RESULTS OF "LIGHT BURNING" NEAR NEVADA 

 CITY, CALIFORNIA. 



By M. B. Pratt. 



It is a common practice for ranchers living in the vicinity of 

 Nevada City to burn over their wood lands in the spring, gen- 

 erally in early April. They contend that the burning does not 

 damage the timber to any extent and affords protection against 

 fires in the dry season. The land burned over is stocked with 

 second growth yellow pine of very rapid growth, with here and 

 there a large tree of the original virgin stand. 



On the afternoon of April 4, 191 1, a rancher living about two 

 miles from Nevada City was burning brush along the creek in 

 front of his house. There was a brisk wind blowing and the 

 fire spread in the dry needles of the wooded slope bordering the 

 creek. According to the rancher's statement, it would have been 

 a very easy matter to put out the fire, but as long as it was 

 started, he thought he might as well let it run and burn off the 

 litter and underbrush. With the assistance of the man helping 

 him burn brush he spread the fire along the lower edge of the 

 slope. The wind carried it at a rapid rate through the ground 

 cover and litter which was drier than usual at this time of the 

 year on account of the unusual warm weather of the preceding 

 two weeks. 



The fire burned up the slope to the top, where it burned fiercely 

 in manzanita brush and a thick clump of yellow pine. 



Since there was some wood cut a short distance beyond, the 

 rancher and his man stopped the fire at night-fall when it had 

 died down considerably, by scraping away the needles from a nar- 

 row trail along the upper part of the slope. He stated that it 

 probably would have gone out of its own accord. 



This burn came to my attention as I was passing along the road 

 on account of the number of burned young trees. The condition 

 of the stand seemed to denote that the fire was accidental rather 

 than by design since it hardly seemed possible that the owner 

 would deliberately let fire burn up so much young growth. Upon 

 being questioned, however, this gentleman stated that he con- 



