You can sometimes pick up very good second-hand dining-room suites, upholstered in the best style, for half their original price. If you intend to have a mirror over your dining-room mantelpiece, see that it is framed in wood similar to your chairs and table, and eschew gilt mirrors in any form, as they are the very acme of bad taste and vulgarity. In choosing the dining-room curtains, bear in mind the colour of the wall paper, or they may clash most inharmoniously. The cheapest way of getting these curtains would be to buy some tapestry stuff by the yard, and make them up at home. Everything in a dining-room should match, see therefore that the curtain pole, bell handles, and coal scuttle are all of the same wood as the rest of the furniture. If the drawing-room is on the first floor, with a small landing outside, cover the latter entirely with carpet, do not simply continue the stair carpet across it, it will look as well again covered. Should it be a good sized landing, put a square carpet down and stain the edges of the floor. By way of keeping out draughts, and making the hall and staircase look less bare than is usually the case, get some curtains and hang them outside the dining-room and drawing-room doors. Indian dhurries are useful, as they are so cheap, but the objection to them is that there are none made between 6 ft. 6 in. and 11 ft. in length. There are no special rules to be laid down about furnishing a morning room or boudoir: the remarks made on drawing-rooms would apply to a great extent; the furniture should be suitably small, and only very cosy and comfortable chairs and couches allowed, and no great expense should be incurred. If the lady of the house cannot afford to have more than one bedroom handsomely furnished, it should be the one occupied by herself. Many advocate most strongly a “half tester” bedstead, as in the event of sickness, the hangings and curtains keep away draughts and shade the eyes from any strong light. Brass and black bedsteads look best, with some pretty coloured dimity hangings, and of course a spring mattress. Be particular about the stuffing of the pillows, and if you decide on feathers, have them of the very best, as the inferior ones are apt to have a slight smell, besides being hard and uncomfortable to sleep on. Choose a suite of some light wood, consisting of a wardrobe with a plate-glass door, a washstand with tiled back, and a toilet table with a fixed glass and with plenty of small drawers, the latter being invaluable for keeping light easily crushed articles, such as feathers, flowers, &c., which otherwise are apt to litter about the room in cardboard boxes. For the windows, Syrian curtains are the cheapest, and have the extra advantages of being fashionable and pretty, but coloured dimity to match the bed look the nicest, though of course they would never do in London. Buy (second-hand) a comfortable, old-fashioned armchair, covering it with some serviceable material; and a small table, the height of the bed. It is a good thing to have a small cupboard under lock and key, to hold medicine bottles, &c. You can get very artistic-looking oak ones, quite small, with a shelf above for books, and they form a handsome ornament to the walls. The spare room or rooms need never necessarily have the “half tester” bedsteads, and so you are saved the expense of buying a quantity of bedhangings and what follows in their train--a heavy washing or cleaning bill. In the event of your not wanting to spend much money on the furnishing of your spare bedroom, remember that at sales very often good things can be picked up at a low price. If you will have a charming bedroom suite at a low rate, be on the look-out for some common deal furniture--never mind its being second-hand and the paint dirty, so long as the wood is whole. Perhaps a friend has an old toilet table or a chest of drawers that she wants to get rid of, or you come across a cheap lot at a broker’s; do not be dismayed at the paint being gaudy, perhaps, or dirty, for this is the secret--have them all painted some uniform neutral colour (grey, picked out with dark mouldings, looks well), and then varnished, and you will be delighted with the result. In conclusion, a good substitute for a wardrobe may be made in this way. If there is a small recess in the room (there very often is one by the chimney), put across it a deal board, stained or painted, and varnished, about 6 ft. from the ground, with an ornamental moulding depending from the front edge, and hang curtains in front, putting up underneath as many dress pegs as the width of the recess will allow. (C. H. D., in the _Queen_.) _Ceilings._--If the cornices of the rooms be deeply recessed and filled with heavy plaster ornaments, they must of necessity hold dust and other impurities, which are increased by the action of damp air causing decomposition, and by mixing with the air in the room, when stirred or blown away from their resting places by draught from opened door or window, must render it impure and unhealthy. In addition to this, they are more or less choked up by every coat of so-called distemper decoration, and this again, by absorbing damp and obnoxious exhalations, adds materially to the sense of stuffiness and foulness which can be appreciably felt on first opening up the room after it has been closed for some hours. It is better, if possible, to paint all ceilings and cornices than to distemper them, so as to render them as non-absorbent as possible; by painting, the plaster-work is covered with a non-absorbent coating, on which if desired a coat of distemper may afterwards be added. _Walls._--As a rule it is desirable as far as possible not to disturb the general flatness of wall surfaces, and to avoid all patterns which obtrude themselves too prominently upon the eye, or cause the space, whether covered with paper or painted decoration, to be broken into groups of ornament, or into distinct lines cutting it transversely or horizontally. The wall surface may be divided either by a chair or frieze rail and be treated in different shades of colour with good effect; or the upper portion may be covered with good artistic painting, which will add to the beauty and