I may further add that I am animated by a deadly hatred of our barbarous practice of wasting precious coal by burning it in iron fire-baskets half buried in holes within brick walls, and under shafts that carry 80 or 90 per cent of its heat to the clouds; that pollute the atmosphere of our towns, and make all their architecture hideous; that render scientific and efficient ventilation of our houses impossible; that promote rheumatism, neuralgia, chilblains, pulmonary diseases, bronchitis, and all the other “ills that flesh is heir to” when roasted on one side and cold-blasted on the other; that I am so rabid on this subject, that if Dr. Siemens, Sir F. Bramwell, and all others who defend this English abomination, were giant windmills in full rotation, I would emulate the valor of my chivalric predecessor, whatever might be the personal consequences. Dr. Siemens stated that the open fireplace “communicates absolutely no heat to the air of the room, because air, being a perfectly transparent medium, the rays of heat pass clean through it.” Here is an initial mistake. It is true that air which has been artificially deprived of _all_ its aqueous vapor is thus completely permeable by heat rays, but such is far from being the case with the water it contains. This absorbs a notable amount even of bright solar rays, and a far greater proportion of the heat rays from a comparatively obscure source, such as the red-hot coals and flame of a common fire. Tyndall has proved that 8 to 10 per cent of all the heat radiating from such a source as a common fire is absorbed in passing through only 5 feet of air in its ordinary condition, the variation depending upon its degree of saturation with aqueous vapor. Starting with the erroneous assumption that the rays of heat pass “clean through” the air of the room, Dr. Siemens went on to say that the open fireplace “gives heat only by heating the walls, ceiling, and furniture, and here is the great advantage of the open fire;” and, further, that “if the air in the room were hotter than the walls, condensation would take place on them, and mildew and fermentation of various kinds would be engendered; whereas, if the air were cooler than the walls, the latter must be absolutely dry.”