302 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 



Firebreak or Fireline. An opening, plowed strip of land or 

 anything which prevents the spread of fires in the forest. 



First Growth. 1. Natural forest in which no cuttings have been 

 made. 2. Trees grown before lumbering or severe fire entered the 

 forest; belonging to the original stand. 



Flume. An inclined trough in which water runs, used in trans- 

 porting logs or timbers. 



Forest. An area whose principal crop is trees. A forest includes 

 both the forest cover and the soil beneath it. A forest judged by 

 the character of the stand may be timber land or wood land. These 

 constitute the two great classes of forest, between which it is pos- 

 sible to draw a practical but not an absolute distinction. Timber- 

 land may be broadly defined as that class of forest which contains 

 in commercial quantities trees of sufficient size and of the required 

 kind to furnish saw logs, wood pulp, ties, poles or wood for similar 

 uses. 



Forest Capital. The capital which a forest represents. It con- 

 sists of the forest land, or fixed capital, and the stand of trees. 



Forester. One who practices forestry as a profession. 



Forest Cover. All trees and other plants in a forest. 



Forest Fire. A fire in timberland or woodland. A forest fire 

 may be a ground fire, ^ a surface fire, or a crown fire. A ground 

 fire is one which burns in the forest floor and does not appear above 

 the ground. When a fire runs over the surface or burns the under- 

 growth it is a surface fire. When a surface fire spreads from the 

 undergrowth to the crowns, it becomes a crown fire. 



Forest Floor. The deposit of vegetable matter on the ground 

 in a forest. Litter includes the upper, but slightly decomposed 

 portion of the forest floor; humus, the portion in which decompo- 

 sition is well advanced. 



Forest Influences. All effects resulting from the presence of the 

 forest, upon health, climate (including wind, rainfall, temperature, 

 etc.), stream flow, and economic conditions. 



Forest Management. The practical application of the prin- 

 ciples of forestry to a forest area. Forest management includes: 

 forest mensuration or the determination of the present and future 

 product of the forest; forest organization, or the preparation of 

 working plans and planting plans, detailed and comprehensive 

 schemes for the establishment and best use of the forest; and 

 forest finance, or the determination of the money returns from 

 forestry. 



Forest Nursery. An area upon which young trees are grown for 

 forest planting. 



Forest Plantation. Forest growth, established by setting out 

 young trees or by sowing seed. A forest plantation, made by setting 

 out young trees, which has passed the small-pole stage, is called a 

 planted forest. A sown forest plantation which has passed the 

 small-pole stage is called a sown forest. 



Forest Policy. The principles which govern the administration 

 of the forest for its best permanent use. 



Forest Products. All usable material yielded by the forest. The 

 following classes are distinguished: major products include all 



