244 



FOREST PRODUCTS 



piled for seasoning during the spring and early summer months. 

 Under good weather conditions the operator can watch it night 

 and day with least difficulty, and the summer and fall months 

 offer the best conditions. The danger from forest fires is 

 always present then, but with care this is of little consequence. 

 6. The condition of the weather and temperature. This is of 

 great importance. The action of the wind and temperature 

 seriously affects the rate of burning, and must be watched with 

 great care. In rainy and humid weather the drafts must be 

 opened much more than in clear, dry or windy weather. 



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Photograph by Nelson C. Brown. 



FIG. 66. A forest of beech (Fagus sylvatica) cut clean for charcoal in one of the State Forests 

 of Tuscany in central Italy. From 140 to 200 cubic meters of wood were produced per 

 acre from this area. Note the piling of both stem and limbwood as well as the smallest 

 branches. The stumps are also grubbed out and converted into charcoal. 



In the forest of Camaldoli in central Italy, where the per capita con- 

 sumption of charcoal is greater than in any other country, Dr. Ferrari 

 made the following interesting determination 1 of the division of time 

 required for the operation of charcoal making under average conditions, 

 by the open-pit method. The wood used was red oak (Quercus cerrus) 



1 From " Prontuario del Forestale," by Dr. Egidio Ferrari. Milan, 1918. 



