FRAGRANT FIRES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 23, 27 July 1939, Page 18

FRAGRANT FIRES

LOGS FROM THE COUNTRY

Townfolk often think that winter evenings in the country must be dull and long, but they are never long enough for most countryfolk, states the London "Daily Telegraph." Anyone who has sat in front of a country wood fire knows what a cheery, comforting companion it is. The log on the hearth in the winter is the next best thing to the sun in the world outside, and wood for winter .burning is, in country parts, as carefully selected and garnered as it deserves to 1 be.

Again, there are townfolk who would gladly copy wood fires. They complain of wood which will not burn, or. fires that burn out much too quickly, and they ask country people to tell them where the blame lies—in the wood or on the hearth.

Many factors contribute to the good wood fire, but it must first of all be understood that there is no wood with the same heat value as good coal. Wood and coal together give out a tremendous heat. But if the wood fire is to give the same warmth to the room that a coal fire does, then the logs must be piled on in correspondingly larger quantities. . CHOICE IMPORTANT. The choice of wood is also important. In the country people often cut up an old tree from the orchard—apple, pear, plum, or cherry, all good burners with a pleasant scent. Cherry especially will fill a room with sweetness like the ■' scent of a blackberry copse in summer. Townfolk probably cannot easily obtain cherry logs, and they should choose the denser woods, such as oak, ash, birch, and beech. Dry old oak logs are excellent for heat and they burn with a slow, steady glow. Ash, which will burn either green or old, has more flame, but burns quietly and clearly, also with a £ood heat. Beech burns cheerily and well, but has a habit of "spitting" with tremendous force. The resinous woods, such as larch and pine, flame away with a gorgeous heat, but they do not Jaurn steadily and are better for building the fire than for feeding it. Birch also is better for building as it burns out quickly. THORN AND HOLLY. Cedar and lilac burn well, with good heat and a rich scent. Thorn, if it can be obtained, is one of the best burners —slow, producing little smoke, and great heat, while holly, when it is old and dry, makes as lovely a fire as one would expect it to do. After the best wood has been chosen the best method of making the fire should be considered. Plenty of paper, lightly packed, plenty of dry twigs or small split pieces of wood set on end all round the paper—and then the \ match. The "smalls," as countryfolk call the wood which builds the fire, should not be put on until there is a a log begins to burn away another must of smalls.

The wood fire, must not be allowed to die down too much, but as soon as fierce blaze, and the logs should not be piled until there is a red-hot bed be thrust in to take its place.

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