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Fire.   187

Sulphur matches are so very useful to convert a spark into a flame, and they are so easily made, in any quantity, out of split wood, straws, &c,, if the traveller will only take the trouble of carrying a small lump of sulphur in his baggage, that they always ought to be at hand. The sulphur is melted on a heated stone, or in an old spoon, bit of crockery, bit of tin with a dent made in it, or even a piece of paper, and the points of the pieces of wood dipped in the molten mass. A small chip of sulphur pushed into the cleft end of a splinter of wood makes a fair substitute for a match. (See " Lucifermatches.")

Camp Fires.-Large Logs.-The principle of making large logs to burn brightly, is to allow air to reach them on all sides, and yet to place them so

closely together, that each supports the combustion of the rest. A common plan is to make the fire with three logs, whose ends cross each other, as in the diagram. The dots represent the extent of the fire. As the ends burn away, the logs are pushed closer together. Another plan is to lay the logs parallel with the burning ends to the windward, then they continue burning together.

In the pine-forests of the North, at winter time, it is usual to fell a large tree, and, cutting a piece six or eight feet long off the large end, to lay the thick short piece upon the long one, which is left lying on the ground ; having previously cut flat with the axe the sides that come in contact, and notched them so as to make the upper log lie steady. The chips are then heaped in between the logs, and are set fire to ; the flame runs in between them, and the heat of each log helps the other to burn. It is the work of nearly an hour to prepare such a fire ; but when made, it lasts throughout the night. In all cases, one or two great logs are far better than many small ones, as these burn fast away and require con-