r was served in like manner, and was a continual round of work to
the exclusion of other things. This method prevailed for many years
before I came on the scene, and noticing that a great quantity of steam
was wasted for the purpose of hiding the smoke, and the six shovelfuls
of coals hardly compensated for the steam spread over them, I induced
the man who built the bridges, after inspection, to build them solid,
and then I commenced a new method of firing, in this manner: I sprinkle
the small coals with water from a hose-pipe, and burn one fire down low,
but bright; I shut the damper nearly close and commence firing towards
the bridge and sides, until the grate is full nearly to the crown of the
fireplace, allowing the gas to remain in the furnace and flues for
twenty minutes, then I open the damper a couple of inches; by this time
there are numerous jets of flame flickering all over the coals, and now
I open the damper to the full extent and I soon have a rousing
steam-making fire. I serve the next low fire in like manner, and so on.
But it is necessary always while burning one fire down for the purpose
of banking it up, to have all the other fires in good condition and
capable of keeping up the steam independently of the one to be banked
up; if the others should burn down too low before one of them is banked,
smoke will follow the neglect. I remained several years in this employ;
my method was very successful, with proper care and watchfulness, and
was adopted in a similar establishment in South London. The former
establishment was the West Middlesex Water Works, and the latter the
Southwark and Vauxhall Water Works. One ton of Welsh coals was allowed
every twenty-four hours to get the seven fires up after cleaning. Here
is another method for consuming the smoke, but is a very wasteful one;
four or five shovelfuls of small smoky coals are thrown on or near the
dead-plate, where they remain until they become sufficiently heated to
ignite, and are then pushed on to the bars by the rake, and a similar
quantity again thrown on the dead-plate, and when ignited pushed on to
the bars as before, and so it is continued. It is expected that the
smoke while passing over the bright fire towards the bridge will be
ignited, but only a very small portion of it becomes flame, and the
smoke tends to deaden the bright fire to a great extent. The door has to
be opened so frequently in this method, and in pushing the coals from
the dead-p