INSECT ENEMIES OF WESTERN FORESTS 189 
ing should be downhill and against the wind so that the fire can 
be controlled. Burning, if done by experienced men, can be han- 
dled without injury to the forest. Ordinarily the fire is not hot 
enough to burn the logs, and if at all accessible they can be used 
for lumber if taken out within a year or two. 
The fell-deck-burn method 
The fell-deck-burn method is one of the most economical control 
methods and is particularly useful in the control of bark beetles 
infesting trees of small diameter (fig. 91) such as small ponderosa 
pine, lodgepole pine, or western white pine, infested with the moun- 
tain pine beetle or Black Hills beetle, especially where large groups 
of trees are infested. By using tractors or teams even the larger 
trees can be handled for treatment by this method. 
FiGuRE 91.—Burning in decks is an economical method of treating bark beetle-infested 
trees of small diameter. 
The trees are felled usually in one direction, and then by using 
peavies, are hand-rolled into piles, or dragged by horses or tractors 
into openings where they can be bunched into large decks. No 
peeling is necessary, except occasionally on the outer surfaces of the 
outer logs. The whole pile is then fired and usually is completely 
consumed. 
This is a very satisfactory method where it can be used and is not 
only more economical than the fell-peel-burn method but leaves the 
forest free from the fire hazard of fallen logs and piles of brush. 
This method also permits the control work to start before the close 
of the fire season in the fall since the piles can be prepared, and the 
burning done at a later date. Since the burning of decked logs 
throws out a terrific heat, the size of the piles should be adjusted to 
