FIRE PROTECTION AND CONTROL 



TABLE 6 



95 



It is an invariable rule in Algeria to clear the lines once every 

 3 years; but there are Hnes where the brush is only cut level 

 with the ground and others where the roots are extracted. 



An official note prepared for me by Conservator Laporte 

 of Oran, dated March, 1913, states: "... These fire Hnes 

 are opened on the ridges which are found in the interior of 

 forests so as to locahze the conflagrations and to make it pos- 

 sible to stop the fire when it arrives at one of these lines. ..." 

 The fire Unes are made (i) either by simply cutting level with 

 the ground the woody vegetation which is found on its surface; 

 or (2) by completely uprooting these trees. This latter class 

 of Une takes less upkeep, when the sprouts coming from stumps 

 overlooked are rare, but it costs much more to open. The fire 

 lines made by simple clearings are far less expensive, but the 

 growth of suckers and shoots require a periodic upkeep which 

 occasions a considerable expense. In these fire lines, all trees, 

 including the undergrowth, are cut off or pulled up; though 

 occasionally, on lines of a considerable width, a fine tree well 

 separated from the others may be left when it is encountered. 

 It is, however, an exception to the general practice. 



Table 7 gives the fire lines in the Oran conservation: 



