12 BULLETIN 496, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
possible influence of these other factors. It is obviously impossible 
to arrive at any legitimate conclusion concerning the best method 
of brush disposal by limiting the discussion to the pathological side 
of the question as seen in the rotting of the brush itself. The fire 
hazard, as it seems to exist in Arkansas, is therefore briefly discussed 
in connection with brush disposal from the pathological viewpoint. 
In the Arkansas National Forest about 3 to 5 white-oak trees are 
felled to the acre, and about 5 to 10 pine trees to the acre. In' the 
Ozark National Forest the proportion of white-oak trees felled is 
somewhat greater, running probably from 5 to 10 trees to the acre, 
while there is but very little pine cut on this forest. This means 
that on any area in either of these two National Forests where timber 
is being cut, especially white oak, a much greater percentage of 
standing trees of all sizes, including those below the merchantable 
diameter limit, is left than is cut. This standing timber will add its 
annual quota of fallen leaves to the ground cover, irrespective of 
what method of brush disposal is followed. The amount of litter in 
the shape of slash, on account of the small number of trees cut per 
acre, in many cases will not make fires more likely to start or prevent 
their control, since there will always be a sufficient quantity of leaf 
litter and underbrush present to make a good ground fire, even if 
there be no slash on the ground. If the deciduous trees are cut with 
the leaves on them the amount of leaf litter will not be increased, 
since these leaves would fall to the ground in the autumn even if the 
trees were not cut; in fact, there would really be less leaf litter on 
the ground, because the leaves persist on the felled tree tops and 
branches from one to three years. 
There is also this fact to be borne in mind, that oak trees cut from 
November to March, inclusive, are leafless or practically so, and the 
brush from them will not materially increase the fire hazard unless 
it is piled. 
In 1912 and 1913 the writer visited areas in the Ozark National 
Forest which were then being logged. In the studies made in 1915, 
only two to three years later, many of these areas had been burned 
over. It can probably be said truthfully that the greater portion of 
the Ozark National Forest, except about 100,000 acres in the middle 
of the central division, will be burned over at least once within a 
period of five years, and often within a much shorter interval. It 
seems, therefore, that whatever system of brush disposal is followed 
in this forest should take into consideration the certainty of fire as 
well as the rotting of the brush. 
In the Arkansas National Forest many areas are not burned over 
more than once in every 20 years. Under such conditions the rot- 
ting of the brush is the main factor to be considered. 
