ON FIRES AND LIGHTS.

A Treatise on Domestic Economy; For the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School by Catharine Esther Beecher, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. ON FIRES AND LIGHTS.

CHAPTER XXV. ON 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 more genteel, 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 woodpile 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. 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, either by placing a vessel, filled with water, on the stove, or by hooking a long and narrow pan, filled with water, in front of the grate; otherwise, the lungs or eyes may be injured. A large number of plants in a room, prevents this dryness of the air. Openings for pipes, through floors, partitions, or fireboards, should be surrounded by tin, to prevent their taking fire. 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 woollen, 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.

On Lights.

Lamps are better than candles, as they give a steadier light, and do not scatter grease, like tallow candles. The best oil, is clear, and nearly colorless. Winter-strained oil should be used in cold weather. Lard is a good substitute for oil, for astral and other large lamps. It is cheaper, burns clearer, and has a less disagreeable smell. It will not burn so well in small lamps, as in large ones. Melt it every morning, in an old pitcher, kept for the purpose. Oil, long kept, grows thick, and does not burn well. It is therefore best not to buy it in large quantities. It should never be left standing in lamps, for several days, as this spoils it, and often injures the lamps. Camphine is a kind of oil manufactured in New York, which does not smell disagreeably, nor make grease-spots, and gives a brighter light than the best oil. Cleanse the insides of lamps and oil-cans, with pearlash-water. Be careful to drain them well, and not to let any gilding, or bronze, be injured by the pearlash-water coming in contact with it. Put one tablespoonful of pearlash to one quart of water.

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; a ball of wickyarn, and a basket to hold it; a lamp-trimmer, made for the purpose, or a pair of sharp scissors; a small soap-cup and soap; some pearlash, 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.

Wash the shade of an astral lamp, once a week, and the glass chimney oftener. Take the lamp to pieces, and cleanse it, once a month. Keep dry fingers, in trimming lamps. To raise the wick of an astral lamp, turn it to the right; to lower it, turn it to the left. Trim it, after it has been once used; and, in lighting it, raise it to the proper height, as soon as may be, or it will either smoke, or form a crust. Renew the wick, when only an inch and a half long. Close-woven wicks are better than those which are loose. Dipping wicks in vinegar, makes them burn clearer than they otherwise would. Plain shades do not injure the eyes, like cut ones; and prints and pictures appear better by them, than by the others. Lamps should be lighted with a strip of folded or rolled paper, kept on the mantelpiece. Weak eyes should always be 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 shaded from the glare of the light, than if they are not so. Fill the entry-lamp, every day, and cleanse and fill night-lanterns, twice a week, if used often. Provide small, one-wicked lamps, to carry about; and broad-bottomed lamps, for the kitchen, as these are not easily upset.

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 be bought, to burn in a teacup of oil through the night.

Wickyarn, drawn repeatedly through melted wax, till stiff and smooth, makes a good taper, for use in sealing letters. It can be twined in fanciful forms, and kept on the writing-table.

To make Candles.

The nicest candles, are 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 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 up 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; and, when cool, straighten and smooth them. 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.

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