firewood poems
Posted on | September 26, 2009 | 4 Comments
topical!
The Firewood Poem
Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut’s only good they say,
If for logs ’tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold
Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E’en the very flames are cold
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown
Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter’s cold
But ash wet or ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.
copyright Celia Congreve, is believed to be first published in THE TIMES newspaper on March 2nd 1930.
The Firewood Rhyme – Anon
Logs to Burn, 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.
Never heed his usual tale,
That he has good logs for sale,
But read these lines and really learn,
The proper kind of logs to burn.
Oak logs will warm you well,
If they’re old and dry.
Larch logs of pine will smell,
But the sparks will fly.
Beech logs for Christmas time,
Yew logs heat well.
“Scotch” logs it is a crime,
For anyone to sell.
Birch logs will burn too fast,
Chestnut scarce at all.
Hawthorn logs are good to last,
If you cut them in the fall.
Holly logs will burn like wax,
You should burn them green,
Elm logs like smouldering flax,
No flame to be 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.
A realistic review by E A Lovitt:
September 27th, 2009 @ 9:58 pm
Hedge wood does burn very hot
Will warp your wood burner on the spot
This I learned very clear
And to my eye did bring a tear
Sigh…you learn by doing….
September 30th, 2009 @ 4:19 pm
does hedgewood, mean dead bits that one picks up along the way? i don't know it as a species in england.
September 30th, 2009 @ 7:21 pm
Actually it's called osage orange. I have a quite a bit of it in the small wooded area behind my house. It's a very hard wood. Plus it's a pain to be around, and i do mean pain. It has large and very sharp thorns all over it. It produces, what we call around here, hedge apples. People put them in their basements to keep away insects. Fence posts of hedgewood last for decades without rotting. I'll put a photo of a hedge apple in the photo section if I can find one.
October 1st, 2009 @ 9:19 am
please do. it sounds like a cross between Englsih blackthorn and crab apple