i once used a torch made from strips of cotton cloth (the sleeves off of an old long sleeve t-shirt) tightly wrapped around the end of a green stick. i poured lamp oil (for tiki torches in 1 gallon jugs at walmart) all over it until it was soaked and about to drip.
i lit the torch with a lighter, and stuck it under a pine shrub stump that i dug up (there was a large bee's nest in the roots of the dead shrub) to get it going, and to also get some other junk wood going. once everything was burning, i tried to pull the torch out and blow it out to save it for later, but i couldn't blow it out. i just stuck it back in and let it burn. i later found the bottom half of the handle.
a torch like this provided plenty of light and heat, but i didn't test to see how long it would burn. i would guess about 20-30 minutes on the outside.
