194 ECONOMICS OF FORESTRY. 



fight the fire are on hand, for if debris is allowed 

 to accumulate on them, this dries out more read- 

 ily, and, in addition, the draft of air along the rides 

 only increases the fury of the fire. In older de- 

 ciduous-leaved woods the shade keeps the ground 

 moist, the fire runs more slowly, and a wider open- 

 ing would in most cases prove undesirable. 



The same may be said regarding rights of way 

 for railroads. The wide swath usually made, and 

 usually not kept clear, but rather accumulating in- 

 flammable debris, exposes the soil to the drying 

 effects of sun and wind, and besides, creates drafts 

 of air, fanning the sparks into flame. There would 

 be more safety in a narrower opening, which the 

 shade of a dense stand of timber, especially if of 

 deciduous-leaved trees, would keep moist, with a 

 tendency to extinguishing the sparks. The objec- 

 tion that the falling of trees would impede and en- 

 danger the traffic might be overcome by gradually 

 removing those liable to fall. 



Through specially endangered districts, i.e. in 

 coniferous forest, safety strips running along the 

 right of way may be maintained. On these, on 

 both sides of the track, a strip of ground 25 feet 

 wide is entirely cleared of all inflammable material, 

 which may, if practicable, be used for farm pur- 

 poses ; this is skirted by a strip of woods 50 to 60 

 feet wide, which remains wooded, acting as a screen 

 for the sparks from locomotives, but is also kept 

 clear from inflammable materials by annual raking 



