FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1914 



INTRODUCTION. 



Public interest in forest fire prevention in Xorth Carolina is increas- 

 ing year by year. This is reflected in the State press, which chronicles 

 and comments upon forest fires and the loss suffered by them to a much 

 greater extent than formerly. It is also seen in the recent action of the 

 State Legislature, which enacted an excellent forest fire law. However, 

 the fact that the appropriation to make this law effective was denied 

 shows that even yet public opinion is not insistent enough or definite 

 enough to secure from the representatives of the people in the General 

 Assembly adequate State assistance in fire protection. 



The only possible reason for this condition is that our people them- 

 selves are not well enough informed on this subject. They do not yet 

 realize the pressing necessity for a permanent supply of timber for our 

 industries and for the people as a whole. They do not yet understand 

 that where seedlings and young trees of our more valuable species are 

 killed by fire our future forests will be of greatly reduced value; that 

 burnt-over forests yield the minimum returns in timber, while protected 

 forests yield the maximum ; that unburnt forests pay the highest returns 

 to the owners, to the community, and to the State. 



Forest fires result largely from the indifference and consequent care- 

 lessness of the people. Half the fires in this State are said to be due to 

 the carelessness of the individual. By changing this indifference into 

 strong, active opposition to burning the woods, much of the criminal 

 carelessness now existing in regard to forest fires will be done away with. 

 It is with the idea of keeping the public informed as to the real condi- 

 tions of the forests throughout the State, and so arousing them to the 

 need of definite action, that these annual reports continue to be prepared 

 and issued to the people of the State. Previous publications of the 

 Xorth Carolina Geological and Economic Survey in this series are 

 '•'Forest Fires in Xorth Carolina During 1909," Economic Paper Xo. 19 ; 

 "Forest Fires in Xorth Carolina During 1910," Economic Paper Xo. 

 22; "Forest Fires in Xorth Carolina During 1911," Economic Paper 

 Xo. 25; "Forest Fires in Xorth Carolina During 1912," Economic Paper 

 Xo. 33; and "Forest Fires in Xorth Carolina During 1913," Economic 

 Paper Xo. 37. Each of these reports contains a large amount of infor- 

 mation about the nature of the damage done by forest fires, the causes 



