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Bond, A. Russell

"The Scientific American Boy The Camp at Willow Clump Island"



The Outdoor Fireplace.
[Illustration: Fig. 197. An Outdoor Cooking Fire.]
But there were more things to be learned about open fires. In our summer
outing Jack had done most of his cooking on a kerosene stove, and he soon
found that it was a very different matter to cook over an unsheltered
fire. The heat was constantly carried hither and thither by the gusts of
wind, so that he could scarcely warm up his saucepans. We had to content
ourselves with cold victuals for the first meal, but before the next meal
time came around we had learned a little more about fire building. Two
large logs were placed about 10 inches apart, and the space between them
was filled in with pieces of bark and small twigs and sticks. The back of
the fireplace was closed with stones. One touch of a match was enough to
kindle the fire, and in a moment it blazed up beautifully. The logs at the
sides and the stones at the back prevented the wind from scattering the
flames in all directions, and a steady draft poured through the open end
of the fireplace and up through the heart of the fire. The side logs were
so close together that our cooking utensils could be supported directly on
them.

A Stone-paved Fireplace.


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