CHARCOAL-MAKING. 



541 



As the heavy pieces of wood can be piled only with 

 difficulty on the base of the kiln, a kind of a wooden 

 tramway or sledge-road is constructed, on which the pieces 

 can be brought to the kiln in trucks or sledges. As a rule 

 the kindling is effected from above, and for this purpose a 

 central cavity is arranged at the top of the kiln in which the 

 flue terminates. When all the large pieces of wood are piled, 

 the interstices are tilled in carefully with small pieces of 

 split wood. 



Alpine kilns usually are covered more thickly than common 



a 



Ki.ir. H14. Alpine kiln. <i i 



applied from below, 



a space left when kindling is 

 in S. Bavaria. 



kilns. Ordinary material, it' found close at hand, is used for 

 the first covering ; usually, however, only a single covering 

 of mixed clay and humus is used, which must be spread very 

 carefully over the wood. Special kinds of props also are used 

 to support the sides of the kiln, which are at gradients of 

 60 degrees or 70 degrees. These props are formed either as in 

 Fig. 315, of planks (//i) placed edgeways round the kiln, having 

 niches cut into them at half their length, on which horizontal 

 planks (n) rest to support the covering (dd), or stout T-shaped 

 props are used as in Fig. 816. 



The covering is plastered on to the base of the kiln first, 

 then the lower props are applied and the plastering continued 



