JUBILEE BONFIRES.
[To THE EDITOR OF TEl " SPECTATOR."1 SIR,—Many who read with interest Mr. Cadell's letter on the above subject which appeared in the Spectator of April 10th, will be glad to know that at a meeting convened unofficially in the House of Commons last week a Committee was formed, of which Lord Cranborne was president, to endeavour to enlist the sympathies of all the counties in Great Britain in a bonfire scheme to do honour to the occasion of June 22nd. One of the resolutions passed at that meeting was, that the Lord-Lieutenants and Chairmen of County Councils should be invited to urge, through the local Press or otherwise, their counties to co-operate by forming bonfire committees, and to fall in with the plan suggested of firing their bonfires simul- taneously at 10 p.m. It is hoped that rockets may be fired at the same time, and it is believed that round most bonfires at the time of lighting the National Anthem will be sung. I write to ask you to give prominence to the time fixed as being 10 p.m., because I notice Mr. Cadell suggests 9.30 as the hour. it has been urged that it will be too light to get the full effect of the blaze even at 10 o'elock ; but the answer is that crowds round bonfires waiting to be lit are proverbially impatient, and that 10 o'clock is late enough. With regard to the building of the bonfires, the Committee have undertaken to print certain suggestions, which will be obtainable from either of the secretaries. Entirely agreeing with Mr. Cadell that bon- fires should be lit from the top and that coal and tar should be discarded, I should like to point out that on the high fells and mountain tops we have proved that the best material and the cheapest is peat, which should be dug thin at once and placed for drying, as peat-diggers know how, with certain turning of the bits from time to time for benefit of wind and sun. These should be cat as near the place of the bonfire as possible, and taken up on sledges at the time required. If built with a central air-shaft and air-vents communicating with it at the base, and if saturated with a barrel of paraffin, petroleum, or creosote, the mass will be found to light swiftly and to burn brightly for a considerable 'ime. We built two bonfires thus on Skiddaw for £15.
May I ask that any bonfire committees who intend to fall into line and fire at 10 o'clock on June 22nd should communi- cate with Colonel Milward, M.P., or Major Rasch, M.P., Rouse of Commons, or with myself am, Sir, &c.,
H. D. RAWNSLET.
Crosthwait Vicarage, Keswick, April 13th.
[To THE EDITOR Or THE "SPECriTOi."]
SIR,—Having read a letter in the Spectator of April 10th with reference to the best way of making bonfires blaze I
venture to write to let you know how we made a very suc- cessful bonfire here (Coneygar, Bridport) ten years ago. We began by digging five or six trenches, about ten feet long, eighteen inches wide, and eighteen inches deep, radiating from a centre, to admit air to the middle of the fire. We then covered these trenches with a layer of gorse-faggots, about three feet thick, and poured tar over them, building up the stack to a height of about ten feet, slightly tapering towards the top, with layers of gorse-faggots, each layer covered with tar. Just before the time for lighting a man got on to the top by means of a ladder with a large watering- can of benzoline, and well sprinkled the whole stack. A. match then instantly set the pile in a blaze, like lighting a gas jet, and it burned strongly and brightly for about two hours —I am, Sir, &c., T. A. C.
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