THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST 97 



burned by the same people who pile it. Eecently several 

 contracts have been made in which the purchaser of the tim- 

 ber is required to pile and burn the brush under the direction 

 of forest officers, as has been the practice in the Minnesota 

 forest for some time. This will lighten the total cost, and 

 when the weather allows the brush to be burned, as logging 

 proceeds, the cost of burning will be offset by the subsequent 

 reduction in the cost of skidding. 



"Piling Without Burning 



"Brush piled properly, even though it is not burned, is a 

 great protection to the forest. Inflammable material is re- 

 moved from among the living trees, and should a fire occur it 

 would be much easier to fight. This is especially true where 

 reproduction is dense. Where openings are scarce piles 

 should be made in the most open places, and may be larger 

 than those made to be burned." 



Slash Burning 



In many regions, especially in western Oregon and Wash- 

 ington, logging debris is too great to make piling practicable. 

 But except for the damper localities close to the Pacific, the 

 danger from these immense accumulations is all the more 

 excessive and, as we have seen elsewhere, their removal is 

 often desirable in order to further reforestation by desirable 

 species. Here the only course is to burn the slashing clean. 



This is a dangerous process unless every safeguard is em- 

 ployed. Burning must be at a time in spring or fall when the 

 slashing is dry enough but the surrounding woods are not. 

 Spring burning is theoretically preferable, for it leaves less 

 inflammable material during the fire season. The first fire is 

 also easier to control then, because repeated experiments may 

 be made, as the slashing dries, until just the right conditions 

 exist. On the other hand, it is dangerous if there are many 

 old stumps and logs in which fire may smoulder to make 



