(19). Franklin summarizes his attitude toward his inventions by asking the question, "What signifies Philosophy that does not apply to some use?" (Fleming 21). Another time Franklin was quoted as saying "Utility is in my opinion the test of value in matters of invention, and that a discovery which can be applied to no use, or is not good for something is good for nothing" (Burlingame 39). Franklin never claimed a penny for any of his inventions, devices or experiments. He even distributed detailed plans of some of his inventions so that anyone could own them. The Pennsylvania fireplace, sometimes called the Franklin stove, acquired its name from Franklin, its inventor. This device, he said, "made my living room twice as warm as it used to be with a quarter of the wood I formerly consumed . . . " (Donovan 55). The heating of houses was growing more expensive, the wood was being used extremely inefficiently, and much of the heat was lost up the chimney. Franklin's fireplace solved these problems by using a number of passages and vents so that the cold air was drawn in from outside the building, warmed in the air passages, and then blown into the room. He said "your whole room is equally warmed, so that the people need not crowd so close round the fire, but may sit near the window, and have the benefit of the light for reading, writing, and needlework. They may sit with comfort in any part of the room, which is a very considerable advantage in a large family, where there must often be two fires kept, because all cannot conveniently come at one" (Seeger 166). Several people considered the fireplace a luxury for the wealthy. One of the most important features of Franklin's fireplace was the flue. Meltzer points out that the flue spread heat by circulating it into the room rather than simply sending it up the chimney and out (110). The fireplace also featured a damper that can close the chimney off and keep out the cold. The firepla...
