138 Third Annual Report of the 



lire killed trees. The letting in of a large amount of sunlight, 

 which is thus occasioned, results in the appearance on the ground, 

 after the fire, of a large number of weeds, which cause a serious de- 

 fect in the composition of the forest. 



The damage to the soil is, in a sense, a direct damage, but on 

 the other hand, its effects are not at first sight clearly visible, and 

 for that reason this class of damage is included under this head- 

 ing. When the soil is entirely burned, as has been the case in 

 many parts of the Adirondack and Cat skill forests, the forest itself 

 is, of necessity, destroyed. Thus, the value of the forest, as a pro- 

 tection to the watershed, is lost. This value is due in a large de- 

 gree to the deep porous mass of decaying vegetable matter which 

 goes to make up the upper stratum of soil in the forest. This 

 layer absorbs water readily and gives it up reluctantly, so that it 

 is the ideal cover for regulating the water flow. 



When the soil has been destroyed, it is not possible to reforest 

 the denuded area until after a new soil has been formed. The pro- 

 cesses of nature are not rapid in the case of a work like this and 

 it may require hundreds of years to replace the soil which has been 

 destroyed by a single fire in a few hours. 



One of the greatest losses resulting from forest fires is the loss 

 in wages due to the destruction of a large amount of timber. An 

 expenditure of from fifteen to twenty dollars per thousand board 

 feet is required to convert standing timber into lumber, and mar- 

 ket it. The greater part of this money is spent for labor. There- 

 fore, when timber is destroyed, the loss to labor and to the com- 

 munity at large must be taken into consideration. When we con- 

 sider the millions of dollars invested in the lumber industry, and 

 the thousands of persons employed, the magnitude of the loss be- 

 comes at once apparent. Furthermore, when timber is destroyed, 

 the available supply is reduced, and the price of lumber is bound 

 to rise accordingly. 



CAUSES OF FOREST FIRES 



It is apparent that any intelligent scheme for protecting forests 

 from fire must be based on a knowledge (1) of the characteristics 

 of forest fires, (2) of the character of the area to be protected, and 