picturesqueness of the room. Where the upper space is covered with paper or distemper, the pattern or colouring should offer no startling contrasts, and the lower portion may be painted and varnished, so as to be readily cleaned. The colour of the wall surfaces of the different rooms must naturally depend upon the purposes for which the rooms are used, as the apparent warmth and pleasurable appearance of the room is materially enhanced or detracted from by the treatment of the wall-colouring; and while it is necessary to treat the surface of one room as a background for pictures, it may be desired to have another brighter and more decorative; but wherever possible, in passages, halls and staircases, it is desirable to varnish as much of the wall surface as possible, so as to render it non-absorbent and readily cleaned. In the selection of paper or other hangings, and in the arrangement of all ornament in wall or panel decoration, it becomes a matter of importance to select none which shall have distinct and strongly marked patterns, in which the ornament stands out and repeats itself in endless multiplication and monotony. All staring patterns should be avoided. Almost all papers may now be considered practically free from arsenic; the largest printers of machine-printed papers now use little or no arsenical colours; the principal manufacturers of block-printed papers allow on colours with a known trace of arsenic to enter their factories; and, as the colours of this class of paper-hangings are more thoroughly bound with size than those which are machine-made, they are to be recommended for house decoration in preference to the cheaper kinds, as being to a certain extent more lasting. Paper-hangings must enter largely into the decoration of all the wall surfaces of our houses; but, on sanitary grounds, all flock papers, however beautiful in design, are especially to be avoided, for, from the very nature of their design and treatment, they are detrimental to the healthy condition of the room. The patterns stand out in relief, and offer innumerable spaces for dust and dirt, while the generally fluffy nature of the material, practically powdered wool, renders it more absorbent and therefore more unhealthy; and the surface holds dust and dirt to a much larger degree than the ordinary printed papers, thus tending to a stuffy and unwholesome feeling, which is essentially at variance with all laws of health and comfort. Stamped papers, in which the pattern is raised in relief, offer the same objections in a minor degree, as the surface is smooth and can be readily cleansed; and in the case of the imitation leather papers, the surface is varnished, and can be readily gone over with a damp cloth without injury. These papers can be well used for the dados of rooms or frieze decoration, and as such are exceedingly effective, although, of course, from the very nature of the manufacture, much more expensive than plain painting and varnishing. A good deal of illness often arises from the bad nature of the size and paste with which the ordinary wall-papers are hung, and great care should be taken that no such inferior, and practically stinking materials are allowed. _Cupboards._--In most houses it is common to have the store places for clothes and other household goods, practically self-contained in every room, and therefore we put therein furniture sufficient for our requirements; but we all know how soon our drawers and wardrobes get overcrowded, and the nuisance and annoyance it often is to have to take out coat after coat, or dress after dress, until we reach the particular one we want, which may be stowed away at the bottom of the drawers or chest, and it surely must appeal to ordinary common sense, to utilise in every way, with constructional fittings as far as possible, all spaces which, as a rule, are practically useless. If the cupboards are taken up to the ceiling line, that is to say an extra tier added to the ordinary wardrobe fitting, increased storeroom would be provided for clothing not immediately required. There would be less crowding up of the existing cupboards and drawers, and the ills of the flat exposed tops of the ordinary fittings, to which Edis before referred, would be done away with. Why not, in the window recesses of every bedroom, provide fixed ottoman boxes which can be used as seats, as well as store places, and if covered with stuffed tops, may thus not only be made useful, but comfortable; while in the sitting-rooms they might be used for store places for papers and magazines until bound up, and thus help to do away with the littering of our rooms, or the storing away of all such things in inaccessible places, where they are seldom dusted, and only help to breed dirt and disease. _Windows._--If instead of the usual heavy and ugly valances, which so many people still insist upon placing over their windows, as a top-finish to the curtains, we were to provide framed recesses constructed with the architraves, or mouldings, which run round the window-openings, with slightly arched heads, leaving room for a slight iron rod to be fixed behind and out of sight, with space for the proper and easy running of the curtain, we should have not only a much more artistic, but certainly a much more healthy and less expensive arrangement; and these arched heads would form part of the constructive finishing, at no more cost than the framed and panelled window linings and architraves, and if carried up to the ceiling, with the cornice returned round, would leave no spaces for the accumulation of dirt and dust, such as are now provided by the projecting boxed linings and the heavy valances, fringes, and poles, which the modern upholsterer provides. _Bedrooms._--The wall surfaces of bedrooms should be hung with some small and simple decorative paper of one general tone, but with no particularly emphasised design, so that we are annoyed at night with flights of birds, or symmetrical patterns of conventional primroses, daisies, or fruits, which might in any way suggest a countless and never-ending procession along the walls. Any pattern or design which shows prominently any set pattern, or spots which suggest a sum of multiplication, or