442 FIRE-CONSERVANCY. 



the trace to meet the inner parallel line of fire and even beyond it, 

 thus closing the quadrilateral aCDa and drawing the flames away 

 from the broom-men. Owing to the greater difficulty of beating 

 out fire to lee of the wind, the grass along C D should, as a rule, 

 be fired in shorter lengths at a time than the grass along A B, 

 which may, under favourable conditions, be fired in lengths of 30 

 yards and more at a time by a party of no more than four or 

 five men. 



(c) Direction of wind more or less perpendicular to trace (Fig. 

 126, diagram to left). The strength of the firing parties will be 

 still more unequal here than in the preceding case, one fire-brand 1 

 man and from two or four broom-men being sufficient for the wind- 

 ward side of the trace. With the exception that this latter party 

 should always keep well behind their comrades on the other side 

 and that shorter lengths must be fired at a time on both sides, the' 

 work should be conducted in the same manner as in the preceding 

 case. The distance which the smaller party should keep behind 

 the other will vary with the force of the wind, with the rapidity 

 with which fire travels through the standing grass, with the- height 

 to which the flames rise, and with the quantity of inflammable 

 leaves strewing the ground or still remaining on the bushes. Such 

 leaves are of course carried up in a burning state and may then be 

 wafted away and dropped in the same condition amongst the 

 grass beyond the check line. A safe rule to observe is to light 

 up a new length of grass along A B only when the immediately 

 opposite line of fire has been beaten out along the check line 

 on C D and the inner and outer lines of fire lit along that side 

 have met. 



(d) Tlie air quite still. The procedure to follow is the same as 

 that described under (A), except that if the trace is broad, one or 

 more intermediate lines of fire must be lit between the pair of lines 

 along each side of the trace with the object of creating strong 

 lateral draughts to accelerate the burning. 



II. FlRST FIRING OF LEVEL TRACES ON WHICH FIRE IS TO BE 

 CONTROLLED ON ONE SIDE ONLY. The fire may have to be con- 

 trolled on one side only either because the area on the other side 

 is not to be protected or because the trace on this latter side is 

 flanked by a broad clear road or watercourse or a dense belt of 

 green bushes which the fire cannot cross. The first of these two 

 cases has been already referred to at pp. 429. There is little to 

 add to what has been said there. Every effort should be made to 

 keep the fire along the guide line constantly in advance of the 



