﻿10 
  WORKING 
  PLAN 
  FOR 
  FOREST 
  LANDS 
  NEAR 
  PINE 
  BLUFF, 
  ARK. 
  

  

  back 
  by 
  fire 
  and 
  still 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  sprout, 
  but 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  safely 
  assumed 
  

   that 
  it 
  can 
  do 
  so 
  after 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  such 
  setbacks. 
  Both 
  Loblolly 
  

   and 
  Shortleaf 
  can 
  produce 
  these 
  shoots 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  age 
  of 
  15 
  or 
  20 
  

   years. 
  

  

  These 
  fires, 
  occurring 
  as 
  the} 
  7 
  do 
  every 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  years, 
  have 
  

   had 
  a 
  disastrous 
  effect 
  on 
  the 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  forest. 
  The 
  older 
  trees, 
  

   both 
  pine 
  and 
  hardwood, 
  continue 
  to 
  live 
  for 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  years 
  at 
  

   least, 
  but 
  reproduction 
  is 
  checked. 
  Not 
  that 
  no 
  young 
  growth 
  what- 
  

   ever 
  succeeds; 
  almost 
  any 
  cut-over 
  area 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  swept 
  by 
  

   repeated 
  fires 
  proves 
  the 
  contrary. 
  Many 
  pine 
  and 
  hardwood 
  seed- 
  

   lings 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  growing 
  up 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  the 
  fires, 
  favored 
  by 
  chance 
  

   or 
  some 
  local 
  condition. 
  But 
  such 
  young 
  growth 
  is 
  meager 
  and 
  very 
  

   inferior 
  to 
  what 
  would 
  be 
  obtained 
  if 
  fires 
  were 
  kept 
  out. 
  Areas 
  cut 
  

   perhaps 
  twenty 
  j 
  r 
  ears 
  ago, 
  and 
  visited 
  by 
  frequent 
  fires 
  since, 
  are 
  gen- 
  

   erally 
  covered 
  with 
  open 
  groups 
  of 
  hardwood 
  saplings, 
  and 
  in 
  these 
  

   groups, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  scattered 
  about 
  through 
  the 
  whole 
  area, 
  is 
  a 
  sprink- 
  

   ling 
  of 
  young 
  pines, 
  which 
  at 
  times 
  form 
  open 
  and 
  scraggy 
  groups 
  by 
  

   themselves. 
  Such 
  a 
  sparse, 
  open, 
  and 
  irregular 
  growth 
  is 
  bound 
  to 
  be 
  

   of 
  very 
  little 
  commercial 
  value. 
  The 
  saplings 
  will 
  grow 
  up 
  into 
  badly 
  

   formed 
  trees 
  with 
  many 
  low 
  branches, 
  and 
  the 
  timber 
  produced 
  will 
  

   be 
  knotty 
  and 
  inferior. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  in 
  localities 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  exempt 
  from 
  fire 
  

   large, 
  dense 
  groups 
  of 
  young 
  pine 
  and 
  hardwood 
  have 
  sprung 
  up. 
  

   Reproduction 
  of 
  this 
  kind 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  on 
  limited 
  areas 
  in 
  several 
  parts 
  

   of 
  the 
  tract. 
  If 
  fire 
  were 
  excluded, 
  it 
  is 
  perfectly 
  reasonable 
  to 
  

   expect 
  that 
  this 
  condition 
  would 
  obtain 
  generally, 
  and 
  that 
  such 
  groups 
  

   would 
  gradually 
  spread 
  until 
  they 
  had 
  occupied 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  cut-over 
  

   area. 
  This 
  } 
  T 
  oung 
  growth 
  would 
  produce 
  tall, 
  straight 
  trees, 
  free 
  from 
  

   branches, 
  and 
  containing 
  the 
  most 
  valuable 
  kind 
  of 
  timber. 
  Even 
  

   with 
  ample 
  protection 
  against 
  fire, 
  the 
  whole 
  cut-over 
  area 
  would 
  of 
  

   course 
  never 
  grow 
  up 
  to 
  a 
  dense, 
  even-aged 
  growth 
  of 
  pine 
  so 
  long 
  as 
  

   a 
  large 
  proportion 
  of 
  mature 
  hardwood 
  remained 
  standing 
  after 
  the 
  

   lumbering; 
  but 
  the 
  percentage 
  of 
  pine 
  in 
  the 
  young 
  growth 
  would 
  lie 
  

   largely 
  increased, 
  and 
  the 
  commercial 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  future 
  forest 
  would 
  

   be 
  much 
  higher. 
  

  

  Apart 
  from 
  the 
  damage 
  done 
  by 
  fire 
  to 
  the 
  young 
  growth, 
  the 
  forest 
  

   as 
  a 
  whole 
  suffers 
  very 
  severely 
  from 
  the 
  complete 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  

   humus 
  or 
  leaf 
  mold. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  noticeable 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  soil 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   tract 
  is 
  covered 
  by 
  so 
  thin 
  and 
  scattered 
  a 
  layer 
  of 
  leaves 
  and 
  needles 
  

   as 
  to 
  be 
  almost 
  entirely 
  bare. 
  Fire 
  consumes 
  the 
  leaf 
  litter 
  completely 
  

   every 
  time 
  it 
  passes 
  over 
  the 
  ground, 
  and 
  in 
  so 
  doing 
  destroys 
  the 
  best 
  

   fertilizer 
  and 
  protector 
  of 
  the 
  forest 
  soil, 
  leaving 
  it 
  exposed 
  to 
  the 
  

   deteriorating 
  action 
  of 
  sun, 
  wind, 
  and 
  rain. 
  As 
  a 
  consequence, 
  the 
  

   rate 
  of 
  tree 
  growth 
  sutlers. 
  

  

  By 
  far 
  the 
  largest 
  number 
  of 
  fires 
  are 
  started 
  intentionally 
  by 
  

   people 
  owning 
  farms 
  or 
  small 
  bodies 
  of 
  timber 
  surrounded 
  by 
  or 
  bor- 
  

  

  