Fire-places and Kitchen Utensils. 289 



most certainly warp with the heat, and will either de- 

 tach itself from the iron door to which it is fastened, 

 or will cause the door to bend and prevent its closing 

 the roaster with sufficient accuracy. I have seen sev- 

 eral attempts made to use boards instead of panels, 

 in covering the outsides of the iron doors of roasters 

 and iron ovens ; but they were all unsuccessful. It is 

 quite impossible that they ever should answer, as will 

 be evident to those who will take the trouble to con- 

 sider the matter with attention. 



As doors of sheet iron, covered with wood on the 

 outside, when they are properly constructed, are ad- 

 mirably calculated for confining heat, I think it worth 

 while to give a detailed account of the precautions that 

 are necessary in the construction of them. 



Of the best Method of covering the iron Doors of 

 Roasters and Ovens, etc., with wooden Panels, for 

 confining the Heat. 



The object principally to be attended to in this busi- 

 ness is to contrive matters so that the shrinking and 

 swelling of the wood by alternate heat and moisture 

 shall have no tendency either to detach the wood from 

 the iron door, or to change its form, or to cause open- 

 ings in the wood by which the air confined between the 

 wood and the iron can make its escape. 



The manner in which this may, in all cases, be done, 

 will be evident from an examination of the Fig. 18, 

 which represents a front view of the door of a cylin- 

 drical roaster, 18 inches in diameter, covered with a 

 square wooden panel. 



It will be observed that this panel consists of a 

 square frame tenanted, and fastened together at each 



VOL. III. 19 