which, in the half-light of night or early morning, might be likely to fix themselves upon the tired brain, suggesting all kinds of weird forms, are especially to be avoided. The design should be of such a description that, saving as regards colour, it should offer no specially marked pattern. The general wall surfaces should be varnished if possible, so that they may be easily cleaned down and be made practically non-absorbent. The general woodwork of the doors, windows, and skirtings should be painted in some plain colour to harmonise or contrast with the wall decoration, and the whole varnished; woodwork finished in this way can be easily washed or cleaned, and the extra expense of varnishing will be saved in a few years. The bedstead should be of brass or iron, the furniture of light wood, varnished or polished; and, now that good painted tiles can be obtained at small expense, they may be used in washing-stands with good effect, or the wall above may be lined entirely with them to a height of 2 or 3 ft. As regards the general floor surfaces, let them be entirely painted, or stained and varnished, so as to present non-absorbent and easily cleaned surfaces, or better still, finished with parquet flooring, which is almost entirely non-absorbing, and which can be cleaned by a damp cloth every day; with rugs or simple homespun carpets laid down beside the bed, and elsewhere, where required, so as to be easily taken up and shaken every day without trouble. There is one objection to square carpets in a bedroom, and that is, if you are lightly shod, or, as is often the case, barefoot, the polished floor is very unpleasantly cold; and also, as it is not every one who can indulge in the luxury of a bedroom fire, a wholly carpeted floor tends to keep out draughts and make the room generally warmer. If you do away with all resting-places for dirt and dust on the tops of wardrobes and hanging closets, and behind and under chests of drawers and other heavy furniture, there will naturally be much less labour required in cleaning and purifying the rooms. Heavy curtains should be avoided, indeed it is difficult to see why curtains are needed at all in bedrooms, if the window-blinds be of some dark-toned stuff sufficient to hide light, and to keep out the glare of the morning sun. _Nurseries._--In all the upper rooms of a house, which may be used as nurseries, Edis would, where practicable, construct semi-octagonal projecting bays, so as to provide for the greatest possible light and sunshine; and if this cannot be arranged, the windows should be as widely splayed inside as possible, and no light or sunshine shut out by heavy curtains or venetian blinds; and here, too, as in the best rooms of the house, should be thick plate, instead of the miserably thin glass, which is considered sufficient in the upper portions of so many houses; the thick glass gives truer light, is less penetrated by sound, and helps to retain the warmth of the room after the fires have gone out, and the house is left to cool in the long night hours. The walls of the nurseries should be hung with some bright and cheerful pattern paper, varnished for health’s sake, while the upper portion should be distempered; the upper space or frieze should be divided from the general wall surface by a small deal painted picture rail, but the ceilings and frieze should be cleaned off and re-distempered every autumn, as nothing tends so much to sweeten the rooms as this annual cleaning off and re-doing of the ceilings, which naturally are more impregnated with the impurities of the shut-up rooms than any other portion of them. Paint or varnished papers are always more healthy than distemper, as they can be readily washed, and do not absorb and hold dirt and other impurities. The walls of the night nurseries should be hung with a soft, general toned paper, varnished, so as to be sponged every week, or distempered all over, so as to be re-done at small cost at frequent intervals, for it is essential in the ordinary low-pitched upper rooms of town houses, generally devoted to nurseries, to wash out as often as possible, the peculiar stuffy bedroom atmosphere, which must be absorbed in the walls and ceilings of all low rooms. The tone of colouring or pattern on the walls should above all not be spotty or glaring, with strongly defined forms presenting nightmare effects to drive away sleep, or disturb our little ones in the hours of feverish unrest or sickness. But in the rooms they live in there is no reason why the “writing on the walls” should not be the earliest teaching of all that is beautiful in nature, art, or science, and by good illustrations of fairy lore and natural forms incline the thoughts of our children to all that is graceful and beautiful in nature or imaginative faculties. =Bells and Calls.=--No house can now be considered complete without it is fitted with call-tubes or bells, especially the latter. Call-tubes are more general in places of business, but they might often replace bells in a house with advantage to all concerned. The wires for bells are carried in tubes and boxes concealed by the finishing of the walls and skirting. These tubes are often of tinned iron or zinc, but they ought to be either of brass or strong galvanised iron. Zinc cannot be depended on: in some places it will moulder away; if not soldered, it opens, and the wires work into the joinings of the tube, which stops their movement. The old-fashioned system of bells is being largely supplanted by electric bells. _Electric Bells._--An ordinary electric bell is merely a vibrating contact breaker carrying a small hammer on its spring, which hammer strikes a bell placed within its reach as long as the vibration of the spring continues. The necessary apparatus comprises a battery to supply the force, wires to conduct it, circuit-closers to apply it, and bells to give it expression. [Illustration: 60. Battery.] The Leclanché battery (Fig. 60) is the best for all electric bell systems, its great recommendation being that, once charged, it retains its power without attention for several years. Two jars are employed in its construction: the outer one is of glass, contains a zinc rod, and is charged