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Standing dead treSS^ bt "snags" > are one of the worst fire hazards 

 of the forestt They not only catch readily, but form a pillai- of fire 

 from Which flaming brands may be hurled by the wind and stal-t new fires 

 past the fire lines. When such trees are rotted and hollow, they are 

 vertible chimneys for sparks. So another job in fire protection is to cut 

 down such standing dead trees, so they will rot more quickly and be less 

 of a menace to the sound timber. 



In the southern forests, the old custom of woods burning still per- 

 sists with many people, farmers under the notion that burning the forest 

 cover in the spring will in^rove grazing and kill cattle ticks frequently 

 set fire to the woods. 



Such woods burning is of no value in keeping down the ticks, and 

 a poor way to improve grazing, While the grazing season in the woods may be 

 advanced a little, the repeated burning kills out the best forage grasses 

 and the less valuable weeds are left. And often, such fires kill off 

 timber of many times the value of the woods for pasture. 



So the U. S, Forest Service has not only to maintain an elaborate 

 system of lookouts, and often recruit a small army of f ire-f;ighters, and 

 manage the forests so as to decrease the danger of fire, but it has to 

 educate the hunter, and the camper, and the tourist, and the woods-burner, 



MNOUNCEI/iEIJT t Our Wilds Man will be back in two weeks to tell us more 

 about the visits he makes with the naturalists of Uncle Sam, in the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, 



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