Time is never saved by doing a thing badly.
II
THE CAMP-FIRE
In the making of fires there is as much difference as in the
building of houses. Everything depends upon the purpose that you
have in view. There is the camp-fire, and the cooking-fire, and the
smudge-fire, and the little friendship-fire,--not to speak of other
minor varieties. Each of these has its own proper style of
architecture, and to mix them is false art and poor economy.
The object of the camp-fire is to give heat, and incidentally light,
to your tent or shanty. You can hardly build this kind of a fire
unless you have a good axe and know how to chop. For the first
thing that you need is a solid backlog, the thicker the better, to
hold the heat and reflect it into the tent. This log must not be
too dry, or it will burn out quickly. Neither must it be too damp,
else it will smoulder and discourage the fire. The best wood for it
is the body of a yellow birch, and, next to that, a green balsam.
It should be five or six feet long, and at least two and a half feet
in diameter. If you cannot find a tree thick enough, cut two or
three lengths of a smaller one; lay the thickest log on the ground
first, about ten or twelve feet in front of the tent; drive two
strong stakes behind it, slanting a little backward; and lay the
other logs on top of the first, resting against the stakes.
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