Chapter V: Preface (5)

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.