1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 151 



of the forest will contain a considerable amount of moisture, which will 

 tend to impede the progress of fire. Trees, branches and shrubs falling 

 on to the moist bed soon become sodden and rapidly decay, whereas such 

 timber as for one reason or another perishes but cannot reach the 

 gi-ound becomes hard, dry and brittle, in fact an easily inflammable 

 material and excellent fuel to add strength to the flames. The less of 

 this dried-up timber there is in a forest, the less will be the danger of 

 fire gaining a firm hold, and there can be no question that the lopping of 

 tops and branches not only accelerates the decay of the waste brush and 

 timber, but inasmuch as this debris is laid out on the ground instead of 

 being propped up, intertwined and entangled in an inextricable jumble, 

 the fire, if it comes before decay has set in, will be less likely to flare up 

 high, shoot sparks into the air and thus start crown fire, so that not 

 only will it be easier to approach it but also to extinguish it, and in 

 addition to this, the course of the rangers through the forests is not im- 

 peded by the continual encountering of great obstructions formed of the 

 brush and debris remaining from timber which has been felled by the 

 lumbermen. Most particularly would tHie lopping of tops and branches 

 appear desirable in the lumbering of «oft woods, for the waste of these 

 decays more slowly than that of hardwoods, and, as a rule, more of it 

 in proportion is left behind. The objection to the enactment of such a 

 measure for general application throughout the forests of the Province 

 would be the cost involved, but it would appear that in some forests ex- 

 perience has proved it to be actually inconsiderable, three cents per 

 standard and ten cents per cord of pulpwood having been found in New 

 York State, for instance, to be representative figures under normal 

 circumstances. Against this increased cost it is claimed that a saving 

 of wood is effected, and a saving, also, in guttering and skidding, and in 

 illustration of these claims the following passage from the 15th Annual 

 Report of the New York State Forest, Fish and Game Commission is 

 quoted : — 



" One operator, estimating the cost of lopping at 2i/^ cents, remarks 

 that to offset this he was able to run a skidding crew about one man less 

 to each team, and also occasionally got a log that otherwise would be 

 left. The actual additional cost he did not think would be over 5 cents 

 per thousand feet board measure. He believed that when four fooc 

 pulpwood was taken the cost of lopping would be entirely made up in 

 the extra amount of wood he would get. In addition his forest was left 

 in better condition than under the old plan, and he believes it decreases 

 materially the danger of forest fires. A remarkable saving in connection 

 with lopping was made by another operator who has been getting spruce 

 for sawlogs, taking the timber out with vi^hat was considered good 

 economy. He left the lopping until after the timber was removed and 

 then went through, lopping the branches and taking the timber out of 

 the tops for pulpwood. In this operation, with a force of eight men and 

 a horse employed six days, ninety-seven cords of pulpwood were ob- 



