Plate VII, Fig, 2 — A Plowed Furrow that Stopped a Surface Fire 



fifteen cents 

 ures furnish 

 to make calc 

 and burning 

 an • ordinary 

 ation, where 

 hmbs would 



per cord, though these fig- 

 but scant basis upon which 

 ulation of the cost of piHng 

 the brush and debris from 



hardwood logging oper- 

 the size and number of the 



be very much greater. 



Lopping of Tops 



In some forests the burning of the 

 brush may be unnecessary or actually 

 undesirable. A method of brusli dis- 

 posal applicable in many forests is to 

 lop off the branches from the tops and 

 leave the material on the ground. The 

 purpose is to bring all the brush in 

 close contact with the ground, so that 

 it will absorb moisture more readily, 

 dry out less in summer, and decay more 

 rapidly than when propped high above 

 the ground. 



So far as the author is informed 

 this method was first used on an ex- 

 tensive scale in the Adirondack Moun- 

 tains in lumbering spruce and pine. At 

 first the plan was to cut off only the 

 upper branches of the top as it lay on 

 the ground. This left the stem still 

 propped above the ground. (PI. VI, 



fig. I.)''' The next step was to cut 

 off the under branches and lower the 

 whole mass to the ground. The heavy 

 snows during the first winter after cut- 

 ting flattened down all the branches. 

 (P1. VI, fig. 2.) In this condition the 

 brush absorbs moisture so rapidly that 

 after three vears there is little risk of 

 fire. 



This method was first used in private 

 shooting preserves, mainly to prevent 

 the tops from obstructing the hunter's 

 view. It also enables a freer movement 

 over the ground and facilitates the 

 fighting of fires. 



A later development of the method 

 is to cut up and scatter the branches 

 about over the ground. This has been 

 used in the cuttings on second-growth 

 woodlands when the amount of mate- 

 rial left after cutting the cordwood in 

 the tops was small. It has also been 

 extensively used in certain National 

 Forests in the dry districts of the West, 

 where the scattered branches serve as 

 protection to the soil and aid reproduc- 

 tion. 



*Plato VT appeared in the Octoher num- 

 ber of American Forestry. 



66 1 