with a solution of ammonium chloride (sal-ammoniac). The inner jar is of porous earthenware, contains a carbon plate, and is filled up with a mixture of manganese peroxide and broken gas carbon. When the carbon plate and the zinc rod are connected, a steady current of electricity is set up, the chemical reaction which takes place being as follows:--The zinc becomes oxidised by the oxygen from the manganese peroxide, and is subsequently converted into zinc chloride by the action of the sal-ammoniac. After the battery has been in continuous use for some hours, the manganese becomes exhausted of oxygen, and the force of the electrical current is greatly diminished; but if the battery be allowed to rest for a short time the manganese obtains a fresh supply of oxygen from the atmosphere, and is again fit for use. After about 18 months’ work, the glass cell will probably require recharging with sal-ammoniac, and the zinc rod may also need renewing; but should the porous cell get out of order, it is better to get a new one entirely, than to attempt to recharge it. On short circuits, 2 cells may suffice, increasing up to 4 or 6 as required. It is false economy to use a battery too weak to do its work properly. The battery should be placed where it will not be subject to changes of temperature, e.g. in an underground cellar. The circuit wire used in England for indoor situations is “No. 20” copper wire, covered with guttapercha and cotton. In America, “No. 18, first-class, braided, cotton-covered, office wire” is recommended, though smaller and cheaper kinds are often used. The wire should be laid with great regard to keeping it from damp, and ensuring its perfect insulation. Out of doors, for carrying long distances overhead, ordinary galvanised iron wire is well adapted, the gauge running from “No. 4” to “No. 14,” according to conditions. Proper insulators on poles must be provided, avoiding all contact with foreign bodies; or a rubber-covered wire encased in lead may be run underground. The circuit-closer, or means of instantaneously completing and interrupting the circuit, is generally a simple press-button. This consists of a little cylindrical box, provided in the centre with an ivory button, which is either (1) attached to a brass spring that is brought into contact with a brass plate at the back of the box on pressing the button, or (2) is capable of pressing together 2 springs in the box. A wire from the battery is attached to the spring of the press-button, and another from the bell is secured to the brass plate. Platinum points should be provided on the spring and plate where the contact takes place. While the button is at rest, or out, the electric circuit is broken; but on being pressed in, it completes the circuit, and the bell rings. [Illustration: 61. Bell.] The relative arrangement and connection of the several parts is shown in Fig. 61. _a_, Leclanché cell; _b_, wire; _c_, press-button; _d_, bell. When the distance traversed is great, say ½ mile, the return wire _e_ may be dispensed with, and replaced by what is known as the “earth circuit,” established by attaching the terminals at _f_ and _g_ to copper plates sunk in the ground. The bells used are generally vibrating ones, and those intended for internal house use need not have a higher resistance than 2 or 3 ohms. At other times, single-stroke and continuous-ringer bells have to be provided, the latter being arranged to continue ringing until specially stopped. The bell may or may not be fitted with an annunciator system; the latter is almost a necessity when many bells have to ring to the same place, as then 1 bell only is requisite. A single-stroke bell is simply a gong fixed to a board or frame, an electro-magnet, and an armature with a hammer at the end, arranged to strike the gong when the armature is attracted by the magnet. A vibrating bell has its armature fixed to a spring which presses against a contact-screw; the wire forming the circuit, entering at one binding-screw, goes to the magnet, which in turn is connected with the armature; thence the circuit continues through the contact-screw to the other binding-screw, and out. When set in motion by electricity, the magnet attracts the armature, and the hammer strikes the bell; but in its forward motion, the spring leaves the contact-screw, and thus the circuit is broken; the hammer then falls back, closing the circuit again, and so the action is continued _ad libitum_, and a rapid vibratory motion is produced, which makes a ringing by the action of the successive blows of the hammer on the gong. The following useful hints on electric bell systems are condensed from Lockwood’s handy little volume on telephones. With regard to the battery, he advises to keep the sal-ammoniac solution strong, yet not to put so much in that it cannot dissolve. Be extremely careful to have all battery connections clean, bright, and mechanically tight, and to have no leak or short circuit. The batteries should last a year without further attention, and the glass jars never ought to be filled more than ¾ full. (_a_) 1 Bell and 1 Press-button.--The simplest system is 1 bell operated by 1 press-button. The arrangement of this is the same whether the line be long or short. Set up the bell in the required place, with the gong down or up as may be chosen; fix press-button where wanted, taking all advantages offered by the plan of the house; e.g. a wall behind which is a closet is an excellent place to attach electrical fixtures, because then it is easy to run all the wires in the closets, and out of sight. Set up the battery in a convenient place, and, if possible, in an air-tight box. Calculate how much wire will be requisite, and measure it off, giving a liberal supply; joints in inside work are very objectionable, and only admissible where absolutely necessary. Cut off insulation from ends of wire where contact is to be made to a screw. Only 3 wires are necessary, i.e. (1) from 1 spring of the press-button to 1 pole of the battery, say the carbon, (2) from the other spring of the button to 1 binding-screw of the bell, (3) from the other pole of the battery to the other binding-screw of the bell. In stripping wires, leave no ragged threads hanging; they get caught in the binding-screw, and interfere with the connection of the parts. After stripping the wire sufficiently, make the ends not only clean but bright. Never run 2 wires under 1 staple. A button-switch should be placed in the battery-circuit, and close to the battery, so that, to avoid leakage and accidental short circuiting when the bells are not used for some time, it may be opened. (_b_) 1 Bell and 2 Press-buttons.