904 ■ JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



help in a material way to reduce local taxation for schools or public 

 works. Permanent institutions and organizations of a quasi-public 

 character should also be encouraged to acquire forests and handle 

 ihem on the basis of continued production. 



PRIVATE FORESTS 



The safeguarding and perpetuation of forests on private lands are 

 possible through an organized system of protection, through the pro- 

 hibition of destructive procc ses that produce waste lands, and through 

 the promotion of constructive and entirely practical measures of for- 

 estry. The participation, liberal cooperation, and direction of the 

 public in working out the problems involved are necessary for success. 



Pire Protection 



The objectives of fire protection are : 



1. To prevent destruction and injury to standing timber by fire. 



2. To safeguard young growth already established within the older 

 timber and on cut-over lands. 



3. To promote natural reproduction so far as this can be done by 

 fire protective measures. 



Effective fire protection is achieved only through a joint undertaking 

 between the public and private agencies in which all lands, regardless 

 of ownership, are brought under an organized system. Such a 

 system requires : 



1. An effective service for preventing forest fires and detecting and 

 suppressing those which may be started. Such a service already 

 exists in a number of States. 



2. Improvements needed for the prompt detection and suppression 

 of fires. These include roads, trails, lookout stations, properly located 

 stations for rangers, bases for airplanes when these are used, and so on. 



3. Measures to reduce the inflammability of the forests. These 

 may consist in lopping the tops, as is practiced in parts of the East; 

 or burning the brush in piles, as is done in many pine stands on 

 the National Forests ; or burning over at the proper season cleared 

 areas, protected by fire lines, as in heavy Douglas fir stands; or 

 felling dead snags, as is required in many National Forest timber 

 sales ; or other measures. In some places fire lines may be de- 

 sirable, as practiced in southern California; or carefully controlled 

 burning at the proper season of strips and selected areas, as is practical 



