120 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. 



nothing but that which would make a ten-inch log, have been 

 logged two or three times since and with a good profit. 



Since fires render most of the cut-over lands in this state 

 entirely non-productive, and since the annual increase on ihe 

 trees that should grow on such land is at least 185 feet board 

 measure per acre, it is plain that the loss to the people of the 

 state on the 6,000,000 or more acres of cut-over lands is very 

 large. 



Forest fires not only destroy a very great amount of 

 property each year, but they occasionally cause great loss of 

 life. In the Hinckley fire of 1894, (which was entirely the re- 

 sult of ignorance and neglect ) there is known to have been 

 424 lives lost, besides a large amount of property, and 

 occasionally in other years settlers have had to flee for their 

 lives and leave their houses and crops to be burned. 



It is impossible for fires to run over any forest land with- 

 out doing great injury. The amount of damage done by them 

 is difficult to estimate and varies much according to the time 

 of year, the age and condition of the trees, the soil and the 

 severity of the fire. 



Forest fires are sometfmes grouped into the three follow- 

 ing classes: (1) Underground Fires that do not show much on 

 the surface but which destroy the roots of trees and greatly 

 injure the soil. (2) Surface Fires which burn the leaves and 

 grass in the woods and do much damage by destroying the 

 forest floor and killing the young seedlings. (3) Grown Fires, 

 which run in the crowns of the trees and when once started are 

 almost irresistible. The latter are one of the worst forms and 

 are generally accompanied by surface and often by under- 

 ground fires. 



The Killing of Mature Trees by any of these three kinds of 

 fires entails but a slight loss comparatively to the timber, 

 providing it is accessible to market, as the trees can be cut 

 the following winter. But fires that kill the mature growth 

 generally do great damage by killing the young growth and 

 destroying the forest floor. Timber that is allowed to stand 

 more than one or two years after being killed by fire gener- 

 ally suffers much from insects and fungous diseases. This is 

 most evident in the case of White Pine, Birch, Poplar and 



