What Is A Defective Flue?

A correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial gives the following practical answer to the question : " The question is oftcn asked, ' What is a defective flue ?' It ig a fluo that has open, unplastered joints in the brickwork through which flame or sparks can pass into the spaces between the floors and ceilings, or in which soot can accuraulate and take fire. If the joints in the bricks of the flue are carefully covered with mortar, no joifts built into ortouching it, and no floor or wood-work allowed to come in contact with it, the owner of such a flue can retire to sleep -with a mind at ease on that score. Safe flues in houses built by contract are eiceptions, as the contractor sublets to the bricklayer, and he does not feel responsible to the owner, who gets a defective flue unless he stands by and bosses the job. If he does not üo must chanco it. 1 have had adtne eight or ten flues built for ovens heated to a white heat, but have alwaysstood by to see that every joint was well closed, aa the first flue I used fired the building. The last one I built was so dangerous passing through a hay-loft- that, rather than trust it to others, I built it myself ; and although it made the lolt unbearably hot, I feit perfectly safe, and used it for three years constantly. Another cause of frequent-fires is the careless use of matches. A porter in a store sent into a dark cellar or upper story goes with a lot of matches to strike while hunting what ho wants; the matoh is throv down ; if it goes out, good ; if not, and there is straw, paper, shavings, moss or rags lying around loose, presto ! there -you have a spontaneous combustión. A.ÍV& s take a lantern, and let it be a globe lai ern, fed with lard or sperm oil. In looi ig back through a business life in Cincinnati of thirty years, I find that fire originated eight times on my premises, all, however, got under without calling out the engines. Only once was I burned out, thanka to a neighbor. Once, defective flue; twice, defective stove pipes; once, pan of hot ashes left on the rloor over night (servant girl) ; once, hot ashes in au out-house (servant girl) ; once, wood ooal spillod on a floor (servant girl) ; twice, matches used and thrown on shavings.