262 Mr J. W. Dawson on (he Destruction and 



out this preparation, however, the woods may in dry weather 

 be easily inflamed ; for although the trunks and foliage of 

 growing trees are not very combustible, the mossy vegetable 

 soil, much resembling peat, burns easily and rapidly. Upon 

 this mossy soil depends, in a great measure, the propagation 

 of fires, the only exception being when the burning of groves 

 of the resinous coniferous trees is assisted by winds, causing 

 the flame to stream through their tops, more rapidly than it 

 can pass along the ground. In such cases some of the grand- 

 est appearances ever shewn by forest fires, occur. The fire, 

 spreading for a time along the ground, suddenly rushes up 

 the tall resinous trees with a loud crashing report, and 

 streams far beyond their summits, in columns and streamers 

 of lurid flame. It frequently happens, however, that in wet 

 or swampy ground, where the fire cannot spread around their 

 roots, even the resinous trees refuse to burn ; and thus 

 swampy tracts are comparatively secure from fire. In ad- 

 dition to the causes of the progress of fires above referred to, 

 it is probable that at a certain stage of the growth of forests, 

 when the trees have attained to great ages, and are begin- 

 ning to decay, they are more readily destroyed by accidental 

 conflagrations. In this condition the trees are often much 

 moss-grown, and have much dead and dry wood ; and it is 

 possible that we should regard fires arising from natural or 

 accidental causes, as the ordinary and natural agents for the 

 removal of such worn-out forests. 



Where circumstances are favourable to their progress, 

 forest fires may extend over great areas. The great fire 

 which occurred in 1825, in the neighbourhood of the Mira- 

 michi river, in New Brunswick, devastated a region 100 miles 

 in length and 50 miles in breadth. One hundred and sixty 

 persons, and more than 800 cattle, besides innumerable wild 

 animals, are said to have perished in this conflagration. In 

 this case, a remarkably dry summer, a light soil easily af- 

 fected by drought, and a forest composed of full-grown pine 

 trees, concurred, with other causes, in producing a conflagra- 

 tion of unusual extent. 



When the fire has passed through a portion of forest, if 

 this consist principally of hardwood trees, they are usually 



