15 



leaf pine in the south. The seed of this important 

 species cannot germinate and take root an a two or 

 three years accumulation of pine needles. Fire pre- 

 pares the seed "bed by removing the debris and expos- 

 ing the mineral soil. After germination has taken 

 place, however, all fires should be carefully regul- 

 ated until the seedling has firmly established itself. 

 Then, is advocated a burning over at intervals of three 

 years. The practice of Light Burning in the south ap- 

 pears to be a matter of fire regulation with silvii- 

 cultural advantages rather than fire exclusion. 

 Light Burning in the Northwest 



Also, in the northwest - Oregon and Washington - 

 fire is employed in burning over braadcast douglas fir 

 cuttings, as a means of preparing the seed bed and in- 

 suring reproduction. Here, fire is used as a silvi- 

 cultural agent primasily and not as one of protection 

 from fire. 



Light Burning in California 



Early History 



DaU.ries of Spanish expeditions imanating from 

 Santa Barbara and San Francisco about lf06, which pen- 

 etrated the interior to the mouths of the canyons in 

 the fntthiail-stof the Sierras, indicate that frequent 



