122 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. 
More than ten million dollars worth of timber was burned, and 
several hundred persons perished. 
The Hinckley Fire occurred Sept. 1, 1894, and was the 
most destructive fire of recent years. Hinckley, Minnesota, and 
several other towns were destroyed, about 500 lives were lost, 
and more than 2,000 persons were left destitute. It is esti- 
mated that the loss in property amounted to about $25,000,000. 
The loss of life from this fire would have been much more than 
stated had it not been for the fact that the railroad companies 
ran special trains to carry the settlers away from the flames. 
This fire was wholly unnecessary, and could easily have been 
put out in its earlier stages. For two weeks previous to the 
breaking out of this fire into an uncontrollable mass of flame 
small fires had been raging in swamps about Hinckley, and filled 
the town with dense smoke, and it was only when these became 
united under the direction of a hot south wind that it passed 
beyond control. Had the present forest fire law of Minnesota 
been in force at that time this fire would undoubtedly have been 
prevented. 
Forest and Pasture. When forests are used as pasture, 
the cattle will eat the foliage of many species, provided it is 
within their reach. They also trample on the young seedlings, 
and destroy them in this way. As a result, all good foresters are 
opposed to the pasturing of cattle in woodlands. Especially is 
this the case where the trees are of the broad-leaved species, 
which are preferred by cattle. However, in the case of well 
established forests, in which there is no special desire for a 
renewal of growth from seed, no great injury can come from 
moderate pasturing. Cattle are rigidly excluded from most 
European forests, but in some of the more remote districts, 
where timber is still quite cheap, it is customary to pasture for- 
ests. Ol course, where the range is large and not fully stocked, 
the injury is much less than where the range is crowded. This 
combination of forest and pasture has led to the use of several 
methods of protecting young seedlings against cattle, among the 
first of which might be mentioned the planting of seedling 
conifers between the buttresses of old stumps, where it would be 
very unlikely that the cattle would step on them. It is also 
practiced to protect the seedlings by driving two strong stakes 
