FIRES, LIGHTS, AND THINGS TO WORK WITH.


The popular idea of a fire to cook by seems to be, a red-hot top, the
cover of every pot and saucepan dancing over the bubbling, heaving
contents, and coal packed in even with the covers. Try to convince a
servant that the lid need not hop to assure boiling, nor the fire rise
above the fire-box, and there is a profound skepticism, which, even if not
expressed, finds vent in the same amount of fuel and the same general
course of action as before the remonstrance.

The modern stove has brought simplicity of working, and yet the highest
point of convenience, nearly to perfection. With full faith that the fuel
of the future will be gas, its use is as yet, for many reasons, very
limited; the cost of gas in our smaller cities and towns preventing its
adoption by any but the wealthy, who are really in least need of it. With
the best gas-stoves, a large part of the disagreeable in cooking is done
away. No flying ashes, no cinders, no uneven heat, affected by every
change of wind, but a steady flame, regulated to any desired point, and,
when used, requiring only a turn of the hand to end the operation.

Ranges set in a solid brick-work are considered the best form of
cooking-apparatus; but there are some serious objections to their use,
the first being the large amount of fuel required, and then the intense
heat thrown out. Even with water in the house, they are not a necessity. A
water-back, fully as effectual as the range water-back, can be set in any
good stove, and connected with a boiler, large or small, according to the
size of the stove; and for such stove, if properly managed, only about
half the amount of coal will be needed.