Brush Burning Torch 



373 



much longer than one might sup- 

 pose, and this form of torch 

 worked fairly well in some places. 

 Short and long tin torches were 

 used, but they were not strong 

 enough to thrust into the heavy 

 brush. They would soon become 

 dented or crushed, or by being left 

 a few minutes too long in the fire 

 the solder would melt. The short, 

 heavy iron railroad torch did not 

 work well. Iron torches with 

 four-foot wooden handles, when 

 made strong enough, were fairly 

 satisfactory except for rather fre- 

 quent burning out or loosening of 

 the handle, especially where slash 

 was being burned as swamping 

 proceeded, and the brvish therefore 

 was piled directly onto the torch 

 as it lay on the ground or in the 

 snow. 



The torch shown in the illustra- 

 tion is a modification of one used 

 by the Red River Lumber Com- 

 pany south of Bemidji. The one 

 used by the company was more 

 crudely made and too heavy for 

 convenience. This one as im- 

 proved by one of the District 

 Rangers is, I believe, pretty nearly 

 perfection for slash burning work. 

 It holds about one quart of kero- 

 sene, enough to burn, with two 

 inches of wick exposed and hence 

 a good flame for about three hours. 

 By flattening the nozzle and thus 

 spreading the wick, a wider flame 

 can be obtained if desired. There 

 is no danger of breaking the im- 

 plement; heat does not injure it; 



