BACK-FIRING. 



87 



rain or change of wind, or by meeting some barrier 

 which they can not pass. A barrier of this kind is often 

 made by starting another fire some distance ahead 

 of the princii^al one. 

 This back-fire, as it is 







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called, mnst be al- 

 lowed to l)urn only 

 against the wind and 

 toward the main fire, 

 so that when the two 

 fires meet both must 

 go out for lack of fuel. 

 To J) re vent it from 

 moving with the wind, 

 a back-fire should al- 

 ways be started on the 

 windward side of a 



road or a raked or sanded strii), or some other line which 

 it can be kept from crossing. (See fig. 82.) If it is al- 

 lowed to escape it may become as dangerous as the main 



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Fig. 82. — Setting a back-fire on the windward 

 side of a road. Southern New Jersey. 

 Drawn from a photograph. 



Fig. 83.— a fire line along a railroad with two cleared spaces separated by a 

 double row of trees intended to catch the sparks. 



fire itself. Back-fires are sometimes driven beyond con- 

 trol by a change of wind, but the chief danger from their 

 use is caused by persons who, in excitement or fright, 



