The Effects of Fire* 



The harm that forest fires do may be classified as follows : ist, 

 damage to the standing timber ; 2d, destruction of young growth ; 

 3d, destruction of the forest floor ; 4th, depreciation in the value 

 of forest property ; 5th, encouragement of theft and disregard of 

 the rights of property, and discouragement of thrift and fore- 

 sight among the people where fires occur ; 6th, general impover- 

 ishment and degeneration of the regions where they are common- 



DAMAGE TO STANDING TREES. 



The damage to the standing timber is dependent on the kinds 

 of trees in the forest, on the character of the latter, and on the 

 time of the year when the fire burns. Young hardwoods suffer 

 severely, but are often comparatively prompt in recovery. Pine 

 forest is the prevailing type in South Jersey, and its relation to 

 forest fires is of special interest. One of the distinguishing char- 

 acteristics of the Pitch Pine is its ability to resist fire and to 

 recover after severe injury. The Short leaf Pine is also able to 

 withstand severe fires, but its recuperative capacity is much less 

 than that of the Pitch Pine. In each case the trunk is covered 

 with a thick, corky bark, which is often burned till it is charred 

 without apparent injury to the living parts of the tree. The 

 outer bark scales off after a time, and the signs of fire disappear, 

 except near the ground. In old Pine forests a light surface-fire 

 usually does but little damage to the standing timber. Some- 

 times, however, if the forest is dense and there is a heavy matting 

 of litter on the ground, the fire burns so fiercely that the trunks 

 of the trees are seriously damaged, and, in the case of small 

 timber, the trees may be killed. The same is true where the 

 ground is covered with underbrush, which becomes dry and 

 burns with intense heat. If the fire runs over the ground in 



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