to devise a method suited in every respect to the warming of our
dwellings, which at the same time is equally cheering in appearance.
So long as we are obliged to employ coal in its crude form for heating
purposes, and are content with the waste and dirt of the open fire, we
must be thankful for the cheer it gives in many a home where there are
well constructed grates and flues, and make the best use we can of the
undoubted ventilating power it possesses.

A constant change of air in every part of our dwellings is absolutely
necessary that we may have a "sweet home," and the open fireplace with
its flue materially helps to that end; but unless in every other respect
the house is in a good sanitary condition, the open fire only adds to
the danger of residing in such a house, because it draws the impure air
from other parts into our living rooms, where it is respired. Closed
stoves are useful in some places, such as entrance halls. They are more
economical than the open fireplaces; but with them there is danger of
the atmosphere, or rather, the minute particles of organic matter always
floating in the air, becoming burnt and so charging the atmosphere with
carbonic acid. The recently introduced slow-combustion stoves obviate
this evil.

It is possible to warm our houses without having separate fireplaces in
each room, viz., by heated air, hot water, or steam; but there are
many difficulties and some dangers in connection therewith which I
can scarcely hope to see entirely overcome. In America steam has been
employed with some success, and there is this advantage in its use, that
it can be conveyed a considerable distance. It is therefore possible
to have the furnace and boilers for its production quite away from the
dwelling houses and to heat several dwellings from one source, while at
the same time it can be employed for cooking purposes. In steam, then,