352 Mr. T. Pridgin Teale [Feb. 5, 



accumulated about the hearth than in ordinary fireplaces. If there he 

 the least doubt ivhetlier loooden beams may possibly run under the 

 hearthstone, then an ashpan should be added, loith a double bottom, the 

 space between the two plates being filled with artificial asbestos, 

 * slagwool,' 2 inches in thickness." 



EuLE XIII. " A fireplace on this construction must not be put up in 

 a party wall, ivhere there is no projecting chimney breast, lest the heated 

 back should endanger woodwork in a room at the other side." 



Having now worked up Eules for the construction of an effective 

 fireplace, let us consider what benefits result. 



1. — Economy of Fuel. I have already stated that my own 

 experience of the application of the " Economiser " to all my 

 original fireplaces, including kitchen and scullery, was a saving of 

 more than one-fourth. Friends who have followed my advice report 

 variously from a sixth to one-third. The saving in the Leeds 

 Infirmary, according to returns supplied to me by Mr. Blair, the 

 General Manager, has been nearly a sixth, amounting to nearly 100 

 tons in the year. What the saving in the fireplaces constructed on 

 the best rules may be I cannot say, probably about the same degree 

 of saving, with a large increase of heat given into the room. My 

 conviction is that such fireplaces make one ton of coal give out as 

 much heat into a room as two tons would yield if burnt in the worst 

 forms of the nearly obsolete register stove. Need more be said about 

 economy of fuel ? 



2. — Reduction of Soot. This is, perhaps, from a national point 

 of view, the most important point in connection with our subject — 

 and yet it is the portion of it in which my evidence is the most 

 defective. I can only offer you my general impression that there is 

 a very important reduction in the amount of soot, an impression 

 based upon observation of the smoke issuing from chimneys where 

 " Economisers " are in use, and of the diminution of soot falling 

 about my own house, which is confirmed by the testimony of Miss 

 Gordon, Lady Superintendent of the Leeds Infirmary, as to the 

 lessened amount of soot which finds its way into the wards. 



3. — Beduction of Ashjnt Befuse. This point is clearly proved by 

 the fine snuff-like powder, free from cinders, which I show ; and by 

 the fact that the whole produce in the ashpit of my kitchen fireplace 

 for one week was contained in one ashpan, and weighed 15 lbs. 

 Surely this is a fact for our local authorities to grasp. 



Danger of Fire. — Seeing that improved fireplace construction 

 involves increased heat about the hearth, an actual danger of fire 

 will be created where the hearthstone rests on wood, unless the 

 hearth itself be protected. It was therefore my duty to find out a 

 means of protecting the hearth. With this view, experiments have 

 been made with ashpans with double bottoms and a small air-space 

 between the ashpan and the hearth. The results are shown in the 

 specimens of cotton wool, wood, &c., which have been exposed under 

 ashpans of various constructions. My conclusion is that two inches 



