FIRES AND LIGHTS


XXIX.

FIRES AND LIGHTS.


A shallow fireplace saves wood and gives out more heat than a deeper
one. A false back of brick may be put up in a deep fireplace. Hooks
for holding up the shovel and tongs, a hearth-brush and bellows, and
brass knobs to hang them on, should be furnished to every fireplace.
An iron bar across the andirons aids in keeping the fire safe and in
good order. Steel furniture is neater, handsomer, and more easily kept
in order than that made of brass.

Use green wood for logs, and mix green and dry wood for the fire; and
then the wood-pile will last much longer. Walnut, maple, hickory, and
oak wood are best; chestnut or hemlock is bad, because it snaps. Do
not buy a load in which there are many crooked sticks. Learn how to
measure and calculate the solid contents of a load, so as not to be
cheated. A cord of wood should be equivalent to a pile eight feet long,
four feet wide and four feet high; that is, it contains (8 X 4 X 4 =
128) one hundred and twenty-eight cubic or solid feet. A city "load"
is usually one third of a cord. Have all your wood split and piled
under cover for winter. Have the green wood logs in one pile, dry wood
in another, oven wood in another, kindlings and chips in another, and
a supply of charcoal to use for broiling and ironing in another place.
Have a brick bin for ashes, and never allow them to be put in wood.
When quitting fires at night, never leave a burning stick across the
andirons, nor on its end, without quenching it. See that no fire adheres
to the broom or brush, remove all articles from the fire, and have two
pails filled with water in the kitchen where they will not freeze.


STOVES AND GRATES.

Rooms heated by stoves should always have some opening for the admission
of fresh air, or they will be injurious to health. The dryness of the
air, which they occasion, should be remedied by placing a vessel filled
with water on the stove, otherwise, the lungs or eyes will be injured.
A large number of plants in a room prevents this dryness of the air.
Where stove-pipes pass through fire-boards, the hole in the wood should
be much larger than the pipe, so that there may be no danger of the
wood taking fire. The unsightly opening thus occasioned should be
covered with tin. When pipes are carried through floors or partitions,
they should always pass either through earthen crocks, or what are
known as tin stove-pipe thimbles, which may be found in any stove store
or tinsmith's. Lengthening a pipe will increase its draught.

For those who use _anthracite_ coal, that which is broken or screened is
best for grates, and the nut-coal for small stoves. Three tons are
sufficient in the Middle States, and four tons in the Northern, to keep
one fire through the winter. That which is bright, hard, and clean is
best; and that which is soft, porous, and covered with damp dust is
poor. It will be well to provide two barrels of charcoal for kindling to
every ton of anthracite coal. Grates for _bituminous coal_ should have a
flue nearly as deep as the grate; and the bars should be round and not
close together. The better draught there is, the less coal-dust is made.
Every grate should be furnished with a poker, shovel, tongs, blower,
coal-scuttle, and holder for the blower. The latter may be made of
woolen, covered with old silk; and hung near the fire.

Coal-stoves should be carefully put up, as cracks in the pipe,
especially in sleeping rooms, are dangerous.


LIGHTS

Professor Phin, of the _Manufacturer and Builder_, has kindly given us
some late information on this important topic, which will be found
valuable.

In choosing the source of our light, the great points to be considered
are, first, the influence on the eyes, and secondly, economy. It is
poor economy to use a bad light. Modern houses in cities, and even in
large villages, are furnished with gas; where gas is not used,
sperm-oil, kerosene or coal-oil, and candles are employed. Gas is the
cheapest, (or ought to be;) and if properly used, is as good as any.
Good sperm-oil burned in an Argand lamp--that is, a lamp with a
circular wick, like the astral lamp and others--is perhaps the best;
but it is expensive and attended with many inconveniences. Good kerosene
oil gives a light which leaves little to be desired. Candles are used
only on rare occasions, though many families prefer to manufacture
into candles the waste grease that accumulates in the household. The
economy of any source of light will depend so much upon local
circumstances that no absolute directions can be given.

The effect produced by light on the eyes depends upon the following
points: First, _Steadiness_. Nothing is more injurious to the
eyes than a flickering, unsteady flame. Hence, all flames used for
light-giving purposes ought to be surrounded with glass chimneys or
small shades. No naked flame can ever be steady. Second, _Color_.
This depends greatly upon the temperature of the flame. A hot flame
gives a bright, white light; a flame which has not a high temperature
gives a dull, yellow light, which is very injurious to the eyes. In
the naked gas-jet a large portion of the flame burns at a low
temperature, and the same is the case with the flame of the kerosene
lamp when the height of the chimney is not properly proportioned to
the amount of oil consumed; a high wick needs a high chimney. In the
case of a well-trimmed Argand oil-lamp, or an Argand burner for gas,
the flame is in general most intensely hot, and the light is of a clear
white character.

The third point which demands attention is the _amount of heat_
transmitted from the flame to the eyes. It often happens that people,
in order to economize light, bring the lamp quite close to the face.
This is a very bad habit. The heat is more injurious than the light.
Better burn a larger flame, and keep it at a greater distance. It is
also well that various sized lamps should be provided to serve the
varying necessities of the household in regard to quantity of light.
One of the very best forms of lamp is that known as the "student's
reading-lamp," which is, in the burner, an Argand. Provide small lamps
with handles for carrying about, and broad-bottomed lamps for the
kitchen, as these are not easily upset. Hand and kitchen lamps are
best made of metal, unless they are to be used by very careful persons.

