Do Not Burn the Woods^ 



William T. Davis 



Nearly all of the unoccupied land on Staten Island, whether 

 woodland or meadow, has of late been burned over annually. 

 State Forest Commissioner Whipple, in an address before the 

 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences delivered several 

 years ago, commented upon the fact, and was surprised that the 

 residents of the island tolerated such a wasteful practice. Very 

 iew of the fires are accidental, but are usually started by ignorant 

 or malicious persons. 



Under the heading Wasteful to Burn Grass, a writer in a 

 late issue of The Nezv York Times has this to say: " The waste- 

 fulness of burning grass is perhaps not generally realized. By 

 the burning of dead grass we remove the material which is' to 

 furnish humus and bacteria essential for plant growth. Result- 

 ing from this burning we have temporarily a small amount of ash 

 which stimulates a quick and unhealthy growth of grass, but the 

 soluble parts of the ash are rapidly washed away by rains, so that 

 we have not only a great loss from destruction of humus and. 

 bacteria but also a loss of part of the small valuable residue. 

 Land subjected to grass fire must therefore quickly 'run out' 

 unless manure is added subsequently to take the place of the 

 burned grass, and this is not commonly done." 



Fire in the woodland results in even greater destruction, and 

 the bushes and young trees, and often the older ones as well, 

 are either killed outright or severely damaged. There cannot be 

 a fire without a loss, and by burning his woods or his meadow a 

 man simply parts with a considerable amount of his property 

 in smoke and gases. 



In an article on the cost of living, contributed to The Inde- 



' Presented April i6, igio. 



68 



