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Eastern Red Cedar: Softwood, low heat output, easy to ignite, medium smoky, tends to pop and sparks quite a bit - fair - best for kindling.

Eastern White Pine: Softwood, low heat output, easy to ignite, medium smoky, few pops and sparks, fair - best for kindling.

Elm: Hardwood, low heat output, not easy to ignite, smoky, sparks little, not a great choice but if you must - must season for a very long time - relatively damp wood. My advice is to stay away from using it.

Read on for more wood species

Selecting firewood is not really that tough. Perhaps you contact your local tree trimming company and say “I need a cord of wood” They may tell you that they have mixed hardwoods - that is fine. Before you ask them to spell out what woods they have you may want to look around your own backyard as they are going to offer wood that grows in the area. You most likely get a mixture of hardwoods and softwoods. To request only a certain wood may cause laughter. The generally don’t sort.

If you have a tree in your backyard that needs to be taken down don’t have them haul it away but rather cut it up for firewood. Besides, you know exactly what you are getting for firewood and may get a nice stack of it. All in all you will get a mixture.

Hardwoods come from deciduous trees and softwoods come from coniferous trees. Each have unique properties to keep in mind:

Read on for a list of firewood properties

Whether you burn wood to heat your home or to enjoy watching a bright blaze, you should know how to pick the right kind of wood and logs to build the best woodpile.

A well stocked woodpile will save you money and make your winter more pleasurable.

For the ideal woodpile you will need seasoned logs. Wood must generally season for at least six months to ensure optimum efficiency. Wood that was stacked this past spring should be ready to use this fall and winter.

Although most woods season in six months, some hardwood may take up to nine months. Oak generally needs a year. Ash however, can be used almost at once. If you must use unseasoned wood try Ash, Beech, Pine, Spruce, Hickory or Fir.

Read on for more selecting firewood