When a live tree is cut into logs the wood is said to be”green”as there is sap in the cells of the wood. When the wood is dried it is called seasoned wood which usually produces a better fire.
Seasoning time depends upon the size of log, its age when cut (older trees have less sap), season of cutting, and climate.
Medium sized logs of apple, oak, hickory will season in one year and, if exposed to the summer sun, in only a few months.
Why Does Wood Burn? Pyrolysis!
The correct amount of oxygen the presence of a high enough temperature to ignite the different compounds in the wood, are required. If one of these elements is missing wood will not burn.The oxygen and temperature required vary with the type of the wood.
Pyrolysis is produced inside wood, in the absence of oxygen, by high temperatures that chemically break up the wood and release gases that burn further heating the wood thus releasing more gases.
Logs added to the fire, before burning, are heated to above 540°F (282°C), undergoing pyrolysis, giving off gases and burning. Gases need enough oxygen and a temperature of 1000°F (537°C) to burn. A flame ignites the gases.
Peat Moss
Peat moss is an accumulation of plant deposits that have collected in swamps and bogs over thousands of years.The plant debris did not decompose as it lacked oxygen, the peat moss is removed by slicing it like blocks of snow. On harvesting, it is dried before use. Peat is found in different areas of the United States and Canada. It can be used to make peat fires and used during the colonist times