Any oil mixed with a hatful of shavings, tow, cotton,
wool, or rags, heaped together, will become very hot in one, two, or more
days, and will ultimately burst into flame. The rapidity of the process
is increased by warmth.

Tinder.--General Remarks.--There are two divisions of tinder: those that
are of a sufficiently strong texture to admit of being grasped in the
hand, and those that are so friable as to require a box to hold them. In
the first division (a) are the following:--amadon, a roll of rag, a
cotton lamp-wick, a roll of touch-paper, a mass of hair of certain
plants, and a long string of pith sewed up in a sheath. To ignite these,
we must hold them as in fig. 1, and use the steel to strike downwards
upon the flint. In the second division (b) are:--tinder of burnt rags,
tinder of any kind with grains of gunpowder strewed over it, and
touch-wood. All these require tinder-boxes, as explained below. There are
also many other substances belonging to both divisions of tinder, in use.
A traveller should inform himself about those peculiar to the country
that he visits.

a Amacou, punk, or German tinder, is made from a kind of fungus or
mushroom that grows on the trunks of old oaks, ashes, beeches, etc.; many
other kinds of fungus, and, I believe, all kinds of puff-balls, will also
make tinder. "It should be gathered in August or September, and is
prepared by removing the outer bark with a knife, and separating
carefully the spongy yellowish mass that lies within it. This is cut into
thin slices, and beaten with a mallet to soften it, till it can easily be
pulled asunder between the fingers. It is then boiled in a strong
solution of saltpetre."

A Roll of Rag.--Cotton rag will easily take fire from the spark from a
flint, in a very dry climate, if well struck. It must be rolled up
moderately tight, so as to have the end of the roll fluffy; the rag
having been torn, not cut. A rag rolled in this way is not bad tinder, if
the sparks are strong, and one commences to blow it the instant one of
the fibres is seen to be alight. If its fluffy end be rubbed into a
little dry gunpowder, its property as tinder is greatly improved.

Cotton Lamp-wick.--A piece of it drawn through a tin tube, to shield the
previously charred part from being rubbed off, is excellent in dry
climates. (See fig. 1, p. 180.)

Touch-paper is merely paper dipped in a solution of saltpetre, or what
comes to nearly the same thing and is somewhat b