TOP-LOPPING IX THE ADIRONDACKS 75 



to the fire, for the purpose of fightii^ it. It seems probable, also, 

 that other conditions being equal, a fire in unlojiped tops will spread 

 faster than one where tops have been lopped, for the above reasons. 



Construction of Fire Lines. — ^The relative ease of constructing fire 

 lines was much debated. In this connection, as also with regard 

 to other points discussed, a clear distinction must be made between 

 lumbering and pulp operations. It does not seem possible that anyone 

 could seriously dispute that fire-line construction in an unlopped 

 lumbering slash is much more difficult than in a lopped slash, owing 

 to the large tops, their tangled position, and the resulting large amount 

 of chopping necessary in order to dear a Une. There is, however, a 

 certain amount of reason in the contention of the opponents of the law, 

 that on a pulp operation the tops are so small that they can ven,- readily 

 be thrown aside by one man, and that this work can be done more rapid- 

 ly and more satisfactorily than in lopped tops, where so many more 

 individual pieces have to be handled. On the other hand, the evidence 

 of the forest rangers, who were the only men with actual eicperience 

 in this particular work in lopped tops, was that fire-line construction 

 was easier in lopped tops. It is, however, undoubtedly true, that the 

 margin of difference on this point would be relatively small, in case of 

 a pulp operation, where there is a dose utilization of material in the 

 top, so that ven,- few tops would be left on the ground too heavj* for a 

 man to drag aside. The danger of a fire getting across the fire-line would , 

 it is believed, certainly be greater in unlopped tojjs. 



Intensity of Fires. — ^It is argued that fires in lopped tops are hotter, 

 on account of more of the debris beit^ piled, and are thus more difScult 

 to contend with. The point was made that a camper piles his material 

 together in order to get a fire hot enough for cooking or warmth, in- 

 stead of scattering the sticks. This is of course true, but, on the other 

 hand, the' camper in the first place gathers stidss for his camp-fire, 

 not from old piles of brush, but from the dead lower limbs on standing 

 trees, or from material corresponding to vmlopped tops on the grotmd. 

 Even in a rain this class of material can be utilized to start a fire, since 

 it is almost invariably thoroughly dry inside as a result of long exposure 

 to sun and wind. It is equally true, that, if material for a large camp- 

 fire were so gathered, and were arranged in a pile ready for burning, 

 but not ignited, it would in a relatively short time absorb moisture 

 from the ground, besides retaining a larger percentage of moisture from 

 rain and snow, so that a camper a year or two later desiring to build a 

 camp fire would choose, not the material in the old pile, but material 

 newly collected from individtial dry branches, the same as the original 

 source of material for the first pile. 



