THE COOKING-FIRE

Of course such a fire as I have been describing can be used for
cooking, when it has burned down a little, and there is a bed of hot
embers in front of the backlog.  But a correct kitchen fire should
be constructed after another fashion.  What you want now is not
blaze, but heat, and that not diffused, but concentrated.  You must
be able to get close to your fire without burning your boots or
scorching your face.

If you have time and the material, make a fireplace of big stones.
But not of granite, for that will split with the heat, and perhaps
fly in your face.

If you are in a hurry and there are no suitable stones at hand, lay
two good logs nearly parallel with each other, a foot or so apart,
and build your fire between them.  For a cooking-fire, use split
wood in short sticks.  Let the first supply burn to glowing coals
before you begin.  A frying-pan that is lukewarm one minute and red-
hot the next is the abomination of desolation.  If you want black
toast, have it made before a fresh, sputtering, blazing heap of
wood.