An old woodman's poem to help you decide which fuel to use;
Logs to burn! Logs to burn!
Logs to save the coal a turn!
Here's a word to make you wise
When you hear the woodman's cries.
Beechwood fire burn bright and clear;
Hornbeam blazes too,
If logs are kept a year
And seasoned through and through.
Oak logs will warm you well
If they're old and dry,
Larch logs of pinewood smell
But the sparks will fly.
Pine is good and so is yew
For warmth through winter days
But poplar and willow, too
Take long to dry and blaze.
Birch logs will burn too fast,
Alder scarce at all.
Chestnut logs are good to last
If cut in the fall.
Holly logs will burn like wax,
You should burn them green,
Elm logs like smoldering flax,
No flame is seen.
Pear logs and apple logs,
They will scent your room.
Cherry logs across the dogs
Smell like flowers in bloom.
But ash logs, all smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old,
Buy up all that come your way,
They're worth their weight in gold.
Hard woods for roasting
Apple, Ash, Beech, Birch, Sweet Chestnut, Hazel, Holly, Hornbeam, Larch, Oak and Willow.
Soft woods for boiling
Alder, Aspen, cedar, Hawthorn, Horse chestnut, Lime, Pine, Poplar, Spruce, Sycamore.
Logs to burn! Logs to burn!
Logs to save the coal a turn!
Here's a word to make you wise
When you hear the woodman's cries.
Beechwood fire burn bright and clear;
Hornbeam blazes too,
If logs are kept a year
And seasoned through and through.
Oak logs will warm you well
If they're old and dry,
Larch logs of pinewood smell
But the sparks will fly.
Pine is good and so is yew
For warmth through winter days
But poplar and willow, too
Take long to dry and blaze.
Birch logs will burn too fast,
Alder scarce at all.
Chestnut logs are good to last
If cut in the fall.
Holly logs will burn like wax,
You should burn them green,
Elm logs like smoldering flax,
No flame is seen.
Pear logs and apple logs,
They will scent your room.
Cherry logs across the dogs
Smell like flowers in bloom.
But ash logs, all smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old,
Buy up all that come your way,
They're worth their weight in gold.
Hard woods for roasting
Apple, Ash, Beech, Birch, Sweet Chestnut, Hazel, Holly, Hornbeam, Larch, Oak and Willow.
Soft woods for boiling
Alder, Aspen, cedar, Hawthorn, Horse chestnut, Lime, Pine, Poplar, Spruce, Sycamore.