174 HOME LIFE IN FLORIDA. 



homeless indeed. After that the flue was lined with a strip 

 of sheet iron, through which the pipe was made to pass, 

 and with reasonable care safety in the future was assured ; 

 and this is just what we earnestly urge every settler to do 

 before he even kindles a fire in his house. It is an em- 

 phatic illustration of the old proverb, that ' ' an ounce of 

 prevention is worth a pound of cure." 



We have already referred to the value of a copious water- 

 supply from a windmill and house-tank in just such cases 

 as this. 



But not every one will or can have a windmill ; and it 

 is well to provide such other ' ' friends in need " as may be 

 possible. There are hand-grenades designed for instant 

 use, by means of which even a child can extinguish an in- 

 cipient fire, simply by throwing one into its midst, and this 

 result is accomplished "without injury to flesh or fabric." 

 These are made by the Hayward Hand Grenade Fire Ex- 

 tinguisher Company, of 407 Broadway, New York. 



The "Babcock Fire Extinguisher" is another faithful 

 servant in such emergencies ; and even, as we write, the 

 report comes in from a Florida town, half laid in ashes, 

 which are yet smoldering : ' ' Some have sneered at the lit- 

 tle ' Babcock,' but they will sneer no more. But for its 

 efficient work, our hotel must have gone with the rest; 

 nothing but this saved it." It is well to know, too, that 

 a few bits of zinc thrown in the stove will extinguish at 

 once any soot or fire in the chimney by dissolving the soot, 

 a curious chemical result. This we know of our own ex- 

 perience. Sulphur is said to have the same effect. 



In saying that Florida houses are not built for cold 

 weather, we do not mean to assert that there are no houses 

 in the State that are as weather-proof as a good class of 

 Northern dwellings. There are some such with tight win- 

 dows, tongued and grooved floor-boards, and plastered 



