TIMBEK GROWING AND LOGGING PEACTICE IN CALIFOENIA 17 
Clearly, if most of the slash is left, and will lie for about 10 A^ears 
before hazard is reduced to normal, some special protection must be 
provided during that period. Special patrol of danger areas, in ad- 
dition to the general fire protection measures, is of demonstrated 
value in protecting cut-over land. 
OTHER METHODS OF SLASH DISPOSAL 
Foresters generally are agreed that no method of slash disposal 
now followed is necessarily the final word; and a wide variety of 
methods have been proposed for getting rid of the slash with the 
minimum damage to reproduction and seed trees and at a low cost 
per thousand feet of logs. 
Lowdermilk, in the white pine region of Idaho, has made prelim- 
inary investigations to determine the feasibility of other methods 
than piling and burning (9), and work of a similar nature has been 
done elsewhere. Under certain conditions such methods as swamper 
burning and spot firing of slash as it lies have proved successful and 
cheap. Spot firing on at least one area in Montana in a yellow pine- 
larch-Douglas fir type gave fine results ; but where it has been tried 
in the yellow pine type in California, the result was destructive of 
advance reproduction, for the slash was thrown in with the repro- 
duction in swamping and in clearing wheel roads. None of the 
A^arious methods for current disposal of slash seem to have proved its 
general applicability, though there are undoubtedly great possibili- 
ties in that direction. 
Several methods designed to hasten natural breaking down of 
slash have been tried, especially in the Southwest (ii). Lopping 
and scattering, pulling tops away from seed trees, and lopping with- 
out scattering have produced results that may be valuable under cer- 
tain conditions. The hazard on cut-over lands existing immediately 
after logging is not reduced materially by any of these methods, 
however, and at most they hasten the decay of slash by only a few 
years. 
One large company in California has recently tried lopping and 
scattering slash. Previously the company had piled and burned 
slash on its own lands at an average cost of 36.6 cents a thousand 
board feet of lumber cut, but was not satisfied with the results be- 
cause of the difficulties in burning piled slash without serious dam- 
age to advance reproduction. The cost of lopping and scattering 
was 3.9 cents a thousand, or, plus charges for clearing around 
camps and donl?:eys and for supervision and patrol, 7.6 cents a thou- 
sand. The suppression costs were $317 for the season. The com- 
pany is well satisfied with the method so far, both from the financial 
and forest conservation points of view. 
Disposal of slash is an integral part of the problem of fire pro- 
tection of cut-over lands. Until experimental work shall have gone 
further than it has now, it seems fair to conclude that if complete 
disposal of slash is considered essential, piling and burning is the 
method that should be depended on since it accomplishes the maxi- 
mum in reducing hazard. But because, as is shown in the detailed 
description of this method in the later part of the bulletin, special 
protection is needed even after piling and burning, and because of 
the cost of the practice, a less expensive means of slash disposal is 
74722°— 26 3 
