54 



THE DESTRUCTIVE AGENTS OF FORESTS. 



occupy the principal part of the state, and fires run through 

 them at intervals. There is usually a deep, mineral soil, and 

 fire does not get dovm to the rock as it often does on the moun- 

 tain tops. But it injures the soil. The vegetable matter, which 

 furnishes plant food, is burned out. The seedlings and sprouts 

 are killed. The mature trees may seem to escape unharmed, but 

 they seldom do. Insects and fungi enter through the injured 

 bark, and decay begins. A profuse crop of sprouts usually suc- 

 ceeds a fire among hardwoods, and the sprouts might become 

 trees if let alone ; but other fires follow. At length the mature 

 timber disappears — ^by natural decay or lumber operations — 

 and a jungle of worthless scrub brush is apt to be all that re- 

 mains. 



''Such is a familiar sight in many parts of West Yirginia. 

 It is due to repeated fires which not only kill the young growth 

 but burn out the soil's fertility." 



Forest Fire Statistics. 



"During the fall of 1908 more complete data regarding 

 forest fires in the state were compiled than ever before. It was 

 done by the United States Forest Service as a part of the gen- 

 eral work along that line all over the country. Though more 

 complete than any similar statistics for West Virginia, there 

 is reason to believe that in many particulars all the facts were 

 not ascertained. 



''The first serious fire occurred August 28, and from that 

 time there was no cessation for three months. Every county in 

 the state was visited by fire, but in some instances only a few 

 acres were burned. The total number of fires reported was 

 710 ; the number of- men called out to fight was 5821 ; the cost 

 to the county treasuries, so far as reported, was $646 ; the ex- 

 pense incurred in fighting fire by individuals and companies 

 was $89,100; the area burned was 1,703,850 acres; the stand- 

 ing timber burned was 943,515,000 feet, board measure, worth 

 $2,903,500. The lumber, tan-bark, and improvements burned 

 were valued at $490.175 ; the injury to undergrowth and soil 

 was placed at $1,703,850, and the loss from forest fires in the 



