SELFISH COAL USERS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15773, 14 December 1916, Page 4

SELFISH COAL USERS.

HINTS TO THE THOUGHTLESS

Every ton oi co<il Baved means: 1. The navinj Q t a miner'® day's -work; 2. Tho aaving of raonoy which conld be lent to the nation; 3. Increased poorer to help our Allies; and •1. An improvement in foreign exchanges —BKITOH W'kt. Savings COMMITTM. If all the rubbish that is daily carted away by municipal authorities throughout tho country, at considerable expense and trouble, were burne<l its fuel by individual householders, this j;lone would go a good way towards solving the. acute problem of lessening coal consumption (says a London paper). Take the single instance of cinders and eshes which top 50 per cent, of dust-bine. It seems almost criminal in these days that such vsJuable manure the latter is not utilised in the little back garden. And such an excellent fuel as cinders ought never to become a municipal nuisance instead of a means of economy. People who waste coal commit a gr;we offcnce against patriotism itself. If only they would note the following points and make some attempt at seeing them carried out it would be of immense advantage to the nation. I'irst they might so use their up-to-date grates as to obtain the greatest amount of heat for the least amount of iuol, instead of trying to"ascertain how much, iuel it is possible for them to consume during any given season. This is made possible hv systematic adjustment of draught mechanism. Suiting the type of coal to the grate is of more importance than is commonly ivllowed. There are tw 0 main types of coal, hard and soft. Tho latter is known as drawing-room coal; it is bright burning, is of rapid combustion, a nil gives out so iierce a heat that, fire bricks are cracked, bars are burnt, and siiiy furniture within a wide range soon gives off odours speaking eloquently of frizzling Irench polish and warping wood. This rapidity and fierceness of combustion make it unsuitable for use in tho kitchener, which requires a hard, slow-burning coal on account of the grate's formation. Hard coal mokes a good dc&l of ash, and it is on this account banished from the rest of the house; best coal makes comparatively little ash. So item two is: .provide both kinds of coal in the collar, and see that they are kept separate and are used for the right purposes. The subject next in importance is that of small coal and coal dust, Cinderella of tho cellar among servants. A servantless mistress is here at an advantage. ]f she be wise she does not allow this "slack" to accumulate, but uses it up as she goes along. There is never hut dust" in her collar, tho pained cry of tho servants when they require moro coal. Wiselv used this dust makes her coal last" much longer. It is certainly useless on a poor iirc, far more likely to put it out than_ to keep it alive. But wken tho fire is burning brightly she gently places upon it a shovelful from a separate scuttle. The dust drops between the coals and fills up the hollows inside the fire. Tho unwise rake tho coals together to iill all hollows and add more pieces to tho top. If a fire could bo fed inside instead of on top much saving would be effected. In tho case of a kitchener with wide bare, this can .be effected. Its object is_ to keep the upper crust of the fire intact, and so to prevent the powerful through draughts that spaces encourage. Inside stoking also consumes emoko that would otherwise escape up tho chimney, causing dirt and expense elsowhere . over a wide area. Tho use of small coal and dust helps towards insido stoking. For moro convenience in handling it may bo "put up" in grocers' paper bags "and -stored in a separate receptacle. Ono hag is placed on top of the fire, and the burning of the paper slowly liberates the contents, which fall gently into place. Some housekeepers pin their faith to damping down tho slack. This makes a lasting, slow-burning fire, but it is not cheerful to look ft,. so it is chiofly useful where fires aro' 'to be kept in overnight, or in room 6 uninhabited for long periods.

If you hare maids, show them that coal dust may be burnt- not only in the kitchen bat in tho drawing-room, and see that in the cellar dust and coal como to an end simultaneously. The use of tho poker is a constant cause of great waste. Banish it from all firesides, and let it be an understood rule that the mistress only is to use this implement. The less ehe uses it the better. Jl»umps should be broken only under tho most exceptional circumstances; they last for hours Undisturbed, but are, gone in a few minutes with little advantage if smashed. For that reason forbid tho maids to break up lumps jn the cellar for fire-laying purposes.

Do not, however, in your zeal for economy be tempted to put a lump on the fire with the strata running horizontally—this way it will only smoulder distressfully—but let the strata run perpendicularly, so that the flames mav eat cheerfully into its substance. Sow coal eliould be placed on and not thrown on violently. If this is done and -the poker is left to languish. then the undisturbed fire will last for hours, creating little dust and no waste. 3>o not allow the lire to die down and then throw on coal liberally, for a low fire is by no mesas the most eoenomical one. And if the poker must' be used, let its ministrations be at the bottom to rake out obstructing ashes; see that no cinders escape during the progress. Now for artificial aids to eoorfomy of fuel.

There are fire bricks, cloy balls, and other contrivances on tile market, for reducing tho cavity of the grate a nd for deflecting tho heat roomwards. Some people have a sheet of iron cut to fit the grate bottom to make combustion slower, and there are also slow-combus-tion stoves on the market—anthracite stoves; some people like them. A method of laying c fire to ensure its lasting a long time is to put a layer of coal first of all in tne bottom of the grate and lay the paper and sticks upon that. The reason is that a fire which burns downwards lr.sts longest. Ae to the other contents of that dustbin which was earlier referred to, nearly the whole can be turned into good fuel if the careful housewife has really no other uses for them. It is nothing short of wickedness to put in rags and paper in these days, and damp waste such tvS tea leaves, greengrocer's scraps, and the like, -will eke out the coal supply more usefully than to be unhygienically dumped into the garbage can. Servants grumble when told to burn this waste They complain tJiat it smells abominably. Tho wise - mistress, however, sees that it is put upon the fire in small quantities. If wrapped in newspaper as it is produced there is no further trouble. Empty cartons and paper bags are useful for this purpose; and a small parcel can easily be added to a fire.

To avoid the smells complained of. the parcels should be nut on when the tire is fairly low but bright, and covered with cinders and damp coal dust. If garbage is added to a dull fire it will smoulder and smell. Finally, there are those home-made articles, called briquettes. Thev may also be bought, but a good recipe is the following:—

One pailful of clay to bo pounded and

mixed with water in an old bath. Add two pailfuls of hot -water, six or seven pounds of old newspaper torn into small pieces, and half a pailful of sawdust-. Stir till smooth, then add another pailful of hot "water, and work in enough, coal-dust to make it a stiff mass. JRoll this into halls on a board covered with sawdust, make holes in the balls with a stick, and leave to dry slowly. Tho same rules apply to burning briquettes. as to burning coal: undisturbed burning giv«s tie best results, and they should be mixed with pieces of coal upon the lire.