Beyond this point, it will be not necessary to trace the operations of the carpenter and joiner; for the sawing, scarfing, trussing, and joining large beams for the roof, and the minuter details connected with the window-sash, will illustrate pretty accurately the general nature of the whole routine of processes. CHAPTER VII. THE FIRE-PLACE. Perhaps no part of the interior fittings of a house is more associated with ideas of cheerfulness and domestic comfort than the _fire-place_. Our abundant supply of coal has probably induced Englishmen to prefer the cheerful fire and the “comfortable fire-side” to any other mode of heating the interior of houses. The steps by which we have arrived at the use of modern grates and stoves, and the question how far these are likely to give way to the methods of warming houses by hot air, by hot water, or by steam, will form an interesting matter for our consideration; and we shall be indebted to Dr. Arnott’s treatise on _Warming and Ventilating_, for many illustrative details. Open Fire-places. The manner in which rude nations kindle a fire in or near their huts, is one of the most wasteful arrangements in which fuel can be used. Houseless savages, because they know no better, and soldiers at bivouac, because they must make a virtue of necessity, kindle a fire in the open air, and place themselves near it, benefiting by that portion of the radiant heat which falls on their bodies; but all the rest of the heat is wastefully dissipated.