Having disposed in a few words of a subject which, if fully treated,
would occupy a long course of lectures by itself, I will pass on to
the consideration of gas as at present used as a fuel.
There is no doubt that gas is the most convenient and in many ways one
of the best forms of fuel for heating and cooking purposes, and the
efforts which all large gas companies are now making to popularize and
increase the use of gas for such purposes will undoubtedly bear fruit
in the future. But before the day can come for gas to be used in this
way on a large scale, there is one fact which the gas manager and gas
stove manufacturer must clearly realize and submit to, and that is
that no gas stove or gas water heater, of any construction, should be
sent out or fitted without just as great care being taken to provide
for the carrying away of the products of combustion as if an ordinary
fuel range was being fitted. Do not for one moment allow yourself to
be persuaded that, because a gas stove or geyser does not send out a
mass of black smoke, the products of combustion can be neglected and
with safety allowed to mingle with the atmosphere we are to breathe.
Scarcely a winter passes but one or more deaths are recorded from the
products of combustion given off from various forms of water heaters
used in bath rooms; scarcely a cookery class is given, with gas
stoves, that one or more ladies do not have to leave suffering from an
intense headache, and often in an almost fainting condition.
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