A false back of brick may be put up in a deep fireplace. Hooks
for holding up the shovel and tongs, a hearth-brush and bellows, and
brass knobs to hang them on, should be furnished to every fireplace.
An iron bar across the andirons aids in keeping the fire safe and in
good order. Steel furniture is neater, handsomer, and more easily kept
in order than that made of brass.
Use green wood for logs, and mix green and dry wood for the fire; and
then the wood-pile will last much longer. Walnut, maple, hickory, and
oak wood are best; chestnut or hemlock is bad, because it snaps. Do
not buy a load in which there are many crooked sticks. Learn how to
measure and calculate the solid contents of a load, so as not to be
cheated. A cord of wood should be equivalent to a pile eight feet long,
four feet wide and four feet high; that is, it contains (8 X 4 X 4 =
128) one hundred and twenty-eight cubic or solid feet. A city "load"
is usually one third of a cord. Have all your wood split and piled
under cover for winter. Have the green wood logs in one pile, dry wood
in another, oven wood in another, kindlings and chips in another, and
a supply of charcoal to use for broiling and ironing in another place.
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