fwtst 



pot-hole burn in its instep. As the Western yel- 

 low pine is the best fire-fighter in the conifer 

 family, it was puzzling to account for this deep 

 burn. On the Rocky Mountains are to be found 

 many picturesque yellow pines that have a 

 dozen times triumphed over the greatest enemy 

 of the forest. Once past youth, these trees pos- 

 sess a thick, corky, asbestos-like bark that de- 

 fies the average fire. Close to this injured old 

 fellow was a rock ledge that formed an influen- 

 tial part of its environment; its sloping surface 

 shed water and fertility upon its feet; cones, 

 twigs, and trash had also slid down this and 

 formed an inflammable pile which, in burning, 

 had bored into its ankle. An examination of its 

 annual rings in the burned hole revealed the 

 fact that it too had been slightly burned fifty- 

 seven years before. How long would it be until 

 it was again injured by fire or until some one 

 again read its records? 



Until recently a forest fire continued until 

 stopped by rain or snow, or until it came to the 

 edge of the forest. I have notes on a forest fire 

 that lived ^fluctuating life of four months. Once 



161 



