Rub the wicks, do not cut them. A new wick must be started right. Loose threads should be clipped off to start with, but when once in shape the necessity for clipping will be very rare. A wick ought to be put in several hours before using, so that it may be thoroughly saturated with oil. When a lamp has been burned, if one part is a little higher
than the other parts it will char first, and, when well charred, can be rubbed off to the level of the rest. A bit of soft paper, a nailbrush, or, best of all, the unbroken finger of a glove, will do this successfully.
Be sure that no bit of charred wick or burned fly or moth is left in the lower part of the burner. There is danger of these igniting and setting fire to the oil in the reservoir. A clean, unbroken lamp is not dangerous.
If a lamp has been left standing with a little oil in, it should not be lighted until filled and the burner carefully wiped. It is possible that gas may have formed, making the lamp, as it stands, unsafe to light before refilling.
To start the circular wick of a large lamp, like the Rochester, put a new wick in the burner, and saturate thoroughly with oil that part of the wick that is above the burner, which is best done by holding wick and edge of burner upside down in a shallow cup of oil. Put the burner in the lamp, but have no oil in the lamp. Light the wick and put the chimney
on. Let the oil burn out of the wick. This method chars the wick so that it can be rubbed down to a smooth, even surface. Started rightly, a wick can be kept even. The objection to this is the odor from the burning wick; but the time necessary to do it is short, and an open window can be arranged without having enough draught to break the chimney.
When a lamp is first lighted, leave the flame low until the metal of the burner is heated, then turn as high as possible without smoking. This secures a clear, steady flame.
To clean burners, boil in water in which sal soda has been dissolved. Put one teaspoonful to each quart of water.
To prevent chimneys from cracking, put them before using into a large pan and cover them with cold water. Bring the water slowly to a boil. Take the pan off of the fire and let the chimneys cool slowly in the water.
If the brass catches of a burner are too tight, the chimney will break as it expands