184 On the Construction of KitcJtcn 



this gives 338! Ibs. of boiling-hot water kept boiling 

 i hour with i Ib. of the fuel ; and computing from these 

 data, and supposing, farther, that a pound of beef 

 requires as much heat to keep it boiling-hot any given 

 time as a pound of water, it appears that 3} Ibs. of 

 pine-wood, used as fuel, would be sufficient to keep the 

 300 Ibs. of water, with the 100 Ibs. of beef in it, boiling 

 3 hours. This quantity of fuel (= 32 Ibs.), added to 

 that required to heat the water and the meat boiling- 

 hot (= 262 Ibs.), gives 29! Ibs. of pine-wood for the 

 quantity of fuel required to cook 100 Ibs. of boiled 

 beef. 



This quantity of fuel, which is just about equal in 

 effect to 1 6 Ibs., or f of a peck of pit-coal, will doubt- 

 less be thought a small allowance for boiling 100 Ibs. 

 of beef; but it is in fact much more than would be 

 necessary merely for that purpose, could all the heat 

 generated in the combustion of the fuel be applied 

 immediately to the cooking of the meat, and to that 

 purpose alone. Much the greatest part of that which 

 is generated is expended in heating the water in which 

 the meat is boiled, and as it remains in the water after 

 the process is ended it must be considered as lost. 



This loss may, however, be prevented in a great 

 measure ; and, when that is done, the expense of fuel 

 in boiling meat will be reduced almost to nothing. 

 We have just seen that 100 Ibs. of meat, at the mean 

 temperature of the atmosphere in England (55), may 

 be made boiling-hot with the heat generated in the 

 combustion of 3-} Ibs. of pine-wood ; and there is no 

 doubt but, with the use of proper means for confining 

 the heat, this meat might be kept boiling-hot 3 hours, 

 and consequently be thoroughly done, with the addition 



