FORESTS 



FORESTS 



331 



such a precaution is insignificant in comparison 

 with the loss from a fire in the woodlot. Fire lines 

 are also useful between woodlots, if the neighbor- 

 ing property is not well protected. (Pig. 470.) 



Another inexpensive preventive measure is the 

 posting of fire notices. A great many persons, and 

 especially boys, start fires because they are thought- 

 less. A notice 

 posted in a con- 

 spicuous place 

 will often make 

 the careless 

 more thought- 

 ful. 



When a fire 

 is set, prompt- 

 ness in begin- 

 ning to fight it 

 is the most im- 

 portant consid- 

 eration. As 

 soon as it is 

 discovered, all 

 hands should 

 go to the place 

 at once. A few 

 minutes' delay 

 may mean the 

 loss of timber 

 that it has 



Fig. 470. A fire line in Europe. 



taken years to grow ; it may mean the loss of farm 

 buildings and haystacks as well. 



The method of fighting fire varies greatly with 

 circumstances. Sometimes a good thick brush is 

 used to beat it out. Sometimes rakes and forks 

 come in handy. When the soil is light the most 

 effective method is to shovel earth on the burning 

 material. Nothing is effective against a top fire, 

 except a back fire ; but top fires rarely occur in 

 farm woodlots. 



Protection from grazing and browsing. — Cattle, 

 sheep, goats and hogs should not be allowed to run 

 in young growth, nor in old growth when repro- 

 duction is desired. Many of our broad-leaf trees 

 are eaten greedily by cattle, which also destroy 

 many seedlings by treading on them. It is difficult 

 to bring about a satisfactory combination of pas- 

 ture and forest. From the time the young trees 

 have lifted their branches out of reach until the 

 reproduction time comes round, grazing does little 

 harm. The same is equally true of deer, moose and 

 similar animals. 



Improvement. 



Pruning. — The object of pruning forest trees is 

 to produce clear lumber. If that object can be 

 accomplished without going to the expense of prun- 

 ing, it may be dispensed with. If trees are grown 

 at the correct distance apart, the side branches 

 will be shaded to death while they are small, and 

 in most cases will drop off in a few years. There 

 are exceptions to this rule, however. Some trees 

 retain their dead side limbs for many years ; and 

 it may be wise to assist the tree, in such cases, in 

 ridding itself of them. The question then resolves 



itself into whether the clear lumber is worth more 

 than the cost of pruning. 



In one case, at least, it is worth while to prune. 

 The white pine {Pinus Strobus) is one of the trees 

 that holds its side limbs. The price of clear pine 

 lumber justifies a small outlay on pruning. 



It is a waste of time to prune trees that have 

 reached a diameter over six or eight inches. As 

 just stated, the object of pruning is to secure clear 

 lumber ; and to prune large trunks is to lock the 

 door after the horse is stolen, for large knots are 

 already formed. 



It is also a waste of time to prune more than 

 two hundred or three hundred trees to the acre. 

 The very best trees, ten or fifteen feet apart, should 

 be selected. If more than these are pruned, some 

 of them will be shaded out before the stand is 

 mature, or will be taken out in improvement thin- 

 ning, if thinning is practiced. In either case, a 

 part of the labor put into pruning will be lost. 



In pruning, any number of dead limbs may be 

 removed without injury to the trees ; but live limbs 

 should be taken sparingly. It is a good plan to 

 take the dead limbs up to where the live ones 

 begin, and, if necessary, to take two or three 

 whorls of the dying and dead ones, and then to 

 wait a few years before going farther. 



The work may be done with an axe or with 

 strong pruning-shears. The cuts should be close to 

 the trunk, so that the knots will grow over as soon 

 as possible. If the axe is used, great care should be 

 exercised not to bruise and hack the bark of the 

 trunk. 



Thinning (Pigs. 471, 472).— Thinning is the 

 most important improvement work which may be 

 done in the woodlot. By thinning is meant the sys- 

 tematic removal of a part of the trees in a grow- 

 ing crop of timber to benefit those that remain. It 

 should not be confused with the removal of mature 

 trees, which is a very different operation. 



Fig. 471. 



Dense stand of young hard-woofls moflerately 

 thinned. 



The practicability of thinning has been ques- 

 tioned. Among other things, the cost of the work, 

 the injury by falling trees, lodgment of trees 

 against those remaining, and increased liability to 

 windfall have been urged. As to the cost of 

 the work, it is conceded that in some circum- 