--The next system is an arrangement of 2 press-buttons in different places to ring the same bell. Having fixed the bell and battery, and decided upon the position of the 2 buttons, run the wires as follows:--1 long covered wire is run from 1 pole of the battery to 1 of the springs of the most distant press-button, and where this long wire approaches nearest to the other press-button it is stripped for about 1 in. and scraped clean; another wire, also stripped at its end, is wound carefully around the bared place, and the joint is covered with kerite tape; the other end of the piece of wire thus branched on is carried over and fastened to the spring of the second press-button. This constitutes a battery wire branching to 1 spring of each press-button. Then run a second wire from 1 of the bell binding-screws to the other spring of the most distant press-button, branching it in the same manner as the battery-wire to the other spring of the second button; connect the other pole of the battery to the second binding-screw of the bell, and the arrangement is complete--a continuous battery-circuit through the bell when either of the buttons is pressed. Before covering the joints with tape, it is well to solder them, using rosin as a flux. (_c_) 2 Bells and 1 Press-button.--When it is required to have 2 bells in different places, to ring from 1 press-button at the same time, after erecting the bells, button, and battery, run a wire from the carbon pole of the battery and branch it in the manner described to 1 binding-screw of each bell; run a second wire from the zinc pole of the battery to 1 spring of the button, and a third wire from the other spring, branching it to the remaining binding-screw of both bells. It will not answer to connect 2 or more vibrating bells in circuit one after another, as the 2 circuit-breakers will not work in unison; they must always be branched, i.e. a portion of the main wire must be stripped, and another piece spliced to it, so as to make 2 ends. (_d_) There are other methods, one of which is, if more than 1 bell is designed to ring steadily when the button is pressed, to let only 1 of the series be a vibrating bell, and the other single-strokes; these, if properly set up and adjusted, will continuously ring, because they are controlled by the rapid make and break of the 1 vibrator. (_e_) Annunciator system.--To connect an indicating annunciator of any number of drops with a common bell, to be operated by press-buttons in different parts of a house, is a handy arrangement, as one drop may be operated from the front door, another from the drawing-room, a third from the dining-room, and so on. The annunciator is fastened up with the bell near it. All the electro-magnets in the annunciator are connected by 1 wire with 1 binding-screw of the bell, and the other binding-screw of the bell is connected with the zinc of the battery. It is a good plan to run a wire through the building from top to bottom, at one end connecting it with the carbon pole of the battery. It ought to be covered with a different coloured cotton from any other, so as to be readily identified as the wire from the carbon. Supposing there are 6 press-buttons, 1 in each room, run a wire from 1 of the springs of each of the press-buttons to the main wire from the carbon pole, and at the point of meeting strip the covering from both the main wire and the ends of the branch wires from the press-buttons, and fasten each branch wire to the main wire, virtually bringing the carbon pole of the battery into every press-button. Next, lead a second wire from the other spring of each press-button to the annunciator screw-post belonging to the special drop desired. This will complete the circuit when any of the press-buttons is pushed; for, as each annunciator magnet is connected on 1 side to its own press-button, and on the other side to the common bell, it follows that when any button is pressed, the line of the current is from the carbon pole of the battery, through the points of the press-button, back to the annunciator, thence through the bell to the zinc pole of the battery; and that, therefore, the right annunciator must drop and the bell must ring. In handsome houses, run the wires under the floor as much as possible, and adopt such colours for wire covering as may be harmonious with the paper and paintings. Also test each wire separately, as soon as the connection is made. (_f_) Double system.--A system of bells in which the signalling is done both ways, that is, in addition to the annunciator and bell located at one point, to be signalled by pressing the button in each room, a bell is likewise placed in each room, or in a certain room, whereon a return signal may be received--transmitted from a press-button near the annunciator. This is a double system, and involves additional wires. One battery may furnish all the current. Run the main carbon wire through the house, as before, in such a manner as to admit of branch wires being easily attached to it. Run a branch wire from it to the spring of one of the press-buttons, a second wire from the other spring of the same button to the screw-post of the bell in room No. 2, and from the other screw-post of the said bell to the zinc pole of the battery. This completes one circuit. The other is then arranged as follows:--The main carbon, besides being led, as already described, to the spring of the press-button in room No. 1, is continued to one of the binding-screws of the bell in the same room; the other terminal of that bell is carried to one spring of the press-button in room No. 2; the complementary spring of that press-button is then connected by a special and separate wire with the zinc of the battery, and the second circuit is then also completed. An