THE MODERN SKYSCRAPER 



heating their rooms with hot-water pipes. Such heat- 

 ing pipes still exist in the ruins of Roman buildings. 



Of course the hot-water heating system of the Ro- 

 mans was a crude and relatively simple affair. It fell 

 into disuse after the Roman period until the latter part 

 of the nineteenth century. Indeed for some centuries 

 after the invention of chimneys and the accompanying 

 fire-places, there was little progress in house-heating 

 devices. Iron stoves, or receptacles for holding fire 

 called by that name, were sometimes constructed for 

 special purposes even as early as the fifteenth century; 

 but these were not practical for general heating pur- 

 poses, and the beginning of the era of modern house- 

 heating dates from the invention of the " Franklin stove " 

 by Benjamin Franklin in 1744. This stove was little 

 more than a fire-place made of iron so that it would 

 project to some extent into the room and thus make the 

 heat from three sides available. A little later, when a 

 short pipe was added, the fourth side was also utilized 

 for heating. This stove was revolutionary in its effects 

 as a fuel-saver and heat-giver. With an equal amount 

 of fuel this stove would heat at least four times the 

 space heated by a fire-place, and heat it more uniformly. 

 When dampers and drafts had been added it became 

 possible to control the fire in a manner never known 

 before ; and for the first time the world particularly 

 the American world, which adopted it at once came 

 to know the comfort of heated houses. 



In the century following Franklin's invention so 

 many improvements were made upon the original 

 stove that the old type practically ceased to exist except 



