The experienced camper may use his ax in gathering 

 his cooking fuel, but he generally breaks it quickly into 

 the required lengths. Here as in everything else in 

 camp life, the rule is: "Adapt yourself to circum- 

 stances." At one camp I used nothing but young dead 

 poplar, which had been fire-killed the year before. 

 They were quickly detached at the ground, where the 

 wood had rotted, and then broken into pieces with lit- 

 tle effort. 



It is for the evening campfire that the ax comes into 

 play. The real camp ax is the so-called half ax with a 

 long handle so the camper can swing it with both 

 hands. Small hand axes are good enough for half day 

 hikes, but they are a poor apologies for a real ax with 

 a regular handle and a keen edge. 



The best campfire wood in the whole North country 

 is standing green white birch. It cuts easily, is 

 everywhere abundant, does not shoot any sparks into 

 blankets and clothing, and if started with some dry 

 wood, it burns with a warm, even glow, not too fast 

 like the resinous evergreen and not too slow like green 

 poplar, ironwood and elm ; in fact, the last three hardly 

 burn at all, but sizzle and steam and go out unless 

 mixed with 'dry wood. Trees from three to six inches 

 in diameter are easily felled and cut into pieces about 

 three feet long. In half an hour, a man with a sharp 

 ax and a dull ax is taboo in camp can cut enough 

 birch wood to keep a warm, ruddy fire burning till 

 midnight. 



But why not use dry and dead wood for campfire? 

 It is all right to use it, if it can be found in plenty as 

 driftwood along large lakes and rivers. On a canoe 



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