36 -BULLETIN 1494, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
for each area so as to give greatest protection for the amount of. 
money expended. 
In general, partial piling and burning should be guided by two 
purposes: (1) Reduction of the probability of fire starting through 
human agency on those parts of the area most likely to be traveled; 
(2) the establishment of lines which would assist in controlling a 
fire which might get started. 
The first purpose would be accomplished by piling and burning a 
strip 100 feet wide on each side of traveled roads, trails, railroads, 
and main chutes. The second purpose would call for additional 
strips piled and burned to cut the area into sections. These strips 
should follow chutes and skid roads when possible. In general, 
about 20 per cent of the slash should be piled and burned. On this 
basis the cost would be reduced to about 15 to 20 cents per thou- 
sand on the entire cut. At the same time, cut-over areas left in such 
condition will not return to normal infilammability in less than 10 to 
15 years and should receive especially intensive patrol during that 
period. The cost of this patrol will vary from 3 to 5 cents an acre 
per year, depending mainly upon the size of the tract. 
METHODS OF CUTTING 
The larch-fir type is one of the easiest of forest types to handle 
by simple, inexpensive methods. Most lumber companies are cutting 
down to a 14-inch diameter (breast-high), and this nearly always 
leaves a sufficient number of suitable trees to reseed the area. Fre- 
quently there is already a good stand of seedlings on the ground or 
sometimes a sufficient number of 8 to 14 inch trees to form the basis 
of a second cut. As a result of these conditions proper slash dis- 
posal and subsequent protection from fire are all that is required to 
leave most cut-over lands in a reasonably productive condition. 
There are, however, additional measures which will improve the 
other and varying conditions left after ordinary logging and will 
result in an increased future yield. 
CUTTING TO OBTAIN FULL FOREST CROPS 
Approximately 80 to 90 per cent of the merchantable stands in the 
larch-fir type are uneven aged. The range of conditions which may 
occur in uneven-aged stands is so wide that only very general direc- 
tions for marking trees to be cut can be given, and a high degree of 
julgmeat must be used by the marker to adapt his marking to the 
stand. 
In general the object in uneven-aged stands will be to remove by 
a selection cutting the larger, mature trees and leave the younger 
growth as the basis of the next cut. The simplest stand to handle 
is veteran larch with reproduction 20 or 30 years old as an under- 
story. In such stands, if the reproduction is complete, all the mature 
trees should be cut. If there are breaks in the reproduction, seed trees 
should be left. 
Various more complex combinations of age classes may be encoun- 
tered. Under such circumstances the larger trees should be cut to 
a diameter of 14 to 20 inches, leaving seed trees wherever the stand 
of younger trees or reproduction does not fully occupy the ground. 