alternative method is to run branches from the main carbon wire to all the press-buttons, and from the main zinc wire to all the bells, connecting by separate wires the remaining bell terminals with the remaining press-button springs. In the latter plan, more wires are necessary. Although the connections of but one bell either way have been described, every addition must be carried out on the same principle. When 2 points at some distance from one another, e.g. the house and a stable 100 yd. distant, are to be connected, it is easy to run 1 wire, and use an earth return. If gas or water pipes are in use at both points, no difficulty will be found in accomplishing this. A strap-key will in this case be found advantageous as a substitute for a press-button. The connecting wire at each end is fastened to the stem of the key; the back contact or bridge of the key, against which when at rest the key presses, is connected at each end with one terminal of the bell, the other terminal of each bell being connected by wire with the ground. A sufficient amount of battery is placed at each point, and 1 pole of each battery is connected with the earth, the other pole being attached to the front contact of the strap-key. If impossible to get a ground, the second terminal of both bell and battery at each end must be connected by a return wire. (_g_) Bell and Telephone.--It is a very easy matter to add telephones to bell-signalling appliances, when constructed as here described. The only additions necessary are a branch or return circuit for the telephones, and a switch operated by hand, whereby the main wire is switched from the bell return wire to the telephone return wire. A very simple plan for a bell-call and telephone line from one room to another, can be made as follows: Apparatus required--2 bells, 2 telephones, 2 3-point switches, 2 strap-keys with back and front contacts, and 1 battery. Run 1 wire from the stem of the key in room No. 1 to the stem of the key in room No. 2. This is the main wire. Fix the bell and 3-point switch below it in each room. Connect the back contact of each key by wire to the lever of the 3-point switch, attach 1 of the points of the switch to 1 of the bell terminals, and the other bell terminal to a return wire. The return wire will now connect the second bell terminal in one room with the second bell in the other room. The other point of the switch in each room is now connected by a wire with 1 binding-screw of a telephone, and the other telephone screw is attached by another wire to the bell return. Connecting 1 pole of the battery also to the return wire, and the other pole to each of the front contacts of the keys, the system is complete. When at rest, each switch is turned on to the bell. To ring the bell in the other room, the key is pressed. The battery circuit is then from battery, front contact of the pressed key, stem of key, main wire, stem of distant key, switch, bell, and through return wire to the other pole of the battery. After bell signals are interchanged, the 3-point switches are transferred to the telephone joint, and conversation can be maintained. (Lockwood.) _Making an Electric Bell._--The following description applies to 3 sizes--viz. for a 2 in. bell, hereafter called No. 1; 2¾ in., or No. 2; 4 in., or No. 3, which sizes are sufficient for most amateurs’ purposes, and, if properly made, a No. 3 Leclanché cell will ring the largest 2 through over 100 yd. No. 24 (B. W. G.) wire. The Backboard and Cover.--This may be of any hard wood, by preference teak, oak, or mahogany, and if polished, so much the better; the size required will be-- No. 1, 5½ in. long, 3¾ in. wide, ½ in. thick. No. 2, 7 in. ” 3¾ in. ” ¾ in. ” No. 3, 8½ in. ” 5 in. ” ¾ in. ” The cover must be deep enough to cover all the work, and reach to within about ¼ in. of the top and sides of back, and allow ⅜ in. to ¾ in. between the edge of bell and cover; the making of this had better be deferred until the bell is nearly complete. [Illustration: 62. Electro-Magnet.] The Electro-Magnet.--This should be of good round iron, and bent into a horse-shoe shape (Fig. 62). The part _a b_ must be quite straight, and not damaged by the forging; the bend should be as flat as possible, so as to make the magnet as short as may be (to save space). When made, the magnet is put into a clear fire, and when red hot, taken out and laid in the ashes to slowly cool; care must be taken not to burn it. Lastly, 2 small holes are drilled in the centre of the ends at _c_, about 1/16 in. deep; drive a piece of brass wire tightly into the holes, and allow the wire to project sufficiently to allow a piece of thin paper between the iron and the table when the iron is standing upon it; this is to prevent the armature adhering to the magnet from residuary magnetism, which always exists more or less. The measurements are-- No. 1 size iron ¼ in., _d_ to _e_ ⅝ in., _a_ to _b_ 1¼ in. No. 2 ” 5/16 in., ” ¾ in., ” 1⅜ in. No. 3 ” 7/16 in., ” ¾ in., ” 1½ in. The Bobbins or Coils.--These are made by bending thin sheet copper round the part _a b_ of the magnet; the edges at _a_ (Fig. 63) must not quite meet. The thickness of this copper must be such that 4 pieces just equal in thickness the edge of a new threepenny-piece (this is rather an original gauge, but then all can get at the thickness this way). The hole in the brass end _b_ must be just large enough to push on firmly over the copper when on the iron; they must then be set true, and soldered on. The brass for the ends may be about as thick as a sixpence; a 1/16 in. hole must be drilled at _c_, close to the copper. The other measurements are as follows:-- No. 1, diameter ⅜ in., length over all 1⅛ in. No. 2, ” ¾ in., ” 1¼ in. No. 3, ” 1 in., ” 1⅜ in. The brass ends should be neatly turned true and lacquered. [Illustration: 63. Bobbin. 64. Winding Bobbin.] To fill the Bobbins with Wire.