124 Conservation Reader 



A single fire often destroys more timber than would be 

 destroyed by a whole camp of loggers working for years. 

 In the Northwest there are many sad and desolate pictures 

 of the destruction caused by forest fires. We may travel 

 for miles through forests of tall, dead stubs, the remains of 

 once noble trees. Where they have fallen the trunks lie 

 piled many feet high and trails had to be cut through an 

 almost solid mass of timber. 



Here is wood enough to supply thousands of people with 

 pleasant winter fires. But there are, alas, no people living 

 . near these vast woodpiles and often no road to them. The 

 logs must lie there and rot. 



Now let us see if we can state the chief reasons why we 

 should be exceedingly careful about setting fires in the 

 woods : 



1. Fires destroy an enormous amount of valuable timber 

 every year. 



2. Between fires and lumbermen our forests are disap- 

 pearing faster than they are growing. 



3. Fires destroy the young trees, and if they happen often 

 enough will keep them from growing up to replace the 

 mature trees. 



4. Fires do not permanently help the cattle ranges, but 

 injure them by burning the humus and grass seeds. 



5. Fires leave the ground bare, so that it will dry out 

 quickly. 



6. Fires leave the soil unprotected, so that it will wash 

 away quickly. 



7. Fires destroy property and endanger lives. 



