Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

:IHL CAMP-FIRE 235the fire is to be lighted must be cleared from allcombustible material; and before the place is abandoned,fires so lighted must be thoroughly quenched."In Pennsylvania forest reserves no fire may bemade except in a hole or pit one foot deep, the pitbeing encircled by the excavated earth. In someof California, no fire at all may be lighted withoutfirstprocuring a permit from the authorities.Fire regulations are posted on all public lands,and if campers disregard them they are subject toarrest.These are wise and good laws. Every camperw^ho loves the forest, and who has any regard forpublic interests,will do his part by obeying them tothe letter. However, if he occupies private propertywhere he may use his own judgment, or if he travelsin a wilderness far from civilization, where thereare no regulations, it will be useful ^or him to knowsomething about the fuel value of all kinds of w^ood,green as well as dead, and for such people the followinginformation is givenThe arts of fire-building are not so simple as theylook. To practice them successfully in all sorts ofwild regions we must knovv the different species oltrees one from another, and their relative fuelvalues, which, as we shall see, vary a great deaLWe must know how well, or ill, each of them burnsin a green state, as well as when seasoned. It isimportant to discriminate between wood that makeslasting coals, and such as soon dies down to ashes.Some kinds of wood pop violently when burning andcast out embers that may burn holes in tents andbedding or set the neighborhood afire; others burnquietly, with clear, steady flame.Some are stubbornto split, others almost fall apart under the axe.In wet weather it takes a practiced woodsman tofind tinder and dry wood, and to select a naturalshelter where fi.re can be kept going during a stormof rain or snow, when a fire is most needed.There are several handy little manuals by which