I have no doubt that the majority of the readers who have patiently found their way thus far through this little book will feel like closing it with a sigh of impatience at the sight of the chapter heading above. “Who doesn’t know how to build a wood fire? We might as well seek instruction as to the most approved method of striking a match!” But if you will bear with me for a moment I would say most emphatically that as a matter of fact very few people really do know how to build a fire. It is easy enough to assemble a bunch of newspapers, twigs, kindling and logs so that it is possible to start a fire, but perhaps you have noticed that while many fires are kindled few burn out. If you are seeking for the greatest amount of comfort and enjoyment from your wood fire you will secure it only by sitting at the feet of that greatest of all teachers, experience, or perhaps more quickly by experimenting a bit with one or two of the simple expedients which I shall try to show are based on the wood fire’s way of working. While there are those who would not for worlds give up the pleasure of tinkering with the tongs and poker while the fire burns, it will perhaps not detract from this enjoyment if the tinkering is not actually the result of necessity to keep the logs burning. Fire-mending is a delightful recreation only when it is not imposed upon us by becoming an alternative to having the glowing embers become discouraged and give up the fight.

First of all, there is the need of having fuel that is really dry. It is not essential that the woodpile be kept indoors, but it should at least have shelter above it and on three sides. The woodsheds of New England farmhouses offer a practical and efficient solution of the problem. Usually you will find these as an extension to the house, a shed open only to the south, in which the cord wood is piled neatly to the roof with sawn ends to the front. Two long logs are laid on the floor or ground, at right angles to the firewood, so as to encourage a circulation of air for drying.

In addition to the heavier logs which are cut to fit the fireplace opening, there should be almost an equal quantity of twigs, brush and smaller pieces, or else split kindling, to serve as starting fuel.

To lay a fire on the hearth, select first a heavy log which should be placed close against the back of the fire chamber on the hearth and not on the andirons. This is the traditional “backlog.” It will serve through several fires and is intended mainly as a protection of the back brickwork. Stand the andirons with their rear ends close up against the backlog, and if the latter is of the best size its top will be well above the horizontal bars of the andirons. Now select a smaller log preferably not a split piece and lay it across the andirons. If a big fire is desired, keep this log the “forelog” well to the front, just back of the andiron upright posts, leaving plenty of space between backlog and forelog for the main body of the fire. The distance between these two logs will govern the size of the fire. In this space put a few crumpled sheets of newspaper, some of the lighter twigs and small branches, and one, two or three logs or split pieces, as may be required to fill the space. The diagrams will make clearer this arrangement for a small fire or a large one.

As the central portion of the fire burns away, keep the forelog pushed back against it, unless a less active fire is desired. It is well to remember that where one isolated log will not burn, two close together probably will, and a pyramid of three will do still better.

Many fireplaces show a tendency to smoke only when first lighted; this is probably due to a cold chimney, and can usually be prevented or made less objectionable by burning a newspaper just under the throat, thus starting the proper action of the up and down drafts.

If it is possible for us to choose between various kinds of wood for our open fire fuel there is opened up one of the most interesting phases of the whole subject. To most people probably a wood fire is a wood fire, whether the logs be of cherry wood, pine, hickory or anything else. For the wood fire connoisseur, if we may call him by that name, there is no difficulty whatever in telling with a glance at the fire just what wood is burned. The crackle and explosive nature of hickory, the hiss of pine, the steady flame from cherry, the hot and rapid disintegration of sycamore, and the steady and thorough combustion of soft apple wood soon become familiar characteristics to those who have the opportunity to lay the fire in variety. Then there is, of course, the fascination and the weird coloring in a driftwood fire most spectacular of all but unfortunately denied to most of us.

Finally, the most important factor of all in the management of a wood fire is an ample bed of ashes for its foundation. It is impossible for anyone who has not actually tried fires both ways to appreciate the immense advantage that a bed of wood ashes gives. It unquestionably doubles the fire’s efficiency in throwing heat out into the room, it halves the care and attention needed to keep the fire burning, and it increases beyond measure the beauty of a wood fire, when it is nearing its end, by rekindling itself with the embers and keeping alive for a long time the quiet, dull red glow. Stop your ears to the importunities of the over-zealous housekeeper and steel yourself against the pricks of the conscience of cleanliness. If need be, fight for the retention of that bed of ashes. You can scarcely get it too large or too deep. The accumulation of two years is a priceless treasure. One of my own fireplaces has a bank that has to be depleted about twice a year to make room for the fire. A peck or two of the fine white powder is then carried out to bring joy to the rose garden.

To one who loves a wood fire and knows its possibilities the mention of such a thing as an ash-drop is as a red flag to a bull. Peace be to the ashes of the man who invented this easy method of robbing the hearth of half its charm. May he be forgiven it.