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REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



lumbering operations, we frequently find a vigorous second growth of poplar and 

 paper birch. Both these woods burn readily when first cut, but if left lying on the 

 ground soon become water-soaked, and in consequence exceedingly difficult to burn. 



Certain practical difficulties arose in the operation of burning, such as the 

 preventing of injury to the adjacent forest, on which point the Forest Preserve Board 

 was strongly insistent, the work being frequently inspected by Col. William F. Fox, 

 Superintendent of Forests, and carried on under the daily supervision of a State fire- 

 warden. The difficulties encountered under this head were at times quite serious, the 

 fire frequently escaping into the forest, but happily without damage. The difficulties 

 of burning the brush and smaller trees might be classified as follows: First, on islands 

 lying entirely below the level of the new flow line. These could be burned very 

 easily and rapidly, as there was no danger of the fire spreading. The area thus 

 classified is, however, comparatively small, aggregating not more than fifty acres; this 

 was largely burned over in a single day. The second class included narrow, steep 

 lake margins, and the shores of islands having summits above the new flow line, on 

 which summit the timber was left standing. These narrow lake and island margins 

 constituted the larger portion of the flowage, and having an average slope upward 

 from the water's edge of about one in ten. For the narrower parts of the lake margin 

 the slope was steeper in proportion, varying from almost perfectly flat areas to nearly 

 vertical. It was found early in the work that the problem of burning the narrow 

 margins was one of considerable difficulty. The open side toward the water gave free 

 access to the landward winds from the lake, which, together with the natural tendency 

 of the fire to creep up the slope, made it very difficult in places to prevent the fire 

 entering the forest. However, it was found that, except under very favorable con- 

 ditions, the fire, generally speaking, would smother out in the forest as soon as it ran 

 beyond the reach of the lake breeze. Nevertheless, it was very desirable, since Indian 

 Lake is a pleasure resort during the summer, that the trees immediately bordering 

 the new margin should be uninjured. 



The difficulty of burning the margin varied greatly with the character of the 

 timber. On softwood areas the ground is often covered with spruce-duff to a depth 

 sometimes of several feet. Fire once kindled in this is very tenacious, smouldering 

 beneath the surface often for weeks, surviving even heavy showers, and when favored 

 by dry weather and shoreward breezes, spreading into the forest and shooting up the 

 inflammable spruces and balsams — the adjacent hardwood trees remaining meanwhile 

 uninjured. To meet such cases it is necessary that all brush should be piled at least 

 two rods from the standing timber and the intervening space cleared of duff and 

 vegetable mould by means of grub hoes. Plowing, as called for by the specifications, 

 or other common methods of forest fire prevention, were in many places inapplicable 



