Plate VII, Fig, 2 A Plowed Furrow that Stopped a Surface Fire 



fifteen cents per cord, though these fig- 

 ures furnish but scant basis upon which 

 to make calculation of the cost of piling 

 and burning the brush and debris from 

 an ordinary hardwood logging oper- 

 ation, where the size and number of the 

 limbs would be very much greater. 



Lopping of Tops 



In some forests the burning of the 

 brush may be unnecessary or actually 

 undesirable. A method of brush dis- 

 posal applicable in many forests is to 

 lop off the branches from the tops and 

 leave the material on the ground. The 

 purpose is to bring all the brush in 

 close contact with the ground, so that 

 it will absorb moisture more readily, 

 dry out less in summer, and decay more 

 rapidly than when propped high above 

 the ground. 



So far as the author is informed 

 this method was first used on an ex- 

 tensive scale in the- Adirondack Moun- 

 tains in lumbering spruce and pine. At 

 first the plan was to cut oil only (he 

 upper branches of the top as it lay on 

 the ground. This left the stem still 

 propped above the ground. (PI. VI, 



fig. i.)* The next step was to cut 

 off the under branches and lower the 

 whole mass to the ground. The heavy 

 snows during the first winter after cut- 

 ting flattened down all the branches. 

 (PI. VI, fig. 2.) In this condition the 

 brush absorbs moisture so rapidly that 

 after three years there is little risk of 

 fire. 



This method was first used in private 

 shooting preserves, mainly to prevent 

 the tops from obstructing the hunter's 

 view. It also enables a freer movement 

 over the ground and facilitates the 

 fighting of fires. 



A later development of the method 

 is to cut up and scatter the branches 

 about over the ground. This has been 

 used in the cuttings on second-growth 

 woodlands when the amount of mate- 

 rial left after cutting the cordwood in 

 the tops was small. It has also been 

 extensively used in certain National 

 Forests in the dry districts of the West, 

 where the scattered branches serve as 

 protection to the ^oil and aid reproduc- 

 tion. 



* Plat i.- VI appeared in the Uctohcr nuni- 

 her of A.MKKICAX FORESTRY. 



