Methods of Fire Protection. 



421 



The Blackwood, under suitable conditions, is an excelleni tree 

 for safety belt work. It has a fairly hard bark and retains its lateral 

 branches well on the sides exposed to light, neither does it produce 

 straggling" branches, as other trees might. 



During early life certain species of Eucalyptus might be quite 

 efficient. AVhere soil conditions are good, they make rapid develop- 

 ment, and when felled the regeneration due to coppice growth 



provides an excellent screen at an early age. Unfortunately, how- 

 ever, many of the gums tend to produce bare stems for a consider- 

 able distf.nce as they advance in age, and where gums are planted 

 in the protection belts a mixture, using some shade-bearing tree with 

 the gum, would probably be of greater value. 



The cultivation of the strips is best done by means of a rubber 

 adapted for forest work. If the strips are very long, the shape of 

 the protection belt may be modified as shown in the following figure, 

 so that an animal-drawn cultivator may be worked continuously. 



^^j^^ ^f^j.^ ^\^./f ^^ f^^^^;j j~ 



/f/i/iwoy IifticK 



Fig-. 5, — \ii) Forest, {h) Modified protectioii brlt to allow of cultivator working continuously. 



