_Electricity as the Poor Man's Light--Basement Rate and Checking of Waste--When Putting in Electric Light--To Avoid Waste of Current--Makes of Lamps--Electric Fires--The Electric House--In the Kitchen--The Cost of Current--Labour-Saving and Comfort-Giving Appliances._ CHAPTER IX THE ELECTRIC HOUSE. HEATING, COOKING, CLEANING, AND LIGHTING BY ELECTRICITY "The Poor Man's Light." Some five-and-twenty years ago, when sixpence a unit was considered a very low charge for electricity, Colonel Crompton, R.E., C.B., claimed that before many years electricity would be "the poor man's light"; and if the various supply companies had been developed on the broad lines he advocated, there is no doubt that his prophecy would by now have come true in every town of medium size and in many villages in the area of supply, and we now might have been using electric current to light and warm our houses, to cook by, and to work various labour-saving machines. As it is, there are very few places where this term can be applied. Still, in nearly every town the charge for current has been considerably reduced, and with the great strides which have been made in the efficiency of various lamps, it can with certainty be said that electricity is the light for those of small means. As the charge for electricity is reduced, so will it be used on a larger scale for heating and cooking; but at present the percentage of people using it for cooking is so small when compared with those using it for lighting that I propose to deal first with this latter application of it. When considering the question of illumination of a house, oil, gas, and electricity are the three possible alternatives; and when analysed further, bearing in mind always the question of cost of labour and the difficulty of obtaining it, and the cost of cleaning and decorating, it will be found that the most suitable and economical is electricity. Basement Rate and Checking of Waste.