NATURAL REGENERATION OF DOUGLAS FIR. 49 
If the slash is burned broadcast immediately after logging and - 
thereafter good fire protection is provided, land in the Douglas-fir 
region is generally restocked soon after cutting. Some of the cut- 
over areas have been utilized for agriculture or pasture. About 40 
per cent of the remainder, however, is now restocked with good young 
stands of Douglas fir, although restocking was unintentional. The 
more or less dense stands that follow after this method of cutting are 
desirable because they produce the best form of trees both in the 
young stands and in the older forests. 
Provided the fire risk were not too great to make it safe to leave 
slash unburned, this method would result in a preponderance of west- 
ern red cedar and western hemlock in the young stands where these 
species make up an appreciable proportion of the forest before cut- 
ting. : 
Nature has provided means for the perpetuation of the Douglas-fir 
forest, and it is fortunate that the methods of logging employed need 
not be materially changed to permit natural restocking. System is 
essential, however, in methods of cutting and slash disposal. Burn- 
ing slash at the time when the area will be left in the best condition 
for natural restocking is the best safeguard. If the slash is disposed 
of immediately after logging, a fire risk that endangers the, logging 
camps and equipment is removed, and spring or late fall burning 
gives the greatest insurance against the spread of the fire to areas 
that are not ready to be fired or to which damage would be done. 
Spring fires are not dangerous to surrounding timber or clean young 
stands, but they must be kept away from open areas of older burns 
and from areas of young growth that contain inflammable débris. 
' The danger that a spring fire will last into the summer and be a 
constant source of risk can be avoided by the judicious burning of 
the slash and by the care of the fire after the main burn. The area 
should be patroled and all fire completely extinguished. 
THE FOREST GROWN UNDER MANAGEMENT. 
After the virgin mature stand has been replaced by second growth 
the cutting cycle may be between 80 and 120 years, a period that will 
produce entirely different silvicultural conditions. In some of the 
young stands, even those 50 to 60 years old, logging is now being 
carried on in a few localities. Many of these young stands of 
Douglas fir are almost pure. The tops and the lateral branches are 
small and are usually broken during logging. With clear cutting 
in this type of forest it is feasible to pile the brush and burn it when 
the fire will not spread over‘the surface of the ground between the 
piles. If the brush is burned in piles and the remainder of the area 
is left unburned, the seed already in the forest floor will be saved, 
and young growth will be insured without seed trees. The method 
to be employed for securing reproduction after cutting, therefore, 
divides the Douglas-fir forest into two distinct classes—one, the 
overmature or mature forest, in which there should be broadcast 
burning of slash, the other, the younger managed forest, in which 
the brush should be piled and burned. : 
