FIREPROOFING 



2183 



FIRE WORSHIP 



How to Make a Fireless Cooker. Any house- 

 wife can make a very satisfactory cooker by 

 utilizing a few inexpensive materials. ' The 

 outside container may be a wooden box with a 

 hinged cover, provided with a hook and staple 



HOME-MADE FIRELESS COOKER 

 Its plan of construction is explained in the text. 



at the front to keep the cover down. A cylin- 

 der of strong pasteboard, placed on end, makes 

 a very good inside container to hold the utensil 

 in which the food is cooked. For packing, 

 excelsior or old newspapers will be found 

 serviceable. This material should be packed 

 snugly around the cylinder and be brought to 

 a level with its top, which is about four inches 

 lower than the box lid. The intervening space 

 should be filled in with a cushion stuffed with 

 cotton or excelsior. 



The operation of such a cooker is very sim- 

 ple. In the morning, for instance, a kettle of 

 stew is placed on the stove. When it begins 

 to boil it is taken off and the closely covered 

 kettle is immediately transferred from the stove 

 to the inside container. The cushion is then 

 placed in the box, the cover shut down and 

 fastened, and in due time the hot stew is 

 taken out to be served. Two dishes may be 

 cooked at the same time if a kettle containing 

 two divisions is used; kettles made especially 

 for such purpose are on the market. S.L.A. 



FIRE 'PROOFING, a name applied to various 

 processes by which combustible materials are 

 made fireproof, or able to resist the action of 

 fire. Asbestos, silicate and tungstate of soda, 

 borax and phosphate of ammonia are among 



the best known fire resisters. Wood thoroughly 

 soaked in a solution of silicate of soda will 

 withstand terrific heat before being charred. 

 The chemical, however, affects the surface of 

 the wood, making it impossible to finish it 

 so well as wood not thus treated. 



Asbestos is largely used for theater curtains, 

 lining for safes and for filling in partitions to 

 prevent the passage of heat. Dress fabrics 

 may be made partially fireproof by a thorough 

 soaking in a solution of sulphate of ammonia 

 or tungstate of soda. Borax is also used for 

 the same purpose, but it has an injurious 

 effect and greatly weakens the fabric. No 

 method has yet been devised for rendering 

 combustible materials absolutely fireproof, the 

 best processes giving only partial protection. 

 In most large cities buildings used for public 

 purposes are built of materials such as stone 

 and steel, which in themselves are fireproof and 

 need little further protecting processes. 



FIRE 'WORKS, various preparations and 

 combinations of combustible materials, such 

 as gunpowder, saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal 

 used for the purpose of making pyrotechnic 

 displays. It is thought their manufacture was 

 known to the Chinese at least 5,000 years ago. 

 Displays of fireworks were certainly given in 

 the Roman circus, but the materials used were 

 probably similar to Greek fire (which see). 



Modern fireworks may be divided into those 

 simple in construction, such as crackers, squibs, 

 Roman candles and rockets, and another class 

 of more elaborate set pieces which represent 

 elaborate designs when burning. The simpler 

 pieces are cylinders of paper containing a mix- 

 ture of powder designed to throw various col- 

 ored sparks or balls of fire into the air, some- 

 times with an additional charge of powder 

 which makes a loud explosion and fiery dis- 

 play. Set pieces require great skill and in- 

 genuity, and the art of firework display has 

 reached such development that scenes repre- 

 senting naval and military battles and elab- 

 orate pageants may be reproduced. 



In the United States alone fireworks valued 

 at nearly $2,000,000 (wholesale price) are an- 

 nually produced. The Fourth of July celebra- 

 tion makes the greatest demand upon fire- 

 works manufacturers, but in the Southern 

 states Christmas is celebrated with fireworks 

 displays. 



FIRE WORSHIP, the worship by certain 

 primitive peoples of the god of fire, or the 

 divine principle as typified by fire. The term 

 is also applied to a ritual practiced by all the 



