NECESSITY FOB COMPLETE FIRE PROTECTION. 211 



possible the great development of resin operations .which took place 

 in those years. After a time, however, various difficulties arose, 

 and this all-through contract system was gradually replaced by a 

 system of piece- work payment, or petty contracts . at a fixed rate 

 per maund of crude resin delivered by a small . gang of 8 or 12 

 men. This is the system at present in force. 



The detailed tapping rules by which tapping labour is controlled, 

 together with a rate list of cost for piece work, is given at the end 

 of this chapter. 



4. The necessity for complete fire protection. The chir pine is 

 naturally very fire -resisting. But when a fire breaks out in April 

 or May in an area which has been successfully protected for a 

 series of years, whereby the accumulation of dry litter and other 

 inflammable material has greatly increased, the damage done is 

 enormous, even mature tree being sometimes killed outright and 

 all young saplings and regeneration wiped out. The inflammable 

 conditions are greatly increased in areas under tapping, where the 

 resin-soaked chippings, the pots half full resin, and open wounds on 

 the trees all help to aggregate the intensity of the fire. A fire in a 

 resin coupe is followed immediately by a flow of dirty black sooty 

 resin, which escapes to the ground, as the pots are usually broken 

 and then tapping faces more or less completely dry up, and render 

 the area worthless for further tapping during that season. Where 

 the fire has been very intense, and a large proportion of the trees 

 killed outright or seriously damaged, further tapping is rendered 

 useless for many years. In 1921 when incendiary fires swept 

 through most of the resin coupes in Kumaun, the resin yield which 

 should have been 90,000 mds. dropped to about 25,000 mds. in that 

 year, and will also be considerably reduced in 1922. The direct 

 and immediate loss from fires in resin coupes can thus be 

 appreciated and complete fire-protection must be regarded as a 

 sine qua nan for the resin industry. 



5. Bibliography. A brief list of available literature on the 

 resin industry may be given for ready reference 



