anon wrote:

"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...

Creosote or oil of wintergreen? You tend to get the latter in composted
bark and twiglets from commercial forestry. The smell is strongest when
the heaps first heat up and start to steam.

Just to clarify, oil of wintergreen - are you saying that this occurs
naturally in composted bark?

Yes. And in reasonable amounts if you choose the right species and
mostly stripped bark. It is pretty impressive to find heaps of bark
steaming in the woods in mid-winter and on a still day the smell of it
lingers in the air.

Regards,
Martin Brown