Sperm-oil, lard, tallow, etc., have been superseded to such an extent
by kerosene that it is scarcely worth while to give any special
directions in regard to them. In the choice of kerosene, attention
should be paid to two points: its _safety_ and its _light-giving
qualities_. Kerosene is not a simple fluid, like water; but is a
mixture of several liquids, all of which boil at different temperatures.
Good kerosene oil should be purified from all that portion which boils
or evaporates at a low temperature; for it is the production of this
vapor, and its mixture with atmospheric air, that gives rise to those
terrible explosions which sometimes occur when a light is brought near
a can of poor oil. To test the oil in this respect, pour a little into
an iron spoon, and heat it over a lamp until it is moderately warm to
the touch. If the oil produces vapor which can be set on fire by means
of a flame held a short distance above the surface of the liquid, it
is bad. Good oil poured into a teacup or on the floor does not easily
take fire when a light is brought in contact with it. Poor oil will
instantly ignite under the same circumstances, and hence, the breaking
of a lamp filled with poor oil is always attended by great peril of
a conflagration. Not only the safety but also the light-giving qualities
of kerosene are greatly enhanced by the removal of these volatile and
dangerous oils. Hence, while good kerosene should be clear in color
and free from all matters which can gum up the wick and thus interfere
with free circulation and combustion, it should also be perfectly safe.
It ought to be kept in a cool, dark place, and carefully excluded from
the air.

The care of lamps requires so much attention and discretion, that many
ladies choose to do this work themselves, rather than trust it with
domestics. To do it properly, provide the following things: an old
waiter to hold all the articles used; a lamp-filler, with a spout,
small at the end, and turned up to prevent oil from dripping; proper
wicks, and a basket or box to hold them; a lamp-trimmer made for the
purpose, or a pair of _sharp_ scissors; a small soap-cup and soap;
some washing soda in a broad-mouthed bottle; and several soft cloths
to wash the articles and towels to wipe them. If every thing, after
being used, is cleansed from oil and then kept neatly, it will not be
so unpleasant a task as it usually is, to take care of lamps.

The inside of lamps and oil-cans should be cleansed with soda dissolved
in water. Be careful to drain them well, and not to let any gilding
or bronze be injured by the soda coming in contact with it. Put one
table-spoonful of soda to one quart of water. Take the lamp to pieces
and clean it as often as necessary. Wipe the chimney at least once a
day, and wash it whenever mere wiping fails to cleanse it. Some persons,
owing to the dirty state of their chimneys, lose half the light which
is produced. Keep dry fingers in trimming lamps. Renew the wicks before
they get too short. They should never be allowed to burn shorter than
an inch and a half.

In regard to _shades_, which are always well to use, on lamps or
gas, those made of glass or porcelain are now so cheap that we can
recommend them as the best without any reservation. Plain shades,
making the light soft and even, do not injure the eyes. Lamps should
be lighted with a strip of folded or rolled paper, of which a quantity
should be kept on the mantelpiece. Weak eyes should always be especially
shaded from the lights. Small screens, made for the purpose, should
be kept at hand. A person with weak eyes can use them safely much
longer when they are protected from the glare of the light. Fill the
entry-lamp every day, and cleanse and fill night-lanterns twice a week,
if used often. A good night-lamp is made with a small one-wicked lamp
and a roll of tin to set over it. Have some holes made in the bottom
of this cover, and it can then be used to heat articles. Very cheap
floating tapers can he bought to burn in a teacup of oil through the
night.


TO MAKE CANDLES.

The nicest candles are those run in moulds. For this purpose, melt
together one quarter of a pound of white wax, one quarter of an ounce
of camphor, two ounces of alum, and ten ounces of suet or mutton-tallow.
Soak the wicks in lime-water and saltpetre, and when dry, fix them in
the moulds and pour in the melted tallow. Let them remain one night
to cool; then warm them a little to loosen them, draw them out, and
when they are hard, put them in a box in a dry and cool place.

To make dipped candles, cut the wicks of the right length, double them
over rods, and twist them. They should first be dipped in lime-water
or vinegar, and dried. Melt the tallow in a large kettle, filling it
to the top with hot water, when the tallow is melted. Put in wax and
powdered alum, to harden them. Keep the tallow hot over a portable
furnace, and fill the kettle with hot water as fast as the tallow is
used up. Lay two long strips of narrow board on which to hang the rods;
and set flat pans under, on the floor, to catch the grease. Take several
rods at once, and wet the wicks in the tallow; straighten and smooth
them when cool. Then dip them as fast as they cool, until they become
of the proper size. Plunge them obliquely and not perpendicularly; and
when the bottoms are too large, hold them in the hot grease till a
part melts off. Let them remain one night to cool; then cut off the
bottoms, and keep them in a dry, cool place. Cheap lights are made,
by dipping rushes in tallow; the rushes being first stripped of nearly
the whole of the hard outer covering and the pith alone being retained
with just enough of the tough bark to keep it stiff.