In olden days the ingle-nook was the centre of the home. Built in a deep recess of the wall, with its copper or brazen cupola, it had benches fitted into its chimney corner on each side. Here, after a day’s work was done, assembled the mistress with her distaff, maidens with their lovers, sons with their netting, and the father with his book. Here chat and song and sacred lore flowed freely and fast. On its wide breast lay large logs of hazel and oak, beechen boughs and green ashwood. Bit by bit as they smouldered away fresh limbs were added, keeping up a crimson glow on the wide hearth. Nowadays, in mine house slow combustion grates and stoves reign supreme. By their use much of the picturesqueness of our fires is done away with, but a wonderful economy in the coal-bill effected. This is not the case, however, if our particular Mary Jane be allowed to make and mend at her own sweet will. The “Eagle Range” is quite as omnivorous as its namesake if cook keeps every damper out and every cross-door shut. Unless she cleans each flue scrupulously, the “Eagle” and its ilk will only consume lumps of best Orrell--and consume them much faster than an open fireplace would do. In mine house the first lesson taught a new maid is how to lay and light a fire. Scientifically done, it takes far less kindling wood and far fewer matches than when built up at haphazard. There are two methods of laying a fire. A range or stove must burn from the bottom upwards; the open grate may be ignited on the top. We will consider our drawing-room fire first. See that every bit of ancient fire is raked away and every cinder riddled on the spot through a 6d. wire-shovel. The meshes of this instrument are wide apart, so only the large cinders are retained by its use; all small morsels and dust fall through without raising a “pother,” and may be sifted afterwards. Now fit a sheet of brown paper across the lower bars and lay over it some lumps of clean round coal. On the top of these empty your cinders, and over them again place wood and bits of crumpled paper in the order named. One match applied to this topmost layer will ignite the tissue, and very slowly it will burn downwards until the Orrell be reached. This glowing mass must on no account be poked. In fact, if this mode of lighting our sitting-room fires be adopted, sets of fire-irons should be conspicuous by their absence. A very distinct saving is effected by this; first we are spared initial cost of purchase, and afterwards constant extravagant use of the poker is avoided.