﻿fire: 
  its 
  influence 
  upon 
  the 
  forest 
  crop. 
  11 
  

  

  dering 
  on 
  the 
  company's 
  land. 
  They 
  are 
  .set 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  burn 
  away 
  the 
  

   underbrush 
  and 
  open 
  the 
  woods 
  for 
  hunting 
  and 
  hog 
  ranging. 
  Thirty 
  

   or 
  forty 
  years 
  ago 
  the 
  whole 
  forest 
  was 
  burned 
  over 
  regularly 
  each 
  

   year 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  improve 
  the 
  grazing, 
  but 
  this 
  custom 
  has 
  been 
  but 
  

   little 
  followed 
  of 
  late. 
  A 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  tires 
  are 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  careless- 
  

   ness 
  of 
  loggers 
  or 
  campers. 
  

  

  The 
  effect 
  of 
  fire 
  on 
  this 
  forest 
  may 
  be 
  summed 
  up 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  (1) 
  The 
  young 
  growth 
  of 
  all 
  species, 
  but 
  especially 
  that 
  of 
  pine, 
  is 
  

   very 
  seriously 
  damaged 
  or 
  totally 
  destroyed. 
  

  

  (2) 
  Mature 
  and 
  middle-aged 
  trees 
  are 
  damaged 
  to 
  some 
  extent. 
  

  

  (3) 
  The 
  soil 
  is 
  constantly 
  impoverished 
  through 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  

   the 
  leaf 
  litter. 
  

  

  If 
  the 
  forest 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  managed 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  to 
  future 
  crops, 
  it 
  is 
  

   necessary 
  to 
  obtain 
  young 
  growth 
  which 
  will 
  develop 
  into 
  a 
  first-class 
  

   stand 
  of 
  timber. 
  This 
  is 
  impossible 
  unless 
  fire 
  is 
  kept 
  out. 
  A 
  partial 
  

   protection 
  is 
  worse 
  than 
  none, 
  for 
  if 
  the 
  forest 
  be 
  guarded 
  for 
  five 
  or 
  

   six 
  years 
  and 
  then 
  burned 
  over, 
  the 
  fire 
  feeds 
  on 
  the 
  accumulated 
  

   litter, 
  and 
  the 
  damage 
  done 
  is 
  much 
  greater 
  than 
  if 
  light 
  fires 
  occurred 
  

   each 
  year. 
  Therefore, 
  if 
  protection 
  is 
  attempted 
  it 
  should 
  be 
  thorough. 
  

  

  The 
  diagram 
  herewith 
  (fig. 
  1) 
  is 
  exceedingly 
  significant. 
  It 
  illus- 
  

   trates 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  pine 
  according 
  to 
  diameter 
  classes, 
  and 
  it 
  

   reveals 
  a 
  peculiar 
  irregularity 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  trees 
  in 
  these 
  cla>ses. 
  

   This 
  irregularity 
  is 
  in 
  all 
  probability 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  damaging 
  effects 
  of 
  

   forest 
  fires 
  in 
  past 
  years. 
  The 
  diagram 
  shows 
  the 
  average 
  number 
  of 
  

   trees 
  per 
  acre 
  of 
  Short 
  leaf 
  and 
  Loblolly 
  Pine, 
  separately 
  and 
  combined, 
  

   of 
  diameters 
  from 
  2 
  to 
  4<» 
  inches. 
  It 
  wdl 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  three 
  curves 
  

   for 
  diameters 
  from 
  40 
  to 
  22 
  inches 
  are 
  quite 
  regular, 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  

   trees 
  per 
  acre 
  increasing 
  steadily 
  as 
  the 
  diameter 
  decreases. 
  At 
  22 
  

   inches, 
  however, 
  a 
  decided 
  break 
  occurs, 
  and 
  from 
  this 
  point 
  down 
  to 
  

   14, 
  15, 
  and 
  16 
  inches 
  the 
  same 
  increase 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  trees 
  per 
  acre 
  

   does 
  not 
  take 
  place. 
  From 
  these 
  points 
  down 
  to 
  2 
  inches 
  the 
  increase 
  

   again 
  becomes 
  very 
  regular. 
  

  

  Now 
  it 
  is 
  apparent 
  that 
  if 
  no 
  breaks 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  curves 
  at 
  the 
  

   22-inch 
  point, 
  the 
  lines 
  would 
  have 
  continued 
  on 
  as 
  indicated 
  by 
  the 
  

   short 
  broken 
  lines 
  oi 
  the 
  diagram, 
  and 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  trees 
  per 
  acre 
  of 
  

   smaller 
  diameter 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  much 
  larger. 
  In 
  other 
  words, 
  the 
  

   number 
  of 
  trees 
  in 
  the 
  smaller 
  diameter 
  classes 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  is 
  

   insufficient 
  to 
  maintain 
  the 
  present 
  stand 
  of 
  mature 
  trees. 
  

  

  Loblolly 
  Pine, 
  when 
  22 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter, 
  is 
  about 
  1<«> 
  years 
  old. 
  

   The 
  curves 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  proportion 
  of 
  younger 
  tree- 
  has 
  been 
  

   reduced 
  by 
  some 
  disturbing 
  influence. 
  Such 
  an 
  influence 
  is 
  tire 
  — 
  

   not 
  a 
  great 
  fire, 
  but 
  repeated 
  fires 
  of 
  ordinary 
  severity, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  

   forest 
  now 
  suffers 
  from. 
  As 
  the 
  region 
  was 
  slowly 
  entered 
  by 
  settler- 
  

   these 
  files 
  would 
  begin. 
  The 
  trees 
  which 
  are 
  now 
  one 
  hundred 
  years 
  

   old 
  had 
  by 
  that 
  time 
  reached 
  such 
  a 
  development 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  not 
  

   affected: 
  the 
  injury 
  was 
  then, 
  as 
  now. 
  chiefly 
  to 
  the 
  young 
  growth. 
  

  

  