284 On the Construction of Kitchen 



knew it to be the form best adapted for strength and 

 durability. 



There is another reason, which I did not dare to 

 communicate to the workmen (iron-plate workers) whom 

 I was obliged to employ, in order to introduce this con- 

 trivance into common use in this country : when roast- 

 ers are of this form, it will be easy to make them of 

 cast iron, which will render the article not only cheaper 

 to the purchaser, but also much more durable, and 

 better on many accounts. 



As there is a certain proportion of sulphur in the 

 coal commonly used in this country, I was always per- 

 fectly aware of the consequences of burning it under 

 roasters constructed of sheet iron. I knew that the 

 sulphurous vapour from such fuel would be much 

 more injurious to the roaster, and especially to its blow- 

 pipes (which are much exposed) than the clear flame of 

 a wood fire ; but I trusted to the remedy, which I knew 

 might easily be provided for this defect. I thought 

 that cast iron, which is much less liable to be injured 

 by a coal fire than wrought iron, would soon be sub- 

 stituted in lieu of it, first for the blowpipes, and then 

 for the body of the roaster. In this expectation I have 

 not been disappointed, for the blowpipes of roasters 

 are now commonly made of cast iron by the London 

 workmen; and, where sea-coal is used as fuel, they 

 never should be made of any other material. 



The first roasters I caused to be made had all flat 

 bottoms, and their sides were vertical, and their tops 

 were arched over in the form of a trunk ; but several 

 inconveniences were found to result from this shape. 

 Their bottoms were too much exposed to the heat, and 

 this excessive heat in that part heated the bottom of the 



