Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year
Chestnut's only good they say
If for long it's stored away
Make a fire of elder tree
Death within your house will be
But ash new or ash old
Is fit for a Queen with crown of gold

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last
It is by the Cornish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould

Even the very flames are cold
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a Queen with golden crown

Poplar gives a bitter smoke
Fills your eyes and makes you choke
Apple wood will scent your room
With an incense-like perfume
Oaken logs, if dry and old
Keep away the winter's cold
But ash wet or ash dry
A king shall warm his slippers by