FIRE-CLAY AND ANTHRACITE. 43 



the fixed or solid carbon capable of burning with a smokeless, 

 flameless glow, amounts to 65 per cent, in ordinary British 

 bituminous coal, against an average of 92 per cent, in British 

 anthracite. The advantages of anthracite as a fuel for opon 

 radiating grates are nearly in the proportion of these figures. 

 Besides this it contains about half the quantity of ash. 

 Thus we see that from a purely selfish point of view, and quite 

 irrespective of our duty to our fellow-citizens as regards pol- 

 luting the atmosphere, anthracite is preferable to ordinary coal 

 on economical grounds, supposing we can obtain it at the same 

 price as bituminous coal, which is now the case. 



Another great advantage of anthracite is its cleanliness. It 

 may be picked up in the fingers without soiling them, and it is 

 similarly cleanly throughout the house. It produces no 

 " blacks," no grimy dust, and if it were generally in use 

 throughout London one half of the house-cleaning would be 

 saved. White curtains, blinds, etc. might hang quite four times 

 as long, and then come down not half so dirty as now. The 

 saving in soap alone, without counting labor, would at once 

 return a handsome percentage on the capital outlay required 

 for reconstructing all our fireplaces. 



Let us now look on the other side, and ask what are the 

 disadvantages of anthracite, and why is it not at once adopted 

 by everybody ? There is really only one disadvantage viz. 

 the greater difficulty of starting an anthracite fire. Practically 

 this is considerable, seeing that laziness is universal and ever 

 ready to find excuses when an innovation is proposed that 

 stands in its way. To light an anthracite fire in an ordinary 

 fireplace the bellows are required unless a specially suitable 

 draught or fire-lighter is used. Some recommend that an 

 admixture of bituminous coal should be used to start it, but 

 this is a feeble device calculated to lead to total failure, seeing 

 that the sole originator and sustainer of our ordinary use of 

 bituminous coal is domestic ignorance and indolence, and if 

 both kinds of coal are kept in a house a common English 

 servant will stubbornly use the easy lighting kind, and solemnly 

 assert that the other cannot be used at all. The only way to 

 deal with this obstacle, the human impediment, is to say, 

 ** This you must use, or go." This is strictly just, as a simple 

 enforcement of duty. 



At the same time some help should be supplied in the way 

 of artificial modes of creating a draught in starting an anthra- 

 cite fire. This may be done by temporarily closing the front 



