166 Spontaneous Combustio?i. 



heat was found in no other portion of them. Those at the bot- 

 tom were at least one year old, and my family having been ab- 

 sent during the summer, none had been added, excepting a very 

 small quantity on the surface a few days previous, for more than 

 three months. 



The burning of boxes and casks in which ashes are very com- 

 monly kept, is usually, perhaps generally with truth, attributed 

 to the burning coals taken up with the ashes. Suspecting this 

 cause, I searched thoroughly for ignited coals among the heated 

 ashes in the cart and also in the arch, and found no vestige of 

 coals in any state. It is not probable that any small quantity of 

 ashes removed at one time from the stoves, even if hot and min- 

 gled with live coals, and added to a heap on its surface as usual, 

 should have retained its heat till covered by succeeding additions, 

 and this heat have remained so pent up for a year, and not rather 

 have been conducted to the whole mass, and thus entirely dissi- 

 pated. Besides, the combustion of the wood in my stoves is very 

 complete — the coals are consumed, and the ashes are commonly 

 removed before making the fire in the morning, and at considera- 

 ble intervals ; so that, though I made no examination, it seems 

 there could have been but an extremely small portion of combus- 

 tible vegetable matter remaining unconsumed. The floor of the 

 arch and cellar is sand, and unusually dry ; there is nothing pecu- 

 liar in the circumstances of the arch, and I cannot but attribute 

 the occurrence to an unknown cause, which in time would have 

 resulted, as in the following instance, in 



2. /Spontaneous Combustion. — This instance came under the 

 immediate observation of Rev. President Lord, of Dartmouth 

 College, a few years since. He noticed for two or three days, 

 throughout his house, that well known and pecuhar odor of hot 

 or ignited ashes, unaccompanied by smoke or the odor of burning 

 wood. After repeated and unsuccessful examinations had been 

 made for the cause, attention was finally drawn to the ashes in a 

 corner of the cellar, which were found in a state of complete 

 ignition. On being stirred with a stick, the fire, it was found, 

 pervaded the whole mass, some twenty five bushels, and it was 

 extinguished by an abundance of water. This heap had been 

 accumulated during the two years previous. They lay upon 

 the bottom of the cellar, which was moist, and surrounded on 

 three sides with brick ; nothing intervened between them and 

 the floor above, and there seemed great reason to fear the house 



