Stránka:roll 1917.djvu/210

r78 Woodcraft Manual for Boys Business, except when very interesting, is dispensed with, and a. programme of sports and amusements, chiefly for the visitors, is carefully prepared. This is “ Strangers’ Night ” and they should be entertained, not bored. Making Council Fire The Council Fire is a very difierent thing from the cooking- fire or the so-called bonfire. And there are just as many ways of making it wrong. These are the essentials: It must be easily started. It must give a steady, bright light. It must have as little heat as possible, for it is mostly used in the summer. Therefore, it must be small. ' . ’ It is best built as in (c), about two and one half feet high; the bottom stick about three feet long; the rest shorter and smaller. The small wood and chips to light it can be put either under or on top of the second layer. It should be drawn in toward the top, so as to burn without falling apart. It must contain a large proportion of dry, winter-seasoned wood, if it is to blaze brightly. The readiest seasoned wood is usually old lumber. For an all-evening Council Fire, at least three times as much should be in stock as on the fire when started. Here are some wrong methods: The high pyramid or bonfire (a) goes off like a flash, roasts every one, then goes dead. The shapeless pile (b) is hard to light and never bright. The bonfire is always bad. It wastes good wood; is dangerous to the forest and the camp; is n_:t