324 SCIENCE IN SHORT CHAPTERS. 



current of superheated air which enters below and at the 

 back of the oven, travels along and finds exit above and in 

 front of the steam-pipe before named. 



The result is a practical attainment of theoretical perfec- 

 tion. Instead of the joint being dried and corticated out- 

 side, made tough, leathery, and flavorless to about an inch 

 of depth, then fairly cooked an inch further, and finally 

 left raw, disgusting, and bloody in the middle, as it is in 

 the orthodox roasting by British cooks, the whole is uni- 

 formly cooked throughout without the soddening action of 

 mere boiling or steaming, as the excess of moisture is re- 

 moved by the final current of hot dry air thrown in by the 

 blow-pipes, which at the same time give the whole surface 

 an uniform browning that can be regulated at will without 

 burning any portion or wasting the external fat. 



Eumford's second rule, that air be admitted only from 

 below, and be limited to the requirements, is so simple that 

 no comment upon it is needed. Although we have done so 

 little in the improvement of domestic fireplaces, great pro- 

 gress has been made in engine furnaces, blast furnaces, and 

 all other fireplaces for engineering and manufacturing pur- 

 poses. Every furnace engineer now fully appreciates Rum- 

 ford's assertion that excess of cold air is a thief. 



The third rule is one which, as I have already stated, 

 stands seriously in the way of any commercial "pushing" 

 of Eumford's kitchen ranges. Those which he figures and 

 describes are all of them masonic structures, not iron- 

 mongery; the builder must erect them, they cannot be 

 bought ready-made ; but, now that public attention is 

 roused, I believe that any builder who will study Eum- 

 ford's plans and drawings, which are very practically made, 

 may do good service to himself 'and his customers by fitting 

 up a few houses with true Eumford kitcheners, and offer- 

 ing to reconstruct existing kitchen ranges, especially in large 

 houses. 



The fourth rule is one that is sorely violated in the ma- 

 jority of kitcheners, and without any good reason. The 

 heat from the fire of any kitchener, whether it be of brick 

 or iron, should first do the work demanding the highest 

 temperature, viz., roasting and baking, then proceed to the 



