132 Of the Management of Fire 



portable kitchen, as I think it would be found very useful 

 for troops in camp. The Right Honourable Mr. Thomas 

 Pelham made a trial of one of them last summer for his 

 regiment (the Sussex militia), and found it to be very 

 useful. The saving of fuel was very considerable indeed ; 

 and the saving of trouble in cooking not less important. 

 The first experiment we made together in a single boiler, 

 fitted up for the purpose in the open air, in the middle 

 of the court-yard of Lord Pelham 's house in London. 



I ought, perhaps, to have reserved what I have here 

 said on the subject of these military portable kitchens 

 for my next Essay, where it would more naturally have 

 found its place ; but being persuaded of the great advan- 

 tages that may be derived from them, I am unwilling 

 to lose a moment in recommending them to the atten- 

 tion of those who have it in their power to bring them 

 into use. 



Those who wish to know more about them may, I 

 am confident, procure every information they can desire 

 respecting them, by applying to Mr. Pelham, or to any 

 of the officers of the Sussex militia who were in camp 

 with the regiment last summer. 



There is one more invention for the use of armies 

 in the field which I wish to recommend, and that is a 

 portable boiler of a light and cheap construction, in 

 which victuals may be cooked on a march. There are 

 so many occasions when it would be very desirable to be 

 able to give soldiers, harassed and fatigued with severe 

 service, a warm meal, when it is impossible to stop to 

 light fires and boil the pot, that I cannot help flattering 

 myself that a contrivance, by which the pot actually 

 boiling may be made to keep pace with the troops as 

 they advance, will be an acceptable present to every 



