XI. THE FUEL-WOODS OF THE FARM 



"We piled with care our nightly stack 

 Of wood against the chimney back, — 

 The oaken log, green, huge, and thick, 

 And on its top the stout back-stick; 

 The knotty fore-stick laid apart 

 And filled between with curious art 

 The ragged brush; then hovering near 

 We watched the first red blaze appear, 

 Heard the sharp crackle, caught the gleam 

 On whitewashed wall and sagging beam, 

 Until the old rude-fashioned room 

 Burst flower-like into rosy bloom." 



— Whittier {Snow-Bound). 



One of the first of the resources of nature to be brought into 

 human service was fire. Lightning and other causes set wild 

 fires going, and the savage following in their wake, found that 

 they had done certain useful work for him. They had cut 

 pieces of timber into lengths and shapes that were convenient 

 to his hand. They had roasted wild roots and green fruits, 

 and the flesh of wild animals overtaken, and had made them 

 much more palatable. They had left piles of glowing embers 

 beside which on a chill day he warmed himself. So he took a 

 hint from nature, added a few sticks to the live embers, and 

 kept the fire going. Strange that no other animal has done 

 this simple thing! Afterwards he found out how to start a 

 fire by rubbing wooden sticks, later by striking flint on steel, 

 and still later by friction matches. The wonder of the savage 

 has become commonplace. 



Since cooking began, the word fireside has been synony- 

 mous with home. Fire has been the indispensable agent of 

 many comforts, and womankind have been the keepers of it. 

 The wildwood has furnished the fuel. In the wood there is 

 great variety of it : fine twigs and coarse, and bark and splin- 

 ters, all ready for use; and dead trees down, and green trees 



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