234 PROTECTION OF WOODLANDS. 



117. Causes of Forest Fires. 



The origin of forest-fires is seldom to be found in natural 

 causes (lightning), but is, in by far the most numerous cases, 

 entirely due to human imprudence or negligence, such as, for 

 example, the lighting of fires in dangerous spots by woodmen or 

 other workmen employed within the forests during dry and windy 

 weather, and then neglecting to extinguish them thoroughly. 

 And there are also many purely sylvicultural operations neces- 

 sitating the use of fire which, if not conducted to their very end 

 with care and caution, are apt to result in fires ; amongst these 

 may be mentioned the burning of gorse and heather, the burning 

 of bark and twigs in order to destroy insects decoyed into it, 

 and the manufacture of charcoal within the woods. 



The careless throwing away of cigar-ends, or of still glowing 

 matches, or of the ashes from tobacco-pipes, is not infrequently 

 among the causes of forest fires, more especially in the vicinity of 

 large towns, as may be proved by the frequent origin of such 

 fires in proximity to the paths, and on holidays. When paper and 

 tow are used in place of properly prepared gun-wads, there is 

 also considerably greater danger of their continuing to glow after 

 being fired off, and the use of torches when passing through the 

 woods at night has often ended in their droppings setting fire to 

 the dead foliage and debris on the ground. 



A good many forest fires are also caused only indirectly by 

 human agency, from the sparks emitted by locomotives along 

 railways which pass through wooded tracts. Fortunately the 

 number of cases of incendiarism that occur in civilised countries 



is not in tropical forests alone that such dangers exist, as the following extracts, cut 



casually by me in India from English newspapers during September 1891, may show : 



Toulon, 12th August. The conflagration in the forests of Var is still raging, and 



nearly 5000 acres of timber have already been destroyed. 



Halifax, 13th August. Enormous damage has been done by forest fires in Cumber- 

 land County, and lumber camps and buildings lying in the path of the 

 flames have been swept away. 



Oran (Algeria}, 19th August. For the last six days a great conflagration has been 

 raging in the forest of Ammi-Moussa, and has now reached enormous 

 dimensions ; over 35,000 acres of timber have been already destroyed. 

 Cannes, 20th August. A forest fire of considerable extent is raging between 

 Mandelieu and Pegomas, and, although the scene of the conflagration is 

 somewhat inland, the cloud of smoke from the burning timber reaches as 

 far as this place. A strong wind is blowing, and renders fruitless all 

 efforts to check the flames, which are spreading rapidly. Trans. 



