ferent density the number of combinations swell almost be- 

 yo'nd belief. There are sections where each forty differs from 

 every other forty; no two are exactly alike. 



Of what use is an iron bound, inflexible law under such 

 conditions? Is it any wonder that some men state and that 

 from actual experience that it has cost them two dollars 

 per thousand to burn their brush, while others maintain that 

 they have burned successfully for years at a cost of 18 cents? 

 They may both be sincere and honestly believe that they 

 have figured the cost accurately; maybe they have as far 

 as the books show it. One may have been logging in a 

 dense stand of pure Norway, the other in a thin stand scat- 

 tered through a dense growth of popple and birch, or a mixed 

 stand of cedar, spruce and balsam. One may have had a 

 green crew, indifferent to their work, the other an experi- 

 enced crew of conscientious workers. 



In considering this matter of cost we must bear in mind 

 several points. Most of the figures presented were from men 

 who had burned their slash by contract, or by the contractors 

 themselves. Naturally the contractors do not care to have 

 these cost figures set too low, and it is significant that the 

 contracts are eagerly sought. Still more significant is the 

 fact that the low figures nearly all come from the rangers 

 and operators who have been doing their own burning for 

 some years. They are both interested in finding the actual 

 cost. There is no reason why the ranger should underesti- 

 mate the cost if he did his efficiency would be questioned; 

 there is no reason why the operator who is honestly endeav- 

 oring to find out the costs of his woods operations should 

 overestimate them. 



Conclusions. 



There are, then, several quite obvious conclusions which 

 may be drawn from the arguments presented. 



The slashings from pine cuttings can, in almost every in- 

 stance, be burned at a reasonable cost usually burning as 

 the operation proceeds. 



In cedar cuttings it is usually better to put firebreaks 

 through and around the cut over tract than to try to pile it 

 and burn it. 



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