THE WHITE PINE REGION 



339 



Of the various methods of brush disposal pihng and burning 

 the tops as the logging is in progress is silviculturally preferable 

 and should be the cheapest. Fires should be started at con- 

 venient points and the tops thrown on these fires as the trees 

 are felled and trimmed. When done in this way the cost 

 should range from ten to forty cents per thousand feet of lumber 

 cut. The method can only be used when there is no danger of 

 the fires spreading, and is therefore best for winter operations. 

 In dry weather no burning should be done, and if logging is 

 carried on it will be best to throw the tops into piles and burn 

 these piles later, in a wet season. It may seem as though no 

 special harm would be done if the fire was allowed to spread 

 over the entire area logged, since it is clear cut, but the burning 

 would result in making seed-bed conditions more unfavorable 

 for the pine and very favorable for the reproduction of gray 

 birch. Then, again, even on clear-cut areas there is apt to be 

 reproduction which must be protected as well as any seed trees 

 that were left. 



Methods of Fighting Fires. — Owing to the well-settled con- 

 ditions of the country in the white pine region the more inten- 

 sive methods of fighting fires, such as the use of bucket pumps 

 and chemical extinguishers,^ are strongly recommended. It is 

 in this region that the highest development of the use of ex- 

 tinguishers has been reached, by having special fire wagons 

 equipped with extinguishers and all the necessary accessories. 



Any town in the white pine region, in which the forest fire 

 hazard is great, can profitably invest in one of these wagons. 



Where pumps and extinguishers are not available the tools 

 and methods of fighting surface fires and crown fires described 

 in the two preceding regions should be employed. In sandy 

 country there is plenty of loose dirt available and throwing this 

 on the fire is the best method next to the use of water. Ground 

 fires do not often occur. 



Protection Against Grazing Animals. — Since dairying is the 

 most important agricultural pursuit for the region as a whole 



^ For full description see Chapter VIII. 



