CHARCOAL-MAKING. 531 



iii. Site for a Kiln. 



The site for a kiln should be level, sheltered from winds, 

 with water at hand, and either on the felling-area or close to 

 it. AVhere several hundred stacks of firewood are to be car- 

 bonised there should be room for several kilns close together 

 to save the cost of transport. The nature of the ground below 

 the kiln has considerable influence on its rate of burning ; if 

 the soil is loose and porous it admits air to the interior of the 

 kiln, which will burn rapidly and yield heating charcoal ; if 

 the soil is heavy, the kiln will burn slowly and yield cold 

 charcoal. A sandy loam is most suitable, as it allows a 

 moderate inlet of air, being at the same time porous enough 

 to absorb the moisture, which descends from a burning kiln. 

 The soil should be of uniform nature under a kiln, in order 

 that the inlet of air and the rate of carbonisation may be 

 uniform throughout. 



A new site for a kiln is prepared as follows : the ground is 

 freed from all sticks, roots and stones ; the grass-sods are 

 then dug up and the soil prepared as smoothly as for a 

 garden-bed. The soil must be freed carefully from all stones 

 likely to heat any part of the kiln excessively. The site 

 is levelled, a stake driven in at its centre and a circular 

 line traced as the boundary of the kiln. The centre is 

 raised 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm.), the higher the 

 stiffer the soil and harder the wood, the site being made to 

 slope off from the centre in all directions towards the external 

 circular line. This arrangement is intended to increase the 

 inward draught of air and allow the liquids from the burning 

 kiln to drain away, also that the piled billets may stand on 

 an edge and not on their section. The site is trampled 

 down firmly and remains lying unused for some time, gene- 

 rally during winter, in order to settle and allow for any 

 improvement that may be required. Before piling the 

 kiln, a heap of dry firewood should be burned on the site to 

 dry it. 



However carefully a new site may have been prepared, it 

 is always inferior to one used repeatedly for kilns. The loss 

 of wood in using a new site may amount to from 10 to 17 or 



M M 2 



