FIREWOOD. 617 



Sub-division II. Firewood. 



The material used for fuel consists of split billets of coniferous 

 wood, resinous pieces of spruce or pine, birch-bark, wood- 

 shavings, brushwood of any kind. Briquets of pressed peat 

 saturated by easily combustible substances may be substituted. 

 Firewood is burned directly for heating apartments, or for 

 cooking food, washing, drying, etc. Hardwoods, which give 

 out a more lasting, uniform heat than softwoods, are preferred to 

 the latter for the above household purposes. For boiling food 

 or heating boilers, as in kitchens, hard dense woods are 

 preferred ; for baking or roasting, when a quick intense heat 

 is required, porous softwood or charcoal is preferable. It is 

 not always possible, however, to obtain the best material, and 

 wood of all kinds is used for both purposes. The Danish 

 Forestry Society has constructed a permanent wood-furnace : 

 Beck's furnace at Copenhagen is the best ; 18 Ibs. of wood, 

 filled in three times, burns for 36 hours. 



Firewood is still employed in factories, which may be 

 classified according as they require hardwoods, as in soap- 

 making, laundries, and all factories employing boilers ; or 

 softwoods, producing a quickly radiating, intense heat, as in 

 bakeries, potteries, brick-kilns, lime-kilns, etc. ; finally, char- 

 coal, the heat of which is not only quick and intense, but also 

 very enduring, as for the work of locksmiths, blacksmiths, 

 glass-makers, etc. 



The utilization of dead firewood also may be considered 

 here. This consists of all dry branches and twigs lying on the 

 ground, that have been broken from the trees either by the 

 natural clearing process of the woods, or by wind or snow ; 

 its reduction into small pieces, without the use of implements, 

 can be effected by breaking it simply by hand or across the 

 knee. Such a strict definition of fallen firewood cannot, 

 however, be considered as universal ; its inexactness is 

 apparent for many localities where dry branchwood is included 

 that is still attached to the trees, from which it may be broken 

 by hand or dragged down by a hook : in other places are 

 included small pieces of wood and roots, that are still repro- 

 ductive and have not been dug up, as well as all refuse wood 



