64 OUTLINES OF FORESTRY. 



b. "Winds. 



c. Floods. 



d. Avalanches. 



The principal animate enemies of the forest are : 



a. Plants. 



b. Animals. 



c. Man. 



Limiting our consideration, for the present, to 

 the inanimate enemies of the forest, we will dis- 

 cuse the manner in which each of these enemies 

 tends to destroy the forest. 



Fire. The destruction of the forest by fire 

 sometimes results finally in a more complete loss 

 than by any other cause. In case of the intelligent 

 removal of the forest by the axe of the lumber- 

 man, only the larger trees are cut down, and the 

 smaller ones that are left, getting more heat, light, 

 and nourishment, grow rapidly, and are, in turn, 

 soon ready for removal by the axe, thus to give 

 place to others. 



Fire, however, generally removes both great and 

 small. 



While a fire may sometimes increase the growth 

 of forests, as in the case of the pitch pine by the 

 destruction of the less hardy forms of plant life, 

 the destruction of the forest by fire, especially on 



