UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF LODGEPOLE PINE. 33 
the rows from the seeds from cones remaining on the ground. The 
same thing is true of brush left in conical piles. To secure repro- 
duction, however, it is not necessary to leave brush piles on the 
ground; also, such a course is seldom, if ever, necessary in order to 
prevent erosion. From the standpoint of fire protection it is desirable 
to burn the brush in practically every case. 
Burning brush scattered broadcast exposes the mineral soil. With 
full sunlight and the opening of sealed cones on the ground, a fairly 
dense stand of reproduction will be obtained in such cases, although 
not nearly so dense as that which comes up after a ground fire has 
killed standing timber, since in the latter case a greater amount of 
seed is preserved from destruction in the crowns of the trees. Burning 
an entire area on which the brush has been piled in windrows will 
result in a moderately dense reproduction between the rows, but no 
reproduction in the spaces occupied by them. When conical piles 
are burned the spaces occupied do not immediately come up to young 
growth. 
The foregoing is true of clean-cut areas. Where a part of the 
stand is left the chances of reproduction are still better. Piling the 
brush in conical piles and burning it does the least damage to the 
remaining green trees and reproduction. Moreover, the least amount 
of mineral soil is exposed, thus avoiding possible over-dense repro- 
duction following seeding from above. 
Any considerable amount of brush remaining on a cut-over area 
greatly increases the fire danger in the remaining stand and for any 
reproduction which may start. Owing to the very slow decay of 
brush in the lodgepole-pine region the fire menace continues for a 
long time if the brush is left unburned. Timber operators familiar 
with conditions in the lodgepole-pine region say that it costs no 
more to pile brush for burning under Forest Service regulations than 
to follow the old method of piling it in windrows, provided the work 
is well done at the outset. When the brush is not piled properly in 
the first place it becomes necessary to repile it, which naturally 
increases the cost. Recently timber operators on the Deerlodge 
National Forest have been required to burn the brush as the cutting 
proceeds, whenever weather conditions make it safe to do so. This 
period of safety covers from seven to nine months in the year. Brush 
from stull trees is disposed of as fast as the cutting proceeds in any 
depth of snow encountered in the region, which at times may amount 
to 6 or 7 feet. In the spring when the snow melts the ground is 
found to be practically clean. When lagging poles are being cut in 
snow, however, it is not practicable to burn the tops after the snow 
accumulates to a depth of about 3 feet, since it is then impossible to 
carry the tops to the central fire. Even when the snow is less than 3 
feet deep it is not advisable to burn where less than 100 poles are being 
obtained in one place, since there is not enough brush to start a good 
89546°— Bull. 234—15 3 
