To make a Fire
To Make a Fire. First, clear the stove of ashes and cinders, then put in wood-shavings, or twisted newspaper; over this foundation lay small pieces of wood, crossed, so as to leave air-spaces for draft, then larger pieces of wood, and lastly two or three fire-shovels of coal. Light the kindling from the bottom of the grate, and let it burn for a while before putting on more coal; remember that it is the heat from the burning wood which ignites the coal, and if it does not burn it is because there is not wood enough to produce sufficient heat to start the union between the combustible part of the coal—carbon chiefly—and the oxygen of the air. Add coal a little at a time, thus keeping a fresh fire.
After the fire is well started regulate the dampers often, to economize as much as possible the consumption of coal. Keep them partially or wholly closed, unless a hot fire is needed for some purpose. The cinders left from an old fire should be sifted and re-burned. Many dollars' worth of coal may be saved in a year by giving attention to the drafts of a stove.