new supply is added so as not to smother the fire. If only a thin layer
is added each time, this danger will be removed. Experience has proved
that the best results are secured if the fire is built only 4 inches
high. When hot coals come near the top of the stove, the lids are
likely to warp and crack from the heat and the cooking will not be done
any more effectively. Another thing to avoid in connection with a fire
is the accumulation of ashes. The ash-pan should be kept as nearly empty
as possible, for a full ash-pan will check the draft and cause the grate
in the firebox to burn out.

67. ADJUSTING THE DAMPERS.--To get the best results from a cook stove,
and at the same time overcome the wasting of fuel, the ways in which to
adjust the dampers should be fully known. If it is desired to heat the
oven for baking, close dampers _f_ and _i_ and open dampers _g_ and _h_.
With the dampers so arranged, the heated air above the fire is forced
around the oven and up the flue, as is clearly shown by the arrows in
Fig. 3. A study of this diagram will readily show that the lower
left-hand corner of the oven is its coolest part, since the heated air
does not reach this place directly, and that the top center is the
hottest part, because the hottest air passes directly over this portion
of the oven and the heated air in the oven rises to it.

[Illustration: Fig. 4]

If it is desired to heat the surface of the stove, so that cooking may
be done on top of it, close dampers _f_, _h_, and _i_ and open damper
_g_. With the dampers so arranged, the heated air does not pass around
the oven, but is confined in the space above it and the firebox, as
shown in Fig. 4. While the damper _i_ in the flue is closed in order to
confine the heated air as much as possible to the space under the top of