Supervisors' Meetings. 267 



clear that from an administrative point of view it is best to dis- 

 courage the making of very small sales, or of sales to ranchers 

 or others who are not familiar with the best methods of con- 

 ducting such work. In Utah and Nevada, in the heavier stands, 

 brush should be lopped close and piled in moderate sized piles as 

 near the center of the openings as possible. The heavy limbs 

 and tops of trees should not be placed in the brush piles, but 

 should be trimmed up and left to one side. In more open stands 

 the question as to whether brush will be lopped and piled in small 

 piles or scattered is to some extent one of expense, since scatter- 

 ing costs more than piling in small piles. Both systems favor 

 reproduction, particularly piling in small piles. Unless necessary 

 as a fire protective measure, the burning of brush should be dis- 

 couraged. 



The amount of forest planting done has increased very greatly 

 within the last one or two years. On the Wasatch Forest the 

 planting of a nursery stock has been a success, while direct seed- 

 ing has not. However, on account of the great expense of the 

 former it is imperative that a successful method of handling direct 

 seeding work be discovered. To this end a great deal of experi- 

 mental work is being done. On account of the immense areas of 

 burnt-over land, reforestation should be undertaken "m every case 

 rather than the afforestation of areas which have not previously 

 produced timber crops. In general, planting should be done 

 where the trees will have the best chance to succeed. Planting 

 under aspen has been quite successful, but sagebrush has proven 

 very unfavorable as a planting site. 



Forest fires cannot be eliminated entirely, because of the vast 

 amount of highly inflammable material at present in the National 

 Forests. However, much can be done by patrol, co-operation 

 with the settlers, and the construction of telephones, roads, trails 

 and bridges, fire lines, lookout stations, etc. In mountainous 

 regions telephones and trails are of prime importance. Roads 

 and trails frequently serve also as fire lines. In initial construc- 

 tion as well as in maintenance, fire lines as such are very ex- 

 pensive. Emergency tool boxes should be available at convenient 

 points. Carefully prepared maps showing the location of roads, 

 trails and fire lines, as well as streams and other points from 

 which a fire can be attacked, aid materially in planning an attack 

 on the fire. 



