LOGGING PRACTICE IN THE LAKE STATES 23 
It is coming, therefore, to be generally recognized that some manner 
of slash disposal, or the alternative of more intensive fire patrol, is a 
‘necessary measure in reducing fire hazards and in making fire fighting 
easier when fires do break out. From a fire-protection standpoint 
the need of slash disposal is greater where there is less effective 
general fire protection. The more effective the fire protection and 
patrol the less need there is for special disposal of slash. 
Slash from conifers left on the ground to rot hinders reproduction. 
A heavy layer of slash, particularly in the conifer types, will prevent 
many a seed from reaching the mineral soil. Many of the seedlings 
that are already established or that start under the slashing are 
killed by the heavy tops and branches, although a few are afforded 
protection. 
But the greatest menace of slash is the hazard to which it subjects 
reproduction in the event of fire. If fires run through a slashing 
they destroy all young growth and even burn the soil to such a 
depth that reproduction is almost impossible for many years. In 
high winds, slash fires can not be controlled with any equipment that 
man has at his disposal. 
For all these reasons it is desirable to have the cut-over land 
cleaned up, either by disposing of the slash entirely or by reducing 
it to such an extent that it can do relatively little harm. 
The cheapest and most effective method of slash disposal is close 
utilization. Where pulp wood is being utilized down to 3 or 3.5 
inches in the tops, or where the hardwood tops are being used for 
chemical wood, the slash is light and the danger is comparatively 
small. In European countries, where there is close utilization, slash- 
ings as a fire menace do not exist. In this country the slash problem 
will also solve itself eventually as market conditions justify close 
utilization in the tops of the trees and as partial cutting becomes 
more general. 
In the meantime, where pine and hardwood tops 7 or 8 inches in 
diameter are unutilized, the considerable slash remaining on the 
ground is both a hindrance to natural regrowth and a distinct fire 
menace. Some means, therefore, of cleaning up the ground after 
cutting is essential if the cut-over land is to be kept reasonably 
productive. 
The general public has always associated large forest conflagra- 
tions such as have occurred from time to time in the Lake States 
with the large accumulations of tops and branches left in the woods 
after cutting. In Minnesota, public opinion forced the passage of a 
compulsory state-wide slash-disposal law. This law gives discre- 
tionary power to the State forester to prescribe certain methods of 
making the cuttings safe against fire danger and, on the whole, has 
been beneficial. It is to the interest of the private forest-land owner, 
as well as of the public, that there should be a State law which makes 
it unlawful for any careless operator to leave his cuttings in such 
shape as to endanger adjoining forest land which may have promis- 
ing second growth timber coming up. There is still, however, con- 
siderable difference of opinion as to the best method of slash dis- 
posal and as to the actual cost of the extra operations which may be 
involved. 
