76 Of the Management of Fire 



The fire was made on a flat square iron grate ; and 

 the internal diameter of the fire-place was 2 or 3 inches 

 larger than the diameter .of the boiler which belonged 

 to it. The bottom of the boiler was from 6 to 10 or 12 

 inches (according to its size) above the level of the grate ; 

 and the door of the opening into the fire-place by which 

 the fuel was introduced was kept constantly closed. 

 The ash-pit door was furnished with a register, and the 

 boilers were all furnished with double covers. 



Having, in consequence of the progress I had made 

 in my inquiries respecting the management of heat 

 and the economy of fuel, come to a resolution to pull 

 down this kitchen, and rebuild it on an improved prin- 

 ciple ; previous to its being demolished, I made several 

 very accurate experiments to determine the real ex- 

 pense of fuel in the fire-places as they then existed, 

 with all their faults ; and when the new arrangement of 

 the kitchen was completed, I repeated these experiments 

 with the same boilers ; and by comparing the results of 

 these two sets of experiments, I was able to estimate 

 with great precision the real amount of the saving of 

 time as well as of fuel, which was derived from the 

 improvements I had introduced. 



After all that has been said (and perhaps already too 

 often repeated in different parts of this Essay) on the 

 construction of fire-places, my reader will be able to 

 form a clear and just idea of the construction of those 

 of which I am now speaking (those of the kitchen of the 

 Military Academy, in its present improved state), when 

 he is told that the fire burns on a circular concave iron 

 grate, about half the diameter of the circular boiler 

 which belongs to the fire-place ; that the fire-place, 

 properly so called, is a cylindrical cavity in the solid 



