146 PROTECTION OF WOODS AGAINST FROST, 



the men, as there is no thirstier work than this. The fire should 

 be attacked on both sides by beating it out, or by sweeping 

 the burning material into the already burnt area. It is seldom 

 possible to attack it from the front owing to the smoke and 

 heat, but attack from the sides will gradually narrow the fire. 

 If there is no wind this work will usually be successful, the 

 time taken depending on the number of men available. 



If the fire is in the crowns of trees in the thicket stage, 

 beating is usually useless. In this case, and wherever beating 

 proves of no avail, counter -fir ing must be carried out, sacrificing 

 a portion of the woods in order to save the rest. A cleared 

 ride, road, fire-line, or stream some little way in advance of the 

 fire is chosen as a point of attack, and all the men available 

 are concentrated on this line. When the fire is some two 

 chains away, each man lights another fire 3 or 4 yards from 

 the side of the line. This he watches, and takes care to 

 prevent it or any sparks crossing the line. When the main 

 fire approaches, a draught will be caused towards it, the small 

 fires will be drawn inwards, and will meet the main fire, when 

 the whole will go out for want of fuel. While this is in 

 progress, every care must be taken to extinguish at once any 

 fire which may manage to cross the line. In many cases where 

 the nearest cleared ride is some distance away from the fire, it 

 is possible to clear a line a short distance ahead, by cutting the 

 weeds, and by brushing away dead leaves, and to counter-fire 

 from the swept line. If this can be done it may be possible 

 to save much woodland which would otherwise have to be 

 sacrificed. 



Counter-firing is difficult to carry out, and is risky, and must 

 only be undertaken in extreme cases, where it is obviously 

 impossible to put out the fire by beating. A fire which 

 burnt some 250 acres of heath land, and which endangered 

 several hundreds of acres of twelve-year-old Scotch pine 

 plantations in Windsor Forest, was extinguished in this way 

 in 1907. 



