i86 Forestry Quarterly. 



forests would be worth to-day if it had not been for these 

 fires, can only be conjectured. At any rate the loss runs up 

 into the millions of dollars. 



3. From 30% to 50% of the merchantable trees left stand- 

 ing in the forest have been injured by these fires at the 

 butt. The work of fire is followed closely by that of insects 

 and fungi. The great waste in lumbering can in many 

 instances be traced back to the injuries received from these 

 old Indian fires. High stumps, pitchy butts, and logs with 

 a large percentage of heart rot are left in the woods. 



The silvicultural losses due to loss in the fertility of the soil, fol- 

 lowed by loss in the rate of growth ; together with the loss that 

 is occasioned by a change of the forest types from the valuable 

 pines to the less valuable firs, have been enormous and are hard to 

 over-estimate. 



Although this paper deals more specifically with conditions in 

 Northern California, the practice of light burning both past and 

 present, is by no means a local one. This practice antedates the 

 coming of the white man to America. The Indians have prac- 

 ticed it for centuries in all the Western and Southern States, 

 and the stockmen have continued the practice where the Indian 

 left off. In spite of the fact that forest conditions in California 

 can hardly be compared to those of other regions where this 

 practice has been going on, there can be no doubt that the economic 

 and the silvicultural results of "light-burning" are the same 

 whether it be California, Arizona, or Mississippi. 



Like the Indian the stockman also "light-burned." His purpose 

 was mainly to improve the range. During the last 50 years an 

 enormous amount of this "light-burning" has been done by him. 

 The creation of the National Forests put a stop to practically 

 all of this, but to-day the private timber holder is continuing 

 where the stockman left off. 



Strange to say, to-day, many of the large timber holders in 

 California are practicing this very method to protect their ma- 

 ture timber from the ravages of forest fires. This is not the 

 worst part of it. They are criticizing other timber holders for 

 not adopting these methods, and are influencing public sentiment in 

 the wrong direction. It shows a woeful lack of knowledge of the 



