SORTING CONVERTED MATERIAL. 



287 



into the ground at the same distance apart as the length of the 

 stack. In order to hold the pile of wood firmly it is better to 

 have at each end of the stack two stakes, which must be strong 

 and driven by mallets deeply enough into holes made in the 

 ground by crowbars. Opposite stakes may be tied by withes 

 or strings, passing through the piled wood to prevent it from 

 forcing them apart, or side-supports may be applied to the 

 stakes. 



On an incline, the distance between the stakes must be 

 measured horizontally, and the top of the stack should be 

 parallel to the incline. It is better not to substitute a standing 

 tree for one pair of the stakes, as the roots will prevent there 



Fiir. IS!. 



Stacking firewood. 



Fi.ir. ISL>. 



being a level base for the stack, and irregularities in the 

 height of the latter may follow. 



(c) Stacking the Wood. The workman should pack the 

 wood as closely as possible. The base of the stack (Fig. 182) is 

 made by laying several pieces lengthwise on the ground on 

 which the rest of the w r ood is piled transversely ; this precau- 

 tion should be adopted whenever the wood has to remain for 

 a long time on wet ground, otherwise the lowest billets may be 

 forced into the ground and rot. On dry, firm soil, this arrange- 

 ment may be dispensed with ; the largest billets are then placed 

 transversely, with their curved sides downwards, directly on 

 the ground (Fig. 181), and the stack is completed with wood of 

 the same quality, the larger pieces being always piled first to 



