Logs to BurnLogs to burn. Logs to burnLogs to save the coal a turnHere's a word to make you wiseWhen you hear the woodman's cries.
Never heed his usual taleThat he has splendid logs for saleBut read these lines and surely learnThe proper kind of logs to burn.
Oak Logs will warm you wellif they are old and dryLarch logs of pinewood smellBut the sparks will fly.
Beech logs for Christmas timeYew logs will heat you well'Scotch' logs it is a crimefor anyone to sell.
Birch logs will burn too fastChestnut scarce at allHawthorn logs are good to lastif you cut them in the fall.
Holly logs will burn like waxYou should burn them greeElm logs like smouldering flaxWith no flame to be seen.
Pear logs and apple logsThey will scent your roomCherry logs across the dogssmell like flowers in bloom.
But ash logs all smooth and greyburn them green or oldBuy all that come your wayThey're worth their weight in gold.
Another one:
Oak logs will warm you well
That are old and dry
Logs of pine will sweetly smell
But the sparks will fly.Birch logs will burn too fast
Chestnut scarce at all;
Hawthorn logs are good to last
Cut them in the fall.Holly logs will burn like wax,
You may burn them green;
Elm logs like smoldering flax
No flame to be seen.
Beech logs for winter time
Yew logs as well
Green Elder logs it is a crime
For any man to sell.Pear logs and apple logs
They will scent your room,
Cherry logs across the dogs
Smells like flower of broom.Ash logs smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old,
Buy up all that come your way –
Worth their weight in gold.
There are lots of these poems - interestingly, they seem to have blended, with whole verses transposed from one version to another.
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 woodsman cry.
Beechwood fires burn bright and clear,Hornbeam blazes too,If the logs are kept a year,to season through and through.
Oaken logs will warm you well,if they're old and dry,Larch logs of pinewood smell but the sparks will fly.
Pine is good and so is Yew for warmth through wintry days,
The Poplar and the Willow too, they take too long to blaze.
Birch logs will burn too fast, Alder scarce at all,
Chestnut logs are good to last, cut them in the fall.
Holly logs will burn like wax, you should burn them green,
Elm logs like smouldering flax, no flames with them are seen.
Pear logs and Apple logs, they will scent your room,
Cherry logs, across the dogs, they smell like flowers in bloom.
Ash logs, so smooth and gray, burn them green or old,
Buy up all that come your way they're worth their weight in gold.
This is a version which I posted in January last year...
Beechwood flames are bright and clearif the logs be kept a yearOaken logs burn steadilyIf the wood be old and dryChestnut's only good they sayIf long dry years it's laid awayBut Ash when new or Ash when oldIs fit for a queen with a crown of gold.
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| by Dorothy Tilson |
Birch and Fir they burn too fastBlaze too bright and will not lastBuild a fire of elder treeDeath within your house you'll see.If you would bake the sweetest breadUse Hawthorn, or so 'tis saidBut Ash when green or Ash when brownWill please a queen with a golden crown
Elm will burn like churchyard mouldEven the very flames are coldPoplar gives a bitter smokeBurns your eyes and makes you chokeApple wood will scent your roomPear wood smells of flowers in bloom.But Ash when wet or Ash when dryA queen may warm her slippers by.
Each version has something to offer. I must conduct an experiment next autumn...cut some Hawthorn (second poem) then, when it has seasoned, use it to fire-up the Rayburn when I am baking bread (final poem) ...
It is cold and snowy outside - another day for sitting next to the fire and dipping into old books - life is tough!
Not quite blue skies, but no precip
