The Elbert County tribune., 1905-06-01
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and elasticity. The increase of pitch
or turpentine in old trees gives them
a fuel value far above that of the soft
pine or immature growth.
! A few observations on heat NAV an
propriateIy follow: The most vitaliz-
ing heat is that of the sun in its direct
rays; next is the radiant heat from
burning wood or coal. The shepherd
and the poultrymen know that the
direct rays of the sun have a vivifyinc
effect upon the young lamb or chicken,
surprising that derived from any other
source, excepting perhaps that from
the body of the mother. The heat
radiated from a close stove or steam
or hot water pipes may warm the body,
but it seems to lack something that is
conveyed by the suns rays.
| An open fire is company, with its
brisk flame and lively crackle demand.
ing frequent attention, ungrudgmgly
bestowed by anyone who accepts its
companionship. 1t whites away tie
idle hour between daylight and dark.
called "candle-lighting" in the cid
times, when the blazing hearth bore
! the backlog and fore stick with bigt
piled lighter wood; with an ample bed
of red-hot ashes and coal, fit to re.
| ceiye chestnuts or potatoes, to season
them while you wait with the peculiar
favor that those embers alone bestow,
The open fire is always drawing the
| family together with an unconscious
force that no radiator or furnace pos
sesses. 1t gives a silent lesson'ir good
behavior, though often enforced in
| words ssnnOft 90 h. q
| Don't stand before the fire. Chat is,
before some other person.. This is o
lesson in unselfishness that is the foun.
dation of all good manners. An old
friend standing with me before a blaz-
ing fire, recently said: "An open fire is
better than minister in a family any
time"
One of the great pleasures of the
open fire is in watching the decaying
embers as the white ash encircles the
burning stick, or the decaying coal still
retaining its size and form to the last.
There is a great difference in wood in
this respect, and on familiar acquaint-
ance it becomes companionship, so that
it is hard to conceive of lonesomeness
in the presence of a lively fire, with a
store of wood to replenish it.
The weight of opinion is largely in
favor of dry wood, and in most varie-
ties this is true, yet there are some
hard facts in favor of some kinds OF
green wood, or conditions of the fire.
that cannot be disputed.
Men who run engines for saving
lumber use the green slabs for fuel,
and as soon as the fire is we'll started,
do not hesitate to feed in the green
slabs covered with ice and snow, claim.
ing that such make the hottest fire.
In the olden times, with their big
fireplaces, green hickory brush was
highly priced for fuel; piled high in
the old fireplace, it made a roaring fire,
stronger and more durable than dry
brush. So green hickory wood has
the preference to-day in many cases. Is
there not highly inflammabIe volatile
oil in the hickory bark while green,
which is lost in drying? So with the
black birch. What boy would expect
to find in the dry birch bark that deli;
cate aroma and flavor which he finds
in the green bark? That volatile oil
is all gone then, and the farmer says
birch burns the best.
Where else do we find the odor of
woods and fields, the odor of spring in
more sublimated form than when the
bursting buds of the birch unite with
the fragrance of the wild grape in
perfume unsurpassed by the odors Of
Araby?
Now the old farmer who has watched
ON his heartstone the burning of differ.
ent kinds of woods, as well as the coli
lier who Annually burns his thousands
of bushels of charcoal, have some no,
exactIv harmonjza with tho claims II