FIRE PROTECTION. 47 
it is the desire of the club to adopt a plan of management in conse- 
quence of which the large amount of pine second growth already on 
the ground may be fostered, and the further reseeding of waste lands 
may be effected. While the question of an immediate revenue from 
the sale of timber is of secondary importance to the club, a large part 
of the merchantable timber left upon the tract is mature and ought to 
be cut. 
Mature trees in a forest are unproductive, and represent so much 
idle capital. Their removal will not only bring immediate returns 
from the sale of the timber, but will also result in an increased growth 
of the trees of smaller diameters, which are capable of rapid growth, 
but which are now held back by lack of sufficient light and space. 
The immediate lumbering of the trees which have been boxed for tur- 
pentine is a necessity if the timber is to be saved. It is the object of 
the club to cut the timber in such a way as not to destroy the pro- 
ductive power of the forest. The reasons for the application of prac- 
tical forestry to this tract are urgent and convincing. To lumber 
under the methods employed in the past would be further to impair 
the productive capacity of the forest: to do no lumbering and enforce 
no effective measures against fire would be to invite further deteriora- 
tion of a forest already in bad condition, and to throw away the money 
represented by timber already mature; to lumber conservatively under 
adequate fire protection would be to realize an immediate and legiti- 
mate profit, and to utilize the capacity of the lands to produce the only 
crop for which they are suited. 
FIRE PROTECTION. 
FIRE PATROL. 
Without systematic effort and organization, attempts at protection 
against fire will be useless. The system advised provides a fire service 
for patrolling the tract during dangerous seasons. The organization 
of the fire service is based upon the present game-warden system; it 
aims to prevent fires and to limit their spread rather than to fight fire. 
The fire service recommended consists of three wardens, each of 
whom will have charge of approximately 15,000 acres. The club is in 
a position to make it an object for its tenants and for interior property 
owners to join the effort to prevent fires, and to require their assist- 
ance in fighting any fires which may start. 
FIRE LINES. 
A small annual outlay for maintaining a system of fire lines is very 
desirable. Fire lines will be a great aid to effective work by the fire 
patrol. The Southern and the Charleston and Savannah railroads tray- 
