264 THE PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING WOODLANDS 



the litter and humus is very heavy. In some instances 

 this debris and litter is a hindrance to reproduction, as 

 well as an invitation to fire, and its destruction is bene- 

 ficial. The heavy loss of humus which must accompany 

 so hot a fire may be more than counterbalanced by the 

 improved conditions for reproduction of the species 

 desired. The expense of piling all the slash and debris 

 in the ordinary manner would, under these conditions, 

 be very large, probably not less than from $1 to $2 per 

 thousand feet of timber cut. 



In order to control the fire in burning over the 

 ground broadcast, ample fire-lines should be constructed 

 around the outside of the areas to be burned. These 

 should usually be not less than 1 rod wide, and should 

 be entirely cleared of inflammable material. The mate- 

 rial in the lines may often be thrown on the side of the 

 cut-over area and burned with the other debris, but if 

 this would make a dangerously large pile near the line, 

 it is better to burn it in piles on the cleared space. 



The burning should be done with great caution. A 

 time should be selected when the slash is dry enough to 

 burn well, but not so dry that it will be impossible to 

 confine the fire within the fire-lines. The best time is 

 usually when the slash in the open, cut-over area has just 

 dried out sufficiently to burn, and while the contiguous 

 forest is still too damp to burn freely. In the case of 

 wide, cleared strips it may be advisable to construct a fire- 

 line through the middle, as well as along the edges. 

 V^ery often the logging trails can be used for intermediate 



