24 



trees which were fire-scarred were protected by piling 

 earth and stones about them, thus eliminating all dan- 

 ger of igniting. This was the method employed by Clin- 

 ton Walker of the Red River Lumber Company in 1910. 

 when 200,000 acres were Light Bixrned. All necessary 

 precautions to prevent destruction of merchantable t im- 

 ber were ta-ken; fire scars were filled with soil, wind- 

 falls close to mature trees were removed, and deep ac- 

 cumulations of litter at the base of the brees were 

 scattered. With these steps taken, fire was started 

 in a number of places and allowed to run at will. 



Captain Joseph A. Kitts, of the Southern Pacific 

 Company, claims to have practiced Light Burning Suc- 

 cessfully for over a quarter of a century in both sec- 

 ond growth and mature stands. The method was learned 

 from the Sierra Nevada Indians. Mr. Kitts burns dur- 

 ing and at the end of the wet season, periodically, 

 dependent upon the local rate of accumulation of the 

 litter. 



Heretofore, practically no Light Burning has been 

 carried out during the summer or dry season. During 

 the summer of 1920, however, the Weed Lumber Company 

 of Weedi" California, conducted controlled burning on 

 some of their timber lands in the vicinity of Bray. 

 This operation was watched with considerable interest 

 by everyong in favor or against Light Burning, Pre- 

 vious to this, it had been generally understood by 

 both sides that controlled burning should not be en- 