--For this purpose, No 28 wire should be used, which is better if varnished or paraffined. The bobbins should be neatly covered with paper over the copper tube and inside of ends, to prevent any possibility of the wire touching the bobbin itself; the bobbin is best filled by chucking it on a mandrel in the lathe, or a primitive winding apparatus may be made by boring a hole through the sides of a small box, fit a wire crank and wooden axle to this, and push the bobbin on the projecting end--thus (Fig. 64): _a_, crank; _b_, box; _c_, bobbin; _d_, axle. The box may be loaded to keep it steady; on any account do not attempt to wind the wire on by hand--the bobbin must revolve. Leave about 1½ in. of wire projecting outside the hole _d_, in end of bobbin, and wind the wire on carefully and quite evenly, the number of layers being respectively 6, 8, and 10; the last layer must finish at the same end as the first began, and is best fastened off by a silk or thread binding, leaving about a 3 in. piece projecting. Both bobbins must be wound in the same direction, turning the crank from you, and commencing at the end nearest the box. The bobbins must now be firmly pushed on the part _a b_ of the magnet, and the two pieces of wire projecting through the hole _c_ soldered together. To put the Bell together.--First screw on the bell. This should be supported underneath by a piece of ¼ in. iron tube, long enough to keep the edge of the bell ⅜ to ⅝ in. above the backboard. Cut off the hammer-rod, so that when the head is on it will come nearly as low as the bell screw, and in a line with it. Make a hole in the backboard, and drive the armature post in tightly--it must be driven in so far that when the magnet is laid upon the backboard, the centre of the magnet iron and the armature are the same height. Place the magnet so that when the armature is pressed against it, the hammer-head all but touches the bell; screw it into its place by a wooden bridge across the screw passing between the bobbins. By afterwards easing this screw, any little adjustment can be made. The armature spring should tend to throw the hammer-head about ⅝ in. from the bell. The contact-post should be so placed that when the armature touches the magnet, there is a slight space between the platinum point on the screw and the platinum on the spring. In putting in the posts, a piece of copper wire must be driven in with them to attach the wire to. One post can be moved round a little either way to alter the tension of the spring; the screw in the other post can be turned in or out, to just allow the proper break to take place. By screwing it in and out, the ear will soon judge where the bell rings best. (Volk.) Those desiring further information on batteries, telephones, and all electrical matters, are referred to the Third Series of ‘Workshop Receipts,’ where diffuse instructions are given. =Thieves and Fire.=--It would be difficult to name two subjects demanding more attention and forethought from the housewife than the means to be adopted for protecting her household from the incursions of thieves and the horrors of fire. Some years ago, the well-known inventor of Chubb’s locks published a little book on these topics, from which we have taken the liberty of condensing a few paragraphs which are full of import to the safety of the dwelling and its inmates. First with regard to thieves. Chubb remarks that most of the house-robberies so common in all large towns are effected through the common street-door latches in ordinary use being opened by false keys. It is a notorious fact that thousands are made year after year, but which do not afford the least security, as they are all so made that any one key will open the whole. Burglars are sometimes assisted by dishonest servants, but are more often unaided in this way. Frequently some coal-cellar window is left conveniently unbarred, although all other windows and doors are barred and bolted; or perhaps all the windows have safety-fasteners but one, which, of course, will be the one used by the burglars. Beggars or hawkers are often in the pay of thieves, endeavouring to get information--that may not be used perhaps for a long time; and such visitors should never be allowed inside one’s house, though their visits are too often encouraged by the weakness of the domestics. The remedies best adapted to prevent robbery in these various ways are:--(1) Be careful to have trustworthy servants, or all other precautions are unavailing. (2) Have plate-glass to all windows in the house, for this cannot be broken, as common sheet-glass can, without noise. (3) As shutters are really no protection at all, and frequently are not fastened at night, let all windows and openings that can be reached easily from the ground have strong bars built into the stone or brickwork, not more than 5 in. apart, where this can be done without disfigurement; and let the windows on every upper floor have either Hopkinson’s or Dawes’s patent window fasteners, which cannot be opened from the outside, and are simple and strong in construction and cheap in price. (4) Keep a dog, however small, _inside_ the house; this is a wonderful safeguard, and extremely disliked by burglars. (5) Have any number of bells on shutters, electric wires, or other gimcracks that you please, and place no reliance on any of them. (6) Never allow a stranger to wait inside the door. (7) Leave as little property as possible, certainly no silver plate or jewellery, lying about, so that if a thief should overcome all obstacles to entrance, he may not find much ready to hand. Precautions against fire are of still greater importance. A few of the commonest causes of fire are guarded against by observing the following simple rules:--(1) Keep all matches in metal boxes, and out of the reach of children; wax matches are particularly dangerous, and should be kept out of the way of rats and mice. (2) Be careful in making fires with shavings and other light kindling. (3) Do not deposit coal or wood ashes in a wooden vessel, and be sure burning cinders are extinguished before they are deposited. (4) Never put firewood upon the stove to dry, and never put ashes or a light under a staircase. (5) Fill fluid or spirit lamps only by daylight, and never near a fire or light. (6) Do not leave a candle burning on a bureau or a chest. (7) Always be cautious in extinguishing matches and other lighters before throwing them away. (8) Never throw a cigar-stump upon the floor or spitbox containing sawdust or trash without being certain