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the best wood for burning
This is an old poem that may well have been posted on here before. It's a good one nonetheless.
Beech-wood fires burn bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year;
Store your beech for Christmastide
With new-cut holly laid beside;
Chestnut's only good, they say,
If for years 'tis stored away;
Birch and fir-wood burn too fast
Blaze too bright and do not last;
Flames from larch will shoot up high,
Dangerously the sparks will fly;
But ash-wood green and ash-wood brown
Are fit for a Queen with a golden crown.
Oaken logs, if dry and old,
Keep away the winter's cold;
Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke;
Elm-wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold;
It is by the Irish said;
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread,
Apple-wood will scent the room,
Pear-wood smells like flowers in bloom;
But ash-wood wet and ash-wood dry
A King may warm his slippers by.
Ooo I like that one - takes in rather more types of wood than most i have read!
Think it has been posted before Marks, but as you say, a very good one and worth repeating.
We are getting towards the end of the firewood season now, in spite of winter having just decided it is upon us, and the choice of woods may not be so good. We have got to the stage where we are having to put some green ash in each load now; it is fine to burn, and will be fully seasoned if stored for a few weeks in an airy but dry store. We always tell our customers about it, and ash is the only wood we would knowingly supply green.
Wrong about elm though – when I was a kid we heated the house on the corpses from Dutch elm disease, and it's an excellent firewood, at least as good as beech or oak. It was me who had to split the logs – I'm very sad at the loss of our elms, but I'm very glad that it was not elm I was splitting earlier this evening – every elm log is a battle!
Lovely poem. What is your favourite?
Mine has got to be apple. I'll hedge my bets on it being DC's favourite too
.......hc
Wrong about elm though – when I was a kid we heated the house on the corpses from Dutch elm disease, and it's an excellent firewood, at least as good as beech or oak.
I agree ! Certainly as good as beech . I don't have access to oak for comparison .
It was me who had to split the logs – I'm very sad at the loss of our elms, but I'm very glad that it was not elm I was splitting earlier this evening – every elm log is a battle!
I actually found it very easy to split . I suspect that the difference was because mine was very green , from a recent windfall . Also no side branches so no knotty bits .
Does anyone have experience of Alder ? It grows quite quickly here . Is it worth coppicing ?
Or Blackthorn ( Sloe ) ? It has run riot and I've spent the last 2 weeks hedgelaying and clearing . Have a lot of potentially usable lengths between 1/2 and 2" in diameter but am not sure whether it is worth the time and pains to remove all the thorns . My hands and arms already look like I've been in a cat fight , despite wearing heavy coat and gloves .
Cheers .
Elm is used for seats for Windsor chairs because it doesn't split. Since it became rarer and more expensive beech is sometimes used but has to be a lot thicker. Never tried to burn it, so can't offer an opinion on that.
Blowin, alder is used for charcoal, so if you season it properly, it should be fine for firewood. Blackthorn isn't usually big enough for firewood, so couldn't really tell you, but if it is seasoned it should burn. Can't be sure it wouldn't spit though, so if you have an open fire, be careful.
Interestingly - Tasmania is one of the last bastions of the elm. No Dutch Elm disease as our quarantine rules are rigidly enforced, and very little sign of other problems too. Other than the endless, constant, unrelenting suckering the little blighters indulge in!
Blackthorn throws plenty of heat,and lasts like Hawthorn,thicker is always better.
That is what is keeping our elms alive Ozzi. It seems they are slowly developing immunity to Dutch Elm disease. When it first struck they were getting to about 15 years old and them succumbing; now it is over 20 years. We have quite a lot of wych elm in the wood which seems healthy. Apparently the beetles cannot distinguish the elm amongst other trees, and they are not strong fliers either. One of ours which has fallen over has some young ones close to it. We have been told it is wych elm, but it's leaves and seeds are more English elm like, so we will only know if it starts suckering all over the place.
Thanks for that Jim. Think I vaguely knew it, just not sure.
Lovely poem.
Has anyone here had experience of burning Eucalyptus wood? We had a Eucalyptus tree in our garden but it had to be cut down. Some of it burned ok but recently when we burn it the living room just fills with horrid smelling smoke! The chimney has recently been swept and is in good condition. Any ideas why this is happening please?