Locality has much to do in determining by what means cooking shall be done. In the country, where gas is not and wood or coal is burned, a good range, suitable for either, must be depended upon. Of such ranges there are many, and there are divers items to be regarded in each make. The size and fashion of the fuel-box is one. The average kitchen stove will burn a ton of coal in from five to seven weeks, the time contingent not only upon the care of the cook, but upon the size of the range. One should be selected with a maximum of heat for a minimum of fuel consumption. The range with an upper oven is easier for the cook, who by its means is spared constant stooping and bending, but some ranges with the upper oven are said to burn more fuel. No range or stove should be considered which does not provide adequate means for heating water. When there is running hot water in the house a boiler is usually arranged at the side of the stove, but in the country, where the water must be drawn by a pump or from the well and put into the reservoir by the pailful, a large enough receptacle must be furnished to make it possible to have the supply for the day all poured in at once. In this way the man of the house may attend to this heavy duty in the morning or at night, so that no woman may have to strain her back by filling and lifting pails of water during the day. The coal or wood stove in the country may be supplemented by an oil or gasolene stove. Of these there is a good variety, each possessing its own special merits, but they are not to be considered in renting a house, since they are purchased by the tenant, not supplied by the landlord. In every large city, and in many small towns, cookery by gas has superseded coal and wood almost entirely. The cleanliness and convenience of gas in cooking, while inferior to those of electricity, are yet so far ahead of the other means to which we have been accustomed that the amount of time and trouble the gas saves is incalculable. The stove is generally owned by the local company, who install it and keep it in order, but in some places effort is made by the landlord to charge the tenant for the use of the stove. Common usage will have to determine the tenant’s course in the matter, but as a rule the stove is included in the rent and it is worth while for the man renting the house to make an attempt to secure this concession. There is a difference in gas-stoves and an up-to-date kind should be selected, fitted with an upper oven as well as a lower one, and possessing such features as a low flame for simmering, a plate-warmer, the latest make of broiler, etc. The inexperienced housekeeper is frequently imposed upon and the old-fashioned stove is foisted off upon her. This should be guarded against when the house is rented.