so COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



but, up to the present, none of these sales has progressed to the 

 point where it has been possible to do so. On two of the sale 

 areas on this Forest the slash caught fire from fires which were burn- 

 ing on adjacent land and btimed ofE the slash at very little expense 

 to the Service with no resulting loss to green timber left standing. 

 These biims, however, were very poor, and the local officers have 

 come to the conclusion that several bums should take place on 

 the cut-over, areas before they are in a satisfactory condition for 

 the inception of a new crop of timber. 



"The theory and praetice of slash disposal in Douglas fir sales, 

 for which we make ample provision now in our timber sale con- 

 tracts, may be S3mopsized as follows : 



"A fire line from 25 to 35 feet in width is constructed around 

 the area to be slash-burned and is used as a barrier to the limits of 

 the bum. All snags on the area to be burned within the vicinity of 

 this fire line, and wherever they occur on the area in such a manner 

 as to be a fire menace, are first felled. At the most opportune time 

 when the slash can be burned without the escape of fixe to adjacent 

 timber the slash is bimied and as clean a bum as possible is obtained. 

 This last point is very desirable and probably the hardest condition 

 to obtain. Its desirability is evident on account of the requirement 

 of Douglas fir seed to germinate in mineral soil and to have just as 

 little irSlammable debris as possible on the area where the second 

 growth of timber comes up. 



"The question of whether the brush should be btimed in the 

 spring or in the fall has been much discussed. Each time has its 

 advantages and disadvantages. Spring slash burning is compara- 

 tively safe from one standpoint because the ground and litter is 

 still wet from the snows and rains of winter and the fire will not 

 readily spread to areas where burning is not intended. There are 

 several disadvantages, however, in burning the slash at this tune 

 of the year. It is often impossible to secure a clean bum because 

 the debris is not sufficiently dry. If all the snags on the cut-over 

 area have not been feUed they are apt to smolder for a long time, 

 and may prove to be a constant source of danger in the dry season 

 of midsummer, when a strong wind may fan the smoldering sparks 

 into flames. A smoldering snag, which was ignited during a fire 

 which occurred on July 4, was noticed to be still burning dttring 

 the week before Thanksgiving, and fvirthermore, at the time of 

 observation a heavy fall of soft snow was coming down. Another 

 disadvantage of spring burning is that the imderbrush will come 

 up after the slash is burned, and the seed bed wUl not be in such 

 a well prepared condition for the reception of the fall of seed in the 

 autumn. 



"Slash burning in the fall is rather difficult because it is hard 

 to start the fire at exactly the right time. A delay in order to secure 

 a moister and consequently safer condition of the debris may be 

 prolonged too long and to such a time that the debris wUl be so wet 

 that it will not bum. If done at the right time, however, fall 

 slash burning is more thorough because the slash is drier and the 



