At the same time some help should be supplied in the way of artificial modes of creating a draught in starting an anthracite fire. This may be done by temporarily closing the front of the fire by a “blower,” or better still by selecting one of the grates specially devised for burning anthracite, of which so many now are made. Another and rather important matter is to obtain the anthracite in suitable condition. It is a very hard coal, too hard to be broken by the means usually at hand in ordinary houses. For domestic purposes it should always be delivered broken up of suitable size, from that of an egg to a cocoa-nut. For furnaces, of course, large lumps are preferable. Then, again, anthracite must not be stirred and poked about; once fairly started it burns steadily and brightly, demanding only a steady feeding. The best of the special grates are more or less automatic in the matter of feeding, and thus the trouble of lighting is fully compensated by the absence of any further trouble. As regards the supply. This for London and the greater part of England will doubtless be derived from the great coal-field of South Wales. The total quantity of available coal in this region after deducting the waste in getting, was estimated by the Government Commissioners at 32,456 millions of tons. It is very difficult or impossible to correctly estimate the proportion of anthracite in this, but supposing it to be one tenth of true anthracite it gives us 3245 millions of tons, or about enough for the domestic supply of the whole country during 100 years, assuming that it shall be used less wastefully than we are now using bituminous coal, which would certainly be the case. But, including the imperfect anthracite, the quantity must be far larger than this, and we have to add the other sources of anthracite. We need not, therefore, have any present fear of insufficient supply; probably before the 100 years are ended we shall find other sources of anthracite, or even have become sufficiently civilized to abolish altogether our present dirty devices, and to adopt rational methods of warming and ventilating our houses. When we do this any sort of coal may be used. COUNT RUMFORD’S COOKING-STOVES. In the preceding chapter I described Count Rumford’s modification of the English open firegrate which eighty years ago was offered to the British nation without any patent or other restrictions. Its non-adoption I believe to be mainly due to this—it was nobody’s monopoly, nobody’s business to advertise it, and, therefore, nobody took any further notice of it; especially as it cannot be made and sold as a separate portable article. An ironmonger or stove-maker who should go to the expense of exhibiting Rumford’s simple structure of fire-bricks and a few bars, described in the last chapter, would be superseding himself by teaching his customers how they may advantageously do without him.