FIRE. 
the expense of his numerous experiments. 
The same preservative may also be ap- 
plied to ships, furniture, &c. Mr. Hartley’s 
patent has long since expired. Earl Stanhope 
also discovered and published a very simple 
and effectual method of securing every 
kind of building against fire. This method 
he has divided into three parts, viz. under- 
flooring, extra-lathing, and inter-securing. 
The method of under-flooring is either 
single or double. In single under-flooring, 
a common strong lath of oak or fir, about 
one fourth of an inch thick, should be nail- 
ed against each side of every joist, and of 
every main timber, supporting the floor 
which is to be secured. Other similar 
laths are then to be nailed along the whole 
length of the joists, with their ends butting 
against each other. The top of each of 
these laths or fillets ought to be at 1± inch 
below the top of the joists or timbers 
against which they are nailed; and they 
will thus form a sort of small ledge on each 
side of all the joists. These fillets are to 
be well bedded in a rough plaster hereafter 
mentioned, when they are nailed on, so 
that there may be no interval between 
them and the joists ; and the same plaster 
ought to be spread with a trowel upon 
the tops of all the fillets, and along the 
sides of that part of the joists which is 
between the top of the fillets and the upper 
edge of the joists. In order to fill up the 
intervals between the joists that support 
the floor, short pieces of common laths, 
whose length is equal to the width of these 
intervals, should be laid in the contrary 
direction to the joists, and close, together 
in a row, so as to touch one another ; their 
ends must rest upon the fillets, and they 
ought to be well bedded in the rough plaster, 
but are not to b(i fastened with nails. They 
must then be covered with one thick coat 
of the rough plaster, which is to be spread 
over them to the level of the tops of the 
joists; and in a day or two this plaster 
should be trowelled over close to the sides 
of the joists, without covering the tops of 
the joists with it. In the method of double- 
flooring, the fillets and short pieces of laths 
are applied in the manner already describ- 
ed; but the coat of rough plaster ought 
to be little more than half as thick as that 
in the former method. Whilst this rough 
plaster is laid on, some more of the short 
pieces of laths above-mentioned must be 
laid in the intervals, between the joists 
upon the first coat, and be dipped deep in 
it. They should be laid as close as possible 
to each other, and in the same direction 
with the first layer of short laths. Over 
this second layer of short laths there must 
be spread another coat of rough plaster, 
which should be trowelled level with the 
tops of the joists without rising above 
them. The rough plaster may be made 
of coarse lime and hair ; or, instead of 
hair, hay chopped to about three inches in 
length may be substituted with advantage. 
One measure of common rough sand, two 
measures of slaked lime, and three mea- 
sures of chopped hay, will form in general 
a very good proportion, when sufficiently 
beaten up together in the manner of com- 
mon mortar. The hay should be put in 
after the two other ingredients are well 
beaten up together with water. This plaster 
should be made stiff ; and when the floor- 
ing-boards are required to be laid down 
very soon, a fourth or fifth part of quick- 
lime in powder, formed by dropping a 
small quantity of water on the limestone 
a little while before it is used, and well 
mixed with this rough plaster, will cause 
it to dry very fast. If any cracks appear 
in the rough plaster-work near the joist 
when it is thoroughly dry, they ought to be 
closed by washing them over with a brush 
wet with mortar-wash ; this wash may be 
prepared by putting two measures of quick- 
lime and one of common sand in a pail, 
and stirring the mixture with water, till 
the water becomes of the consistence of a 
thin jelly. Before the flooring-boards are 
laid, a small quantity of very dry common 
sand should be strewed over the plaster- 
work, and struck smooth with a hollow 
rule, moved in the direction of the joists, 
so that it may lie rounding between each 
pair of joists. The plaster-work and sand 
should be perfectly dry before the boards 
are laid, for fear of the dry-rot. The 
method of under-flooring may be success- 
fully applied to a wooden staircase ; but no 
sand is to be laid upon the rough plaster- 
work. The method of extra-lathing may 
be applied to ceiling joists, to sloping roofs, 
and to wooden partitions. The third 
method, which is that of inter-securing, is 
very similar to that of under-flooring ; but 
no sand is afterwards to be laid upon it. 
Inter-securing is applicable to the same 
parts of a building as the method of extra- 
lathing, but it is seldom necessary. The 
author of this invention made several ex- 
periments, in order to demonstrate the 
efficacy of these methods. In most houses 
it is only necessary to secure the floors; 
