LONGLEAF PINE 
55 
old are likely to be completely wiped out. From about the second 
year up to the fifth year, or at heights up to about 1 foot, longleaf 
seedling's appear to be relatively very resistant to the effects of light 
fires. For longleaf pine the zone of greatest injury from fire is 
apparently from 1 to 5 feet above the ground, where the heat 
blanket is most intense. Trees of these heights are usually from 5 
to 10 years old. 
The familiar sight of stunted saplings standing alone or in small 
groups, huddled for protection on an upturned " clay root," or along 
the edge of a swamp on cold, wet ground, or in very dry places 
where scarcely anything else can grow, gives evidence of the cease- 
less pursuit of fires. The effect of protection upon the rate of 
growth, discussed under "Growth Under Fire Protection" (PL 
FIVE YEARS OF FOREST FIRES 
* ' ii'" .OYER $4,290,000 LOSS 
•T, 
MORE THAN l A OF THE STATES 20 MILLION ACRES OF FOREST LANDS OF ALL 
CLASSES WERE BURNED OVER, WITH A LOSS OF OVER 4^ MILLION DOLLARS. 
THE STATE DID NOTHING TO PREVENT THIS LOSS. 
$31,000 LOSS. 
LESS THAN \% OF THE 7'A MILLION ACRES OF FOREST LAND OF ALL CLASSES 
WERE BURNED OVER. THE STATE INVESTED /;> MILLION DOLLARS IN FOREST FIRE 
PROTECTION. 
FOREST FIRE PROTECTION PAYS 
Fig. 5. — Forest fire losses in Georgia and New York 
XVII ) , is very marked in contrast with the slow growth and accom- 
panying stunted development more commonly seen. 
The fire problem is great, but undoubtedly it can be solved by the 
organized cooperation of the private owner, the State, and the 
Federal Government, acting jointly in placing the responsibility and 
sharing the cost (fig. 5). The settling of the lands and the develop- 
ment of higher types of community organization will exert a helpful 
economic influence, while the increasing scarcity of old growth and 
the advancing prices of lumber and turpentine will tend to interest 
owners to bring their cut-over lands into productiveness. Small 
owners are already in a position to afford a good measure of pro- 
tection to the old fields, which constitute the source of their local 
supplies of timber, and to the cut-over lands, which afford grazing 
and help in keeping livestock over the winter. 
