i 7 8 



FUELS AND THEIR USES 



for a quick and hot fire. Natural gas, where abundant, 

 is both cheap and an excellent fuel, while artificial gas has 

 come into many homes to be used as an ideal fuel for 

 cooking. Some homes, indeed, have come to use elec- 

 tricity, and it is believed by scientists that when our great 

 coal and oil resources have been exhausted, we shall depend 

 still more upon electricity produced from water power as a 

 source of heat in our homes. An interesting home project 

 would be a study of the costs of the fuels used in your 

 own home. Fill out a table like the one shown below, 



FUELS USED IN MY HOME 



giving the kind of fuel, the amount bought on each date, 

 and for what purpose the fuel is used. Is it more econom- 

 ical to buy in small or large quantities? A study of the 

 second table on a comparison of fuels shows that different 

 fuels have a very different heating value, but as their cost 

 in the different localities differs so greatly, this table would 

 have to be modified by each boy and girl who uses it, for 

 his own locality. 



Heating value of fuels. It is of some interest to com- 

 pare the available heat produced by different fuels. In 

 the following table is shown the amount of water which 

 can be heated from the freezing point to the boiling point 

 for one cent at specified prices, provided no heat is lost. 

 It is understood, of course, that no heating device will 



