51 



CHAPTER III. FIREWOOD 



189. Firewood should come from limbs, tops, and the 

 trees taken out in thinnings for improvement. Trees that 

 are large enough to make saw-logs or that give promise of 

 growing into saw-logs should not be cut for firewood. The 

 wood used for fuel on the farm should be so much waste 

 saved, so much improvement made, ]and not a drain on the 

 stands of timber. 



190. To give the best results firewood should be cut and 

 stacked some months before it is used. Green wood burns 

 longer than dry wood, but a large part of the heat is spent 

 in driving off the moisture. 



191. A great deal of the wood used for fuel is burned 

 in open fireplaces. Fireplaces have their advantages, one of 

 which is their cheerfulness; but as a means of heating a cold 

 room and keeping it at an even temperature they are inade- 

 quate. A large part of the heat goes up the chimney; and 

 this means a large consumption of fuel. There is no way to 

 regulate the heat; the room is very hot or very cold. And 

 there is risk of setting the house afire, since the fire is not 

 enclosed. 



192. While not so cheerful, stoves consume less fuel, 

 can be regulated, and are not as liable to set the house afire. 

 No record of a test of the comparative efficiency of stoves 

 and fireplaces could be found; so a test was made in the win- 

 ters of 1911 and 1912. Wood was weighed out in equal piles. 

 The piles were burned alternately in the fireplace and in the 

 stove. In order to have the conditions the same, the same 

 room was used; the fireplace was closed on alternate days 

 and the stove set up. The tests were carried on for 10 days. 



