>
>Date:    Thu, 17 Feb 2000 13:03:39 -0500
Dan Mouer wrote, referring to Count Rumford:

>He is credited with modern baking power and vast improvements to the
>iron cooking range.

Beyond baking powder, I thought his principal achievement was the smoke
shelf, which is an essential component of any fireplace. If you'll reach
into your chimney, you will note that the back wall of your fireplace
tapers toward you, and the flue opening is ner the front. Just above the
opening is a shelf, which extends back a considerable distance. That is the
smoke shelf, and Rumford is credited with this design feature.

There is a really good biography of Rumford, which I read many years ago,
so I can't remember the citation.

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