20 Forest Fires and their Prevention. 



entire damage, even of the fires that were reported. The injurv to tlic 

 standing timber which is not killed is often just as heavy as that caused 

 hy the destruction of the trees. 



The damage done to young growth and reproduction is usually con- 

 siderably greater than that done to the mature timber, but as it is in 

 most cases difficult to put a cash value on this young growth, because 

 it has no sale value, it is usually left out of all estimates of damage. 

 There is now, however, a tendency to take into account the young 

 growth destroyed by a fire, as is evidenced by two correspondents; one 

 in the mountains, Avho estimated a loss of $5 per acre in the destruction 

 of young growth; the other on the coast, who put down a loss of $1,000 

 in young growth, caused by burning over 500 acres of land. These, 

 which are no doubt very conservative estimates, go to show that some 

 landoAvners are realizing the loss to the future forest that is taking 

 place. Xext year an attempt will be made by the Survey to get corre- 

 spondents to include damage to young growth by furnishing question 

 blanks with a space for this purpose.* 



The gradual killing out and disappearance from the forest of such 

 valuable species as poj)lar, white pine, and chestnut, and the substitution 

 for them of the inferior, though more fire-resistant kinds, means a seri- 

 ous loss to the landowner which will be appreciated more thoroughly by 

 the next generation because the change is comparatively slow. Such a 

 loss is hard to estimate for any one year, but it will manifest itself in 

 the gradual decline in the value of the propcj-ty. 



The gradual, though certain, impoverishment of the soil through the 

 constant burning of the leaves, causes great loss in the value of the land 

 on which the forest is growing. This loss shows itself in the slower 

 growth of the trees and in the decline in value of the land for agricul- 

 tural purposes. 



The washing of the soil by the rains is one of the forms of (hiniaui' 

 caused by forest fires. The coating of leaves ])rotects tlie top soil, and 

 when this is removed the rains rush oft" to tlie streams, removing the 

 surface soil, and filling up tlie sireambeds wi'li silt and sand, thereby 

 damaging the land and seriously interfering with the navigability of 

 the streams. 



CAUSES OF FOREST FIUES. 



The principal causes of forest fires, as given by the various corre- 

 spondents for their own townships, have been compiled and are given in 

 percentages in Table 6. 



•Damage to young growth from forest fires is discussed pretty fully in Economic Paper 10, "Forest 

 Fires in North Carolina During 1909," page 25. 



