which the stone may be cut to the desired 

 shapes for any desired texture of stone masonry 

 should be considered before the final design is 

 adopted. 



PRACTICAL USEFULNESS VERSUS 

 APPROPRIATE DESIGN 



The camp stove and the picnic fireplace must 

 combine convenience of practical use with ap- 

 propriateness of design. It is much more im- 

 portant in the camp stove than in the picnic 

 area fireplace to provide a design which recog- 

 nizes as an important requirement the con- 

 venience of everyday use. Many campers and 

 picnickers will accept any type of design (even 

 the "oil-drum" and the "ice-box" (pi. XXVI, 

 figs. 9, 10, and 11)) however unattractive and 

 inappropriate in appearance, so long as it is 

 of practical use. Such sacrifice of design is un- 

 warranted. The natural pleasing landscape 

 deserves more consideration. There are ways 

 in which to combine practical use and good 

 design so that such encroachments may be 

 avoided. 



The height of the cooking surface of a camp 

 stove should approximate from 15 to 24 inches. 

 A height of 30 inches more nearly conforms to 

 the height of the cooking surface in the kitchen 

 range at home. Such a height is to be dis- 

 couraged in the forests, because of the resulting 

 massiveness of the camp stove. 



With a hearth raised approximately 6 to 8 

 inches above the surrounding ground and with 

 a depth of firebox approximating 8 to 10 inches 

 the resulting height of the cooking surface 

 (adding the thickness of the grate or plate) is 

 approximately 15 to 18 inches above the ground 

 level. Unless it is practicable to easily screen 

 these cooking units from each other the higher 

 cooking surfaces should be avoided, even though 

 more convenient for everyday use by campers. 



Campers and picnickers seek the forests and 

 other areas for recreation and exercise; thus 

 squatting beside the low (15 inches) fireplace, 

 or bending over the slightly higher (18 to 24 

 inches) camp stove is one of the forms of 

 physical exercise which is a part of the life 

 out-of-doors. Convenience in camp life is a 

 very relative term which to most recreation 

 seekers may involve some expenditure of phys- 

 ical energy not enjoyed in the everyday life at 

 home, and unfortunately to a very few it means 



the comforts and inactivity of home transferred 

 to the natural landscape setting. 



In the use of the camp stove it is essential to 

 have convenient access to the cooking surface 

 from the sides as well as from the front. For 

 this reason, the height of the walls above the 

 top of the cooking surface should be kept at a 

 minimum. Sometimes it is advisable to raise the 

 top of the wall above the cooking surface, in 

 order to secure a more permanent type of con- 

 struction. The fire-clay brick lining in the camp 

 stove should extend to the underside of the top 

 grate or plate, and this additional height of the 

 side walls may be necessary in order to provide 

 an anchor or suitable attachment for the bars 

 or grate and to provide a cap which will prop- 

 erly protect the joint between the fire-clay brick 

 and the surface of the stone wall. By keeping 

 the top of the side walls level with the top of the 

 plate or grate, it is possible to set pots and pans 

 partly off the stove and partly on the wall to 

 obtain varying degrees of heat (pis. Ill and V). 



The thickness of the masonry walls, outside 

 of the fire-clay brick, may approximate from 6 

 to 10 inches. Because of the height of the cook- 

 ing surface, any greater thickness of the walls 

 is likely to make the top of the stove not con- 

 venient to use. 



It is often desirable to construct a stove or 

 fireplace with an area of gravel or sandy loam 

 (approximating 5 feet in width) entirely sur- 

 rounding the front and sides of the unit. If this 

 area is not provided, then the natural vegeta- 

 tion will be worn unnecessarily and the area 

 will become dusty, inasmuch as it will be 

 generally dry. If the natural soil is clay, then 

 the convenience of using the fireplace will be 

 very much reduced unless coarse sand or 

 gravel is spread. If flagstone is available, a 

 very few broken flagstones may be laid at the 

 sides of the unit and immediately in front. 



LOCATION ON CAMPGROUND 

 OR PICNIC AREA 



The actual site selected for the camp stove or 

 fireplace should have natural surface drainage 

 so that muddy conditions may be avoided dur- 

 ing wet weather. The fireplace can sometimes 

 be built into a slope which will produce a more 

 natural effect, especially if some small amount 

 of grading is done immediately around the 

 unit (pis. VI, VII, and X). 



