Fire-places and Kitchen Utensils. 237 



wide, high, and deep to permit of the leaving of chim- 

 ney-corners sufficiently spacious to be useful, it will 

 be best to sacrifice these corners, and to proceed in a 

 different manner in constructing the new fire-place. 



In this last case the back of the new fire-place should 

 be brought forward, and the new work should be 

 executed agreeably to the directions contained in my 

 fourth Essay for the construction of open chimney fire- 

 places. If void spaces should remain on the right and 

 left of the new jambs, they will be found useful for 

 various purposes. 



It is of so much importance to facilitate the means 

 of cooking to the poor, and to enable them to prepare 

 food in different ways, that I think it extremely de- 

 sirable that each cottager should have an iron pot or 

 digester, so contrived as to be used occasionally over 

 his open fire, or, what will be much more economical, 

 in a small closed fire-place, which may be made with a 

 few bricks on one side of his open fire-place. 



But what would be of more use, if possible, to a poor 

 family, even than a good boiler, would be a small oven 

 of sheet iron, well put up in brick-work. Such an oven 

 would not cost more than a few shillings, and if prop- 

 erly set would last for many years without needing 

 any repairs. It would answer not only for baking 

 household bread and cakes, but might likewise be used 

 with great advantage in cooking rice puddings, potato 

 pies, and many other kinds of nourishing food of the 

 most exquisite taste, that might be prepared at a very 

 trifling expense. 



It is in vain to expect that the poor should adopt 

 better methods of choosing and preparing their food, till 

 they are furnished with better implements and utensils 

 for cooking. 