that it contains no fire. (9) After blowing out a candle never put it away on a shelf, or anywhere else, until sure that the snuff has gone entirely out. (10) A lighted candle ought not to be stuck up against a frame-wall, or placed upon any portion of the woodwork in a stable, manufactory, shop, or any other place. (11) Never enter a barn or stable at night with an uncovered light. (12) Never take an open light to examine a gas-meter. (13) Do not put gas or other lights near curtains. (14) Never take a light into a closet. (15) Do not read in bed, either by candle or lamp light. (16) The principal register of a furnace should always be fastened open. (17) Stove-pipes should be at least 4 in. from woodwork, and well guarded by tin or zinc. (18) Rags ought never to be stuffed into stove-pipe holes. (19) Openings in chimney-flues for stove-pipes which are not used ought always to be securely protected by metallic coverings. (20) Never close up a place of business in the evening without looking well to the extinguishing of lights, and the proper security of the fires. (21) When retiring to bed at night always see that there is no danger from your fires. A few other unsuspected causes of fire may be mentioned. A common habit with some people, when ironing, is to rub the hot iron clean with a piece of stuff, paper, or “anything” at hand, and then throw the same aside without further thought. The small piece of stuff, usually more or less scorched, may lie smouldering for hours unsuspected in some corner, especially if shut up in a cupboard or drawer. The danger here alluded to applies equally to the careless throwing aside of anything likely to smoulder, such as cloths caught up at random for holding hot baking tins, kitchener handles, &c. No room ought ever to be left unoccupied without a guard being placed on the fire. Most of us have had experience of sudden small explosions of the coals, and holes being burnt in the hearthrug, even when there is some one at hand to stamp out the fire at once; and we can imagine what the consequences would be if the hearthrug had been left to smoulder. In the case of steam-pipes, after wood has remained a long time in contact with steam, hot-water, or hot-air pipes, the surface becomes carbonised. During the warm season, the charcoal absorbs moisture. When again heated, the moisture is driven off, leaving a vacuum, into which the fresh air current circulating around the pipes rapidly penetrates, and imparts its oxygen to the charcoal, causing a gradual heating and eventually combustion. The rusting of the pipes contributes also to this result, inasmuch as the rust formed during the hot season may be reduced by the heat of the pipes to a condition in which it will absorb oxygen to the point of red heat. With respect to the detection of fires there is very little to say; but every one should acquaint themselves with the best means of getting from the house in case of fire cutting off the usual exit. At such a critical moment, when, perhaps aroused from a sound sleep, one finds oneself in a house on fire, presence of mind is the first thing required, yet a few simple suggestions that will start to the memory may be of value. If, on the first discovery of the fire, it is found to be confined to one room, and to have made but little progress, it is of the utmost importance to shut, and keep shut, all doors and windows. If the fire appears at all serious, and there are fire-engines at a reasonable distance, it is best to await their arrival, as many buildings have been lost from opening the doors and attempting to extinguish fires with inadequate means. If no engines are within reach, and you have not a hand-pump or an extincteur, the next best thing is to collect as many buckets outside the room on fire as can be obtained, keeping the door shut while more water is being collected. A rough-and-ready protection from breathing smoke may be had by thoroughly wetting a towel and fastening it firmly round the face over the mouth and nostrils. But if the flames have too great a hold to allow of escape by the staircase or roof, and the window of the room is the only means of egress, the situation becomes serious, unless its possibility has been foreseen and guarded against. Only as _the last_ resource should a person run the risk of jumping to the ground; either endeavour by tying the bedclothes together to make some sort of rope, fastening one end to a heavy piece of furniture, and going down the rope hand-over-hand--a rather difficult thing to do without practice--or, if within reach of one, wait as long as possible for the arrival of a fire-escape or ladder. Some people always keep a stout knotted rope in their room, and have an iron hook fixed inside the window, to which it may be attached. Merryweather and Sons, 63 Long Acre, London, make domestic fire-escapes which admit of even women and children lowering themselves from windows. As to means of escape available from the outside for high houses, there are many obvious plans which might be adopted, but among these there are two which appear to be specially easy of attainment, and within the reach of all concerned, at a moderate cost. The first is to fix on buildings external ladders of wrought iron or some other material able to resist the effects of fire at its commencement, and extending from the roof to within 40 ft. of the ground; the other, to provide on every story continuous balconies of wrought iron or any other material proof against immediate destruction by heat; and if the balconies on the several stories were made to communicate with each other by means of external stairs, great additional safety would be attained. The Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire has published the following directions for saving life at fires. See also p. 1002. _For Bystanders._--1. Immediately on the fire being discovered give an alarm to the nearest fire-escape station, not delaying an instant; do not wait to see if it is wanted. Life is more precious than property, and events have too often proved how fatal even a moment’s hesitation is in sending for the fire-escape. It is the fire-escape man’s duty to proceed to the place of alarm immediately.