easily.

"Liquidambar, magnolia, tulip, catalpa, and willow are poor fuel.
Seasoned chestnut and yellow poplar make a hot fire, but crackle and
leave no coals. Balsam fir, basswood, and the white and loblolly pines
make quick fires, but are soon spent. The grey (Labrador) or jack pine
is considered good fuel in the far north, where hard woods are scarce.
Seasoned tamarack is good. Spruce is poor fuel, although, being
resinous, it kindles easily and makes a good blaze for 'branding up' a
fire. Pitch pine, which is the most inflammable of all woods when dry
and 'fat,' will scarcely burn at all in a green state. Sycamore and
buckeye, when thoroughly seasoned, are good fuel, but will not split.
Alder burns readily and gives out considerable heat, but is not lasting.

"The dry wood of the northern poplar (large-toothed aspen) is a favorite
for cooking fires, because it gives an intense heat, with little or no
smoke, lasts well, and does not blacken the utensils. Red cedar has
similar qualities, but is rather hard to ignite and must be fed fine at
the start.

"The best green soft woods for fuel are white birch, paper birch, soft
maple, cottonwood, and quaking aspen.

"As a rule, the timber growing along the margins of large streams is
softwood. Hence, driftwood is generally a poor mainstay unless there is
plenty of it on the spot; but driftwood on the sea coast is good fuel.

"_Precautions_--I have already mentioned the necessity of clearing the
camp ground of inflammable stuff before starting a fire on it, raking it
toward a common center and burning all the dead leaves, pine needles and
trash; otherwise it may catch and spread beyond your control as soon as
your back is turned. Don't build your fire against a big old punky log;
it may smoulder a day or two after you have left and then burst out into
flame when the breeze fans it.

"_Never_ leave a spark of fire when breaking camp, or when leaving it
for the day. Make absolutely sure of this by drenching the campfire
thoroughly, or by smothering it completely with earth or sand. Never
drop a lighted match on the ground without stamping it out. Have you
ever seen a forest fire? It is terrible. Thousands of acres are
destroyed and many a time men and women and children have been cut off
by a tornado of flame and burned alive. The person whose carelessness
starts such a holocaust is worse than a fool--he is a criminal, and a
disgrace to the good earth he treads."

[Ill