"THE ENGLISHMAN'S FIRESIDE.'' 239 



ready for emission into the apartment. This is effected by the nat-. 

 ural properties of the walls of the earthenware reservoir. They are 

 bad conductors and good radiators. The heat slowly passes through 

 to the outside of the stove, is radiated into the apartment from a 

 large and moderately heated surface, which affords a genial and well- 

 diffused temperature throughout. 



There is no scorching in one little red-hot hole, or corner, or box, 

 and freezing in the other parts of the room. There are no draughts, 

 as the chimney is quite closed as soon as the heat reservoir is sup- 

 plied. If one of these heat reservoirs is placed in the hall, where it 

 may form a noble ornament and can easily communicate with an 

 underground flue, it warms every part of the house, and enables the 

 Bussian to enjoy a luxurious temperate climate indoors in spite of 

 arctic winter outside. 



In a house thus warmed and free from draughts or blasts of cold 

 air, ventilation becomes the simplest of problems. Nothing more is 

 required than to provide an inlet and outlet in suitable places, and 

 of suitable dimensions, when the difference between the specific 

 gravity of the cold air without and warm air within does all the rest. 

 Nothing is easier to arrange than to cause all the entering air to be 

 warmed on its way by the hall stove, and to regulate the supply 

 which each apartment shall receive from this general or main stream 

 by adjusting its own upper outlet. In our English houses, with 

 open chimneys, all such systematic, scientific ventilation is impossi- 

 ble, on account of the dominating, interfering, useless, and comfort- 

 destroying currents produced by these wasteful air-shafts. 



I should add that the Russian porcelain reservoirs may be con- 

 structed for a heat supply of a few hours or for a whole day, an d I 

 need say nothing further in refutation of the common British preju- 

 dice which confounds so admirable and truly scientific a contrivance 

 with the iron fire-pot above referred to. 



There is another kind of stove, which, for the sake of distinction, 

 I may call Scandinavian, as it is commonly used in Norway, Sweden, 

 and Denmark, besides some parts of North Germany. This is a tall, 

 hollow iron pillar, of rectangular section, varying from three to six 

 feet in width, and rising half-way to the ceiling of the room, and 

 sometimes higher. A fire is lighted at the lower part, and the prod- 

 ucts of combustion, in their way upward, meet with horizontal iron 

 plates, which deflect them first to the right, then to the left, and 

 thus compel them to make a long serpentine journey before they 

 reach the chimney. By this means they give off their heat to the 

 large surface of iron plate, and enter the chimney at a comparatively 

 low temperature. The heat is radiated into the apartment from the 

 large metal surface, no part of which approaches a red heat. A fur- 

 ther economy is commonly effected by placing this iron pillar in the 

 wall separating two rooms, so that one of its faces is in each room. 

 Thus two rooms are heated by one fire. One of these may be the 

 kitchen, and the same fire that prepares the food may be used to 

 warm the dining-room. The fire-worshipper is of course deprived of 

 his " cheerful " occupation of staring at the coals, and he also loses 

 his playthings, as neither poker, tongs, nor coal-scuttle are included 

 in the 'furniture of an apartment thus heated. People differently 

 constituted consider that an escape from the dust, dirt, and clatter of 

 these is a decided advantage. 



