As for the refrigerator’s (See Chapter XI Refrigerators) rôle, in the plumbing of the kitchen: this is, of course, very important and very simple. It is necessary to keep noxious gases from the stored food. If possible, have a connection through the floor with the trap and pan in the cellar. If this is impossible, have a trap and pan under the refrigerator which can be often emptied. It is, of course, convenient to have the ice box filled from the outside of the house rather than have the ice dragged through the kitchen. These are some excerpts from the plumbing code: SAFE AND REFRIGERATOR WASTE-PIPES Safe and refrigerator waste-pipes must be of galvanized iron, and be not less than 1¹⁄₄″ in diameter nor larger than 1¹⁄₂″ in diameter with pipe branches at least 1″ in diameter with strainers over each inlet. Safe and refrigerator waste-pipes shall not be trapped. They must discharge over a properly water-supplied, trapped sink, with trap vented unless an approved anti-siphon trap is installed in the manner specified in Rule 91, such sink to be publicly placed, and not more than 4′ above the floor. In no case shall any refrigerator or safe waste-pipe discharge over a sink be located in a room used for living purposes. The branches on vertical lines must be made by Y or TY fittings and carried up to the safe with as much pitch as possible. Where there is an offset on a refrigerator waste-pipe in the cellar, there must be cleanouts to control the horizontal parts of the pipe. In all lodgings and tenement houses the safe and refrigerator waste-pipes must extend above the roof. HOMILIES When I started to write this article I thought I would give specific plumbing rules, but the buying of fixtures is really all that is necessary for the housewife to know, as all first class plumbers know the rules of the code. So the best plan to adopt is to use the best plumber. Even if he be expensive, he will save your money in the end. And remember, always use one in your vicinity for, if you do not, you will be very unpopular, as you will know when some dire emergency emerges! If your pipes freeze in the winter, warm cloths until the plumber comes is the best remedy. If you build in a remote district, have your water tested by an expert on the spot, so that he can examine not only the water, but the source of its supply, and help you in settling where to build your well or pump, and where the cistern should go, etc., etc. After a new installation of plumbing is made, there is applied always a test like the peppermint smoke test, etc., to see if there are any leaks in the pipes. This is also accounted for in the plumbing code. Although not quite technically a plumbing fixture, there is a ventilating, self-cooled motor propellor fan, which is being put up in kitchens, to keep the kitchen cool in summer, and to remove traces of excessive heat, steam smoke, and objectionable odors. CHAPTER XVI KNIFE-LIFE IN THE KITCHEN