July, 1909 
me, at the pres- 
ent time, than 
public attention 
drawn to the 
needs of the for- 
est with refer- 
ence to forest 
fires. If you 
solve the prob- 
lem of forest 
fires you solve, 
at the same 
time, the prob. 
lem of Ameri- 
can forestry. 
Nature re-estab- 
lishes, with 
great force, a 
second growth 
wherever the 
first growth has 
been cut by the 
lumberman. No- 
where on earth, 
where forests 
now exist, is it 
possible to anni- 
hilate the forests without the help of either fire or the plow. 
Indeed, as soon as the plow stops work the forest returns. 
‘In western North Carolina incidents are frequent where 
abandoned fields have obtained an excellent second growth 
coming up from self-sown seeds, for the simple reason that 
the wooden fences surrounding the old fields were protected 
by the farmers from fire. Sylviculture in America is out of 
the question until forest fires are fully controlled. What is 
the use of the investments in second growth (sylvicultural 
investments) as long as these investments are almost sure to 
be destroyed by fires? The lethargy of the people with ref- 
erence to forest fires is somewhat amazing. Obviously, the 
suppression of forest fires means the establishment of a forest 
police, and the enactment of more stringent laws, similar 
to those preventing the firing of prairie lands. 
“As regards the species of trees destroyed by forest fires, 
I would state that the white pine and the hemlock are most 
sensitive. The long-leaf pine and the short-leaf pine are im- 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
Dr. Schenck, head forester at Biltmore, in one of the forests he has created 
277 
mune from a rel- 
atively early age 
on. Obviously, 
the hardwoods, 
which have the 
ability to sprout 
from the stump 
and to heal 
scars readily, are 
not so. easily 
damaged by fire 
as are the white 
pine and the 
hemlock; on the 
other hand, the 
hardwoods are 
more easily 
wounded and 
scarred. Whilst 
the softwoods 
are apt to be 
killed by fires, 
the hardwoods 
are apt to be in- 
jured for life, 
as through the 
scars inflicted by 
fires on the hardwood trees, fungi and insects enter into the 
bodies of the trees. “The smaller the tree, the more suscep- 
tible is it to damage or death from fires. Unfortunately, the 
more valuable species suffer the most from forest fires. 
“The area burned over on the Biltmore estate recently 
comprises twelve thousand acres. On this area all of the 
young growth, the product of fifteen years, has been anni- 
hilated, and among it some of the finest—perhaps the finest 
—yellow poplar (tulip tree) existing in the world. ‘The 
tulip tree seedlings are particularly sensitive, and when 
killed by fires are not in the habit of sprouting from the 
stumps, which quality is possessed by the chestnut, the locust 
and many other hardwoods. In the end, the fires were 
mainly checked by rain. ‘The flames were so widespread and 
the wind so fierce that human efforts alone could not have 
saved the forests. In battling against forest fires the first 
principle is to abandon the burning districts and to start back- 
fires from vantage points——clearings, brooks, farms or roads. 
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Railroad building in a Biltmore forest 
Screen for young trees to be planted on Biltmore barrens 
