Part 20 (1/2)
When the fire runs along the surface only, the injury extends to the b.u.t.ts of the trees and to the young seedlings. