276 SYLVICULTURE IN THE TROPICS pt.iv 



line at distances from each other sufficient to enable 

 them free room for swinging their brooms and beating- 

 out the fire. One man then takes up a bundle of dry 

 grass, and holding it at one end, sets fire to the other 

 end. He then trails this burning end along the 

 cushion of cut dry grass lying on the trace side of the 

 line and takes it along as far as the last man on the 

 line. He then turns at right angles towards the centre 

 of the trace, still setting fire to the grass, and at last 

 drops it near the middle. The men on the line wait 

 till the dry cushion of grass is fairly well consumed, and 

 allow the adjoining grass on the trace to catch fire 

 properly, before they begin to beat out the embers. 

 They merely beat out flames which are trying to creep 

 across the guide-lines by means of fragments of dry 

 grass or stubble. If the wind is blowing towards them 

 they must begin beating a little earlier. The flame in 

 heating the air above it and causing it to rise always 

 creates a draught, but on a still day the draught will 

 follow the flame. 



When the trace has to be fired from both sides, 

 these are not usually set alight quite simultaneously ; 

 the one on which there is most apprehension of a 

 contrary wind should be fired first, and the other side 

 should be started only after the first has advanced well 

 into the trace. The same remark applies to lines which 

 run across steep slopes. In this case the upper line 

 will be fired before the lower. It may also be necessary 

 to have a stronger party on the side on which there 

 is greater risk than on the other. 



The firing should always be against the wind that 

 is, if the wind blows straight down a line the firing 

 should be begun at its lee end ; if straight across, on the 

 lee guide-line ; and if slanting, at the lee end on the lee 

 side. Fig. 87 gives an example of a fire-line on which 

 the wind blows in a slanting direction. The firing is 

 begun in the strip marked 1. When this has been 

 will started, the strip opposite to it, marked 2, will be 

 started. It will be observed that it is made to overlap 



