Of fuel (particularly anthracite) is that all the ashes be regularly sifted and the small unburned coal returned to the fire. The best way to do this is to have the ashes sifted during the day and to put the unburned coal on the fire late at night. Sifted coal makes a very hot fire and when once well on fire and burning with a yellow flame will burn a long time, provided the draft is slow. The writer has had many years experience in firing both hot-air, steam and hot-water furnaces, both in dwellings and in greenhouses, and in his experience half the coal (anthracite) is thrown away if not sifted.

The usual rate of furnace coal burned in a small house with four registers is from six to eight tons. The usual rate in ranges and cook stoves is from one to two tons per month, according to the size of the family and the character of the cook. In the writer's house (story-and-a-half, 33x35 and on a very exposed hill-top) five tons is sufficient for one season. This high economy is largely the result of a complete sifting of all the ashes every day. It is a gratifying circumstance in this connection to notice that coal sifters are on the market and are largely used. If they were always used there would be less complaint of hard times in the domestic expense account.