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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



tion. Fires in the past, while evidently 

 recurring every few years, did not 

 necessarily burn every year. The con- 

 clusions are. that both longleaf and 

 shortleaf pine forests are capable of 

 resisting small fires with little injury. 

 but are destroyed by large fires at long 

 intervals ; that every acre of pine timber 

 in the South has grown to maturity in 

 spite of fire and accompanied by fire ; 

 and that the proper use of fire and not 

 complete fire prevention is the only so- 

 lution of the problem of future forestry 

 in the South. 



Even the seedbed of these species is 

 soil which has been bared of vegetable 

 accumulations, chiefly by fire ; and seed- 

 lings do not start on litter or pine 

 needles. 



But between proper use of fire and 

 promiscuous burning there is all the 

 dift'erence between success and failure. 

 A lumber company, conducting a log- 

 ging operation, may desire to return for 

 a second cut over the same lands before 

 retiring from the business. In this case, 

 in either longleaf or shortleaf pine, the 

 most intelligent plan is to leave the 

 small fast growing trees, not on a 

 diameter limit, but by selection and 

 marking. Two things may then be ac- 

 complished — the remaining stand can 

 be protected from fire injury and cut 

 with profit in 20 years, and a crop of 

 seedling pine may be secured on the 

 ground that will be well along towards 

 making lumber and will have a pro- 

 spective value by the time the older 

 trees are cut. The great risk to the 

 trees left standing comes immediately 

 after logging, when they may blow 

 down, or be destroyed by fire when the 

 tops are burned. The wind danger is 

 overcome by selecting windfirm trees to 

 leave. These can be distinguished with 

 a little training. The fire danger is 

 lessened by burning the ground before 

 logging. But the tops constitute a great 

 menace. The Forest Service has these 

 tops piled and burned in piles, but this 

 method is impossible as a commercial 

 proposition, and it is not necessary in 

 the Southeast. Only the needles and 

 small branches burn with any flame and 

 heat. Piling may be dispensed with and 

 the tops burned as they lie. 



But if the young trees are not to be 



killed, these tops must not lie too close 

 to them. Either by felling the trees 

 away from small timber, lopping down 

 limbs too near to small trees, or pulling 

 tops away from such trees, the operator 

 must see that about 10 feet is compara- 

 tively clear around the small tree. Then 

 in burning, the fire must never be set 

 in very hot weather, in high winds, or 

 at any time when it will run rapidly, 

 but the burning should be done as soon 

 as possible after logging, in wet weather 

 or when the tops are just dry enough 

 to burn slowly and without any cyclonic 

 demonstrations. In some regions the 

 policy of not burning the tops at all 

 is advocated, — but the plan outlined 

 above is believed to be better, provided 

 the proper elTorts are made to protect 

 the young growth. 



Once this fire risk is eliminated, these 

 young trees are practically safe from 

 small fires. They will produce seed 

 abundantly, and a so-called third crop 

 of seedlings will be almost sure to 

 spring up on the land so well prepared 

 as a seedbed by the logging and burning. 



If this seedling crop is considered of 

 no value, the owner would henceforth 

 neglect fires, and even encourage them. 

 But if the land is to be kept as pine 

 land, the future forest after 20 years 

 depends on these seedlings. Fires must 

 be kept out of such areas for 6 to 8 

 years, if possible, with a minimum of 

 five years. This means the establish- 

 ment of definite protected areas closed 

 to fire, with proper precautions along 

 railroads, the co-operation of settlers, 

 and a fire patrol and means for fighting 

 fires starting of entering the closed 

 areas. After the expiration of this 

 period comes the most critical time of 

 all, — for then fire must be introduced 

 into this young stand, and the ground 

 burned over to get rid of the fire trap 

 formed by the accumulated litter. This 

 can be done at the proper season and 

 in proper weather. Even if half the 

 young pines are killed they will be the 

 weaker ones and the stand is apt to be 

 benefited as much as injured by the 

 thinning. Fire scars at the base of 

 small trees rapidly heal over. After 

 this, fires can be set at proper intervals 

 and in this way the forest will be pro- 

 tected and with practically no injury. 



