Subject: Re: "hard" vs. "soft"

From: [email-masked] (Kala Ladenheim)
Date: 16 Apr 1996 22:41:26 -0400

In Maine, hard and soft wood are also grades of firewood.  Hardwood 
  burns long and hot, while softwood goes fast and leaves your chimney full 
  of resin and likely to catch fire.  The prices reflect the difference.  
  In addition to conifers, poplar, grey birch, and alder are all 
  considered softwood, and birches are marginal--yellow birch is hardwood, 
  white shouldn't be too big a portion of a cord (but it does split nice 
  and clean for kindling).  Primo wood is ash, oak, nut or fruitwood.  Most 
  maples are good.I suspect the measure is BTU.

-- 
Kala Ladenheim
202-872-1445 (w)/202-986-2930 (h)
Intergovernmental Health Policy Project
The George Washington University
2021 K street NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006