individual cases where old logs or other debris 

 lay close to valuable timber trees; and where 

 there were no natural barriers,, such as wagon 

 roads, streams, or hills to check the uniformly 

 rapid progress of the fires. Even the usually 

 wet swamps were dried out smuciently, in 

 some instances, to permit the complete de- 

 struction of the vegetable matter to a depth 

 of from eight to twelve inches. Some of 

 these points may be clearly seen on the map 

 by noting the percentage of the standing tim- 

 ber killed on the western edge of and the 

 green timber in the center and northern part 

 of T. 29 N., R. 5 W., in the northern part 

 of T. 30 N., R. 6 W., and in the hardwood 

 stands in T. 30 N., R. 4 W. 



In many instances hardwood trees showed 

 little indication of fire damage, even at the 

 base. But the humus had been burned away, 

 and the roots which lay near the surface of 

 the ground had been burned, so that a careful 

 examination, aided by a removal of the bark, 

 proved that most of the trees had been killed 

 and the cambium layer scorched brown to a 

 height of several feet. Unless a careful exami- 

 nation is made in each case it is exceedingly 

 difficult to determine how much of the hard- 

 wood timber was actually killed by the fire. 



The more severe fires were marked by a 

 number of singular phases: The fire changed 

 its course as it met various openings in the 

 forest; the flames often leaped ahead, leaving 

 small patches of timber only slightly damaged; 



16 



