66 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



eotton-waste thrown away along the railroad, peat, rags, corn- 

 cobs, old bags — in fact almost anything that will burn may be 

 used in a smoker. Whatever is used, however, there should be 

 a good stock of it on hand thoroughly dry, with no chance for 

 the rain to reach it. 



GREEN FUEL. 



And yet there are times when something green is better. 

 When a continuous and strong smoke is wanted, after a hot 

 fire has been started in the smoker, it is a good thing to fill the 

 smoker with green sticks from a growing tree. The hot lire 

 and the continuous blowing makes it burn freely, and the smoke 

 from green wood is sharper than that from dry. 



But it is only on special occasions that it is desirable to 

 have green wood, and it should at all other times be not only 

 dry but very dry. Nothing is better as a standard fuel than 

 sound hard wood sawed into proper lengths and split up into 

 pieces about a quarter of an inch thick. The only objection is 

 that such wood is rather expensive, for it takes a great deal of 

 time to prepare it. Much the same thing without the cost of 

 preparation may be had at any woodpile where hard wood has 

 been chopped — I mean the chips to be found there — and that 

 has been the favorite smoker-fuel " in this locality " for some 

 time. When the weather is dry, the chips may be picked up in 

 the chip-yard axid filled directly into the smoker, but a stock is 

 always kept on hand well eoverd up, ready to use immediately 

 after the heaviest shower of rain. 



SlIOKER-KINDLING. 



When live coals are at hand in the cook-stove, nothing is 

 handier than to put a few of them in the smoker to start the 

 fire. These are not always at hand. I have used for kindling 

 carpenter's shavings, kerosene, rotten wood of some hard wood, 

 especially apple, that kind of rotten wood that is somewhat 

 spongy and will be sure to burn if the least spark touches it — 

 all these have given more or less satisfaction, but nothing quite 

 so much as saltpeter-rags. Like the right kind of rotten wood, 

 the least spark will light a saltpeter-rag so that it will be sure 



