Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/78

52 to invade the oven; and the fire-box and oven are protected from undue draughts which would affect the consumption of fuel or the temperature of the oven. No oven can satisfactorily roast and bake unless provided with a reversing damper by which the heat may be directed to the top or bottom of the oven as required. One or two of the best types have an adjustable fire-box, which may be lowered when an open fire is needed for roasting, or a good bottom heat for baking; or raised when a top heat is desired in the oven, or the hot-plate only required for boiling and frying purposes. They have also well-ventilated ovens, whereby the proper flavour of the materials cooked is retained; and fire-boxes fitted with vertical bars placed rather close together, but sufficiently narrow in section to allow anything to be properly cooked in front of the fire. There are many reliable firms who construct ranges on these principles; and the annexed list of prices is an average of those of three of the best makers. Ranges of corresponding size and quality of the respective firms are fairly uniform in price; but there is a wide difference in the cost of ranges of corresponding size made by individual firms, due chiefly to the expensive tiling and elaborate finish of the various details of some of the ranges, which improve their appearance but add nothing to their value in other respects. A good plain range, easily convertible into a close or open fire, fitted with an adjustable fire-box, plate rack, ventilating doors, reversing damper, patent cinder sifter, bright steel mouldings and bright steel bracket-shelves under the oven may be had at the following prices:—

The Kitchener.—The term "range" has been used to distinguish the stove fixed in its place by brickwork from the stove or kitchener which may stand in any part of the room altogether independent of its surroundings except the connecting tube that carries away the products of combustion. This tube has a diameter of some eight or ten inches; and where there is no chimney it must be carried to the outer wall and up the side of the house to a suitable level, otherwise there is a strong down-draught. When used in England, the stove is usually placed in or near the recess provided for a range, and the iron tube passes into the chimney. This arrangement is to be recommended, for the tube frequently becomes red-hot, and has often been a source