MECHANICS. 
%9t 
■ftearn enters the ftew-pan, it is condenfed on the meat and 
on the veffel ; but we do not want it to be condenfed on 
the veffel. And the furface of the veffel is much greater 
than that of the meat, and continues much colder ; for 
the meat grows hot, and continues fo, while the veffel, 
made of metal, which is a very perfect conduftor of heat, 
is continually robbed of its heat by the air of the kitchen, 
and carried off by it. If the meat touch the fide of the 
pan in any part, no (team can be applied to that part of 
the meat, while it is continually imparting heat to the air 
by the intermedium of the veffel. Nay, the meat can 
hardly be dreffed unlefs there be a current of fteam through 
it; and we think this confirmed by what is obferved above, 
that when another [few-pan is fet over the firft, and thus 
gives occafion to a current of fteam through its colander- 
bottom to be condenfed by its Tides and contents, the 
lower di(h is more expeditioufiy dreffed. We imagine, 
therefore, that not lefs than half of the fteam is wafted on 
the Tides of the different ftew-pans. Our firft attention is 
therefore called to this circumftance; and we wifh to ap¬ 
ply the fteam more economically and effectually. We 
would therefore conftruct the fteam-kitchen in the follow¬ 
ing manner: 
We would make a wooden cheft, which we fhall call 
th t jlew-cheji, A B C D, (fig. 132.) This fhould.be made 
of deal, in very narrow flips, not exceeding an inch, that 
it may not (hrink. It fliould be lined with very thin cop¬ 
er, lead, or even ftrong tinfoil: this will prevent it from 
ecoming a conductor of heat by foaking with fteam. 
For farther fecurity it might be fet in another cheft, with 
a fpace of an inch or two all round ; and this fpace filled 
with a compofition of powdered charcoal and clay : this 
Ihould be formed by firft making a mixture of fine potter’s 
clay and water about as thick as poor cream ; then as 
much powdered charcoal mult be beat up with this as can 
be made to (tick together: when this is rammed in and 
dry, it may be hot enough on one fide to melt glafs, and 
wiil not difcolour white paper on the other. This cheft 
mult have a cover LMNO, alfo of wood, having holes 
in it to receive the ftew-pans, E, F, G. Between each 
pan is a wooden partition, covered on both fides with 
milled lead or tinfoil. The whole top muft be covered 
with very fpongy leather or felt, and made very fiat. 
Each ltew-pan mult have a bearing or flioulder all round 
it, by which it is fupported, refting on the felt, and lying 
fo true and dole that no fteam can efcape. Some of the 
pans ihould be fimple, like the pan F, for drelfing broths 
and other liquid difhes. Others fhould be like E and G, 
having in the bottom a pretty wide hole H, K, which has 
a pipe in its upper fide, rifing about an inch or an inch 
and half into the ltew-pan. The meat is laid on a colan¬ 
der-plate, as in the common way ; only there muft be no 
holes in the colander immediately above the pipe. Thefe 
ftew-pans muft be fitted with covers, as at P; or they may 
have others fitted to their mouths, for warming fauces or 
other dilhes, or ftewing greens, and many other fubordi- 
nate purpofes. 
The main-pipe R from the boiler Q muft have branches, 
(each furnilhed with a cock,) which admit the fteam into 
thefe divifions,as feen in the dotted linesand circles,E, F, G. 
At its firft entry fome will be condenfed on the bottom 
and fides ; but we imagine that thefe wiil in two minutes 
be heated fo as to condenfe no more, or almoft nothing. 
The fleam will alfo quickly condenfe on the ftew-pan, 
and in half a minute make it boiling hot, fo that it will 
condenfe no more ; all the reft will now apply itfelf to the 
meat and to the cover. It may perhaps be advifable to 
allow the cover to condenfe fteam, and even to wafte it. 
This may be promoted by laying on it flannel foaked in 
water. Our view in this is to create a demand for fteam, 
and thus produce a current through the ftew-pan, which 
will be applied in its paffage to the vi£luals. But we are 
not certain of the neceflity of this. Steam is not like 
common air of the fame temperature, which would glide 
along the furfaces of bodies, and impart to them a fmall 
portion of its heat, and efcape with the reft. To pro¬ 
duce this eft’eff, there muft be a current 3 for air hot enough 
to melt lead will not boil water if it be kept ftagnant round 
the veffel. But fteam imparts the whole of its latent heat 
to any body colder than boiling water, and goes no farther 
till this body be made boiling hot. It is a molt faithful 
carrier of heat, and will deliver its whole charge to any 
body that can take it. Therefore, although there were 
no partitions in the ftew-cheft, and the fteam were ad¬ 
mitted at the end next the boiler, if the pan at the farther 
end be colder than the reft, it will all go thither : and will, 
in Ihort, communicate to every thing impartially accord¬ 
ing to the demand. If any perfon has not the confidence 
in the fteam which we exprefs, he may (till be certain that 
there muft be a prodigious faving of heat by confining the 
whole in the ftew-cheft: and he may make the pans with 
entire bottoms, and admit the fteam into them in the com¬ 
mon way, by pipes which come through the Tides of the 
cheft and then go into the pan. There will be none loft: 
by condenfation on the Tides of the cheft j and the pans 
will foon be heated up to the boiling temperature3 and 
hardly any of their heat will be wafted, becaufe the air in 
the cheft will be ftagnant. The chief reafon for recom¬ 
mending our method is the much greater eafe with which 
the ftew-pans can be ftiifted and cleaned. There will be 
little difference in the performance. 
It will be feen by the figure, that the main-pipe is con¬ 
duced from the boiler with a gentle afcent. The inten¬ 
tion of this is, that the water produced by the unavoidable 
condenfation of the fteam may run back into the boiler. 
But the rapid motion of the fteam generally fweeps it up 
hill, and it runs into the branch-pipes and defcends into 
the ftew-pans. Perhaps it would be as well to give the 
main-pipe a declivity the other way, and allow all the 
water to collect in a hot well at the farther end, by means 
of a defcending-pipe, having a loaded valve at the end. 
This may be fo contrived as to be clofe by the fire, where 
it would be fo warm that it would not check the boiling 
if again poured into the boiler. But the utmoft attention 
mull be paid to cleanlinefs in the whole of this paffage ; 
becaufe this water is boiled again, and its fteam paffes 
through the heart of every difli. This circumftance for¬ 
bids us to return into the boiler what is condenled in the 
ftew-pans 3 for that would mix the taftes and flavours of 
every difli, and be very difagreeable. All this muft re¬ 
main in the bottom of each ftew-pan ; for which reafon 
we put in the pipe rifing up in the middle of the bottom. 
It might indeed be allowed to fall down into the ftew- 
cheft, and to be collefted in a common receptacle, while 
the fat would float at top, and the clear gravy be obtained 
below, perhaps fit for many fauces. The completed me¬ 
thod for getting rid of this condenfed fteam would be to 
have a fmall pipe running along the under fide of the main 
conduffor, and communicating with it at different places, 
in a manner fimilar to the air-difcharger on the mains of 
water-pipes. 
For a fmall family, the whole apparatus may be fet on a 
table four feet long and two broad, which may be placed 
on callers 5 fo as to be wheeled out of the way when not 
in ufe. If the main-conduflor be made of wood, or pro¬ 
perly cafed in flannel, it will condenfe fo little fteam, that 
the cooking-table may (land in the remoteft corner of the 
kitchen without fenfibly impairing its performance; and, 
if the boiler be properly fet up in a fmall furnace, and the 
flue made fo that the flame may be applied to a great part 
of its furnace, we are perfuaded that three-fourths of the 
fuel ufed in common cookery will be faved. Its only in¬ 
convenience feems to be the indifpenlihle neceflity of the 
molt anxious cleanlinefs in the whole apparatus. The moll 
trifling neglefl in this will deftroy a whole dinner. 
We had almoft forgotten to obferve, that the boiler muft 
be furnilhed with a funnel for fupplying it with water. 
This fliould pafs through the top, and its pipe reach near 
