THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



81 



The pen, and filling near the heart of the 

 kiln, should at any rate be of seasoned wood, 

 otherwise the fire will start badly. 



When the foundation is complete, the next 

 thing may be to arrange the air holes. These 

 are made at the bottom of the kiln and about 

 six feet apart, by laying two blocks of about 

 two and a half feet long, and six or eight inches 

 thick, with one end against the kiln, and twelve 

 or fifteen inches asunder ; over which lay broad 

 pieces of wood. Now proceed to cover by cast- 

 ing on leaves or shavings and earth. When 

 the earth has been packed three or four feet 

 high, stand thereon and cut off any spur ends 

 which may be likely to obstruct a neatly finished 

 covering ; which spur ends with other blocks of 

 three to one foot long are to be packed on and 

 around the upper portion of the pen and on the 

 foundation ; and thus rounded off neatly for co- 

 vering. Now proceed to cover till nearly closed, 

 when a few armsful of seasoned wood must be 

 cast to the bottom of the pen, then fire, and 

 more dry wood till filled. When the dry wood 

 is fairly on fire lay some billets of wood across 

 the top, and cover with leaves and earth. 



The air will enter the kiln through about half 

 of the air holes^ and the smoke, or rather steam, 

 issue from the remaining half; and so soon as 

 the kiln is fairly on fire every crevice above the 

 air holes should be closed. In ten to twenty 

 hours after being under way, the heart of the 

 kiln will have become hollow, when blocks of 

 wood should be filled in, and again closed. — 

 Where the steam strikes, the fire is extinguished, 

 consequently when the wind continues at one 

 point, that side burns first which is to the wind, 

 and on this side in windy and dry weather it 

 will be necessary to close the air holes by de- 

 grees as the kiln sinks ; but those on the oppo- 

 site side should be kept open throughout, that 

 the steam may pass off as quickly as possible. 



Once in three or four hours the kiln, or kilns, 

 should be attended, and the whole body beat or 

 stamped down, so that the pores may be kept 

 closed, and any point likely to break, detected 

 and timely repaired. One man can attend five 

 or six kilns. When the steam ceases to issue 

 the wood is charred, and the sooner the coal is 

 drawn the better. For this purpose a rainy or 

 snowy day is preferable, or if water is conve- 

 nient the coal maybe extinguished with this; 

 otherwise it must be done by casting on the 

 dusty particles of the covering. 



For drawing down the coal the hoe is best, 

 and for dusting the shovel is best. Large kilns 

 will require drawing at two or three different 

 times, at intervals of eight to twelve hours. 



Two cautions and I have done. Have you 

 put out the fire? you say yes— -well, go around 

 and put it out again ; and after starting off, go 

 back and put it out once more. And lastly, 

 mind how you stamp about the top of a kiln 

 Vol. III.— Jl 



when the heart is hollow, for there is some dan- 

 ger of falling in. 



A Collier. 



Amherst, March, 1843. 



ADVICE ON THE CARE AND MANAGE- 

 MENT OP TOOLS. 



From a new edition of the Cabinet Maker's 

 Guide, we quote the following: 



" The goodness of saws, chisels, and other 

 edge tools, depends upon the quality of the steel, 

 which should be uniform throughout, and it is 

 always better to have them tempered too hard 

 than too soft, for use will reduce the temper. If 

 at any time you wish to restore the temper, and 

 to perform the operation yourself, the best me- 

 thod is to melt a sufficient quantity of lead to 

 immerse the cutting part of the tool. Having 

 previously brightened its surface, then plunge it 

 into the melted lead for a few minutes, till it 

 gets sufficiently hot to melt a candle, with which 

 rub its surface ; then plunge it in again and 

 keep it there until the steel assumes a straw co- 

 lor, (but be careful not to let it turn blue,) when 

 that is the case, take it out, rub it again with 

 the tallow, and let it cool ; if it should be too 

 soft, wipe the grease off and repeat the process 

 without the tallow, and when sufficiently hot, 

 plunge it into cold spring water or water and 

 vinegar mixed. 



"By a proper attention to these directions, 

 and a little practice, every workman will have 

 it in his power to give a proper temper to the 

 tools he may use. 



" If a saw is too hard, it may be tempered by 

 the same means ; if you are near a plumber's 

 shop, yoti may repeat the process conveniently 

 and without expense, when they are melting a 

 pot of lead. 



" In other cutting tools you must wait till the 

 steel just begins to turn blue, which is a temper 

 that will give it more elasticity, and at the same 

 time sufficient hardness." — American Mechanic. 



February 13, 1843. 

 Messrs. Botts & Burfoot : 



Gentlemen, — An illness from which I am just 

 recovering has prevented me, until now, from 

 asking you for as much room in your paper as 

 will suffice to notice a very abusive attack upon 

 myself, signed " Vindicator," which was one of 

 the first things I saw upon opening your Janua- 

 ry number. Your sense of justice, I hope, will 

 grant my request, especially when I assure you, 

 that I shall strive to be as brief as possible ; and 

 shall have nothing more to say to Mr. Vindica- 

 tor, even although he should repeat similar 

 abuse in your next number. 



This writer presents himself to your readers 



