As wood grew less plentiful, and as the forests near by were cleared away, it was not so easy to obtain the huge backlog and the great pile of sticks to fill the generous fireplace, and by the middle of the eighteenth century its size had diminished. Many of the larger ones were partially filled in. The fireplace in the Ipswich Whipple house, when the house was bought by the society which now owns it, had been bricked in twice—once to make the space less, and the second time to fill it in entirely and put a fire-frame in its place. Chimneys which did not smoke were the exception until Count Rumford made his researches in heat and light, and by his discoveries and improvements in construction enabled our ancestors to have chimneys which did not smoke, and which did not carry up the greater portion of the heat from the fire. [Illustration: Illus. 312.—Fireplace, 1770-1775.] Illustration 312 shows a fireplace in Salem of about 1775, with ball-topped andirons. The sets for the fireplace comprised the andirons, shovel, and tongs. The poker never accompanied the older sets, which were made before the use of coal as fuel had become common in this country, but a pair of bellows generally formed a part of the equipment of the fireplace. [Illustration: Illus. 313.—Steeple-topped Andirons and Fender, 1775-1790.] Illustration 313 shows a fireplace in the residence of Harry Harkness Flagler, Esq., with a brass fender and a pair of “steeple-topped” andirons. Fenders were used in England earlier than in this country, to keep the sticks or coals of fire from rolling or flying out upon the floor in front of the fireplace, and to prevent children from getting into the fire. Their size was adapted to the reduced dimensions of the fireplaces, and they were used more with coal fires than with wood. The design of andirons most commonly found is shown in Illustration 314. The little andirons between the larger ones are “creepers,” and are used to hold short pieces of wood. They are of the same design as the larger pair, although they were bought several years, and hundreds of miles, apart. The fender in Illustration 314 is of wire, painted black, with the top rail and balls of brass. The andirons and fender belong to the writer. [Illustration: Illus. 314.—Andirons, Creepers, and Fender, 1700-1800.] Judge Sewall ordered in 1719 for his daughter Judith, about to be married, “a bell-metal skillet, a warming pan, four pairs of brass headed iron dogs, a brass hearth for a chamber with dogs, tongs, shovel and fender of the newest fashion (the fire to lie on the iron), a brass mortar, four pairs of brass candlesticks, four brass snuffers with stands, six small brass chafing dishes, two brass basting ladles, a pair of bellows with brass nose, a small hair broom, a dozen pewter porringers, a dozen small glass salt cellars, and a dozen good ivory hafted knives and forks.” [Illustration: Illus. 315.—Brass Andirons, 1700-1800.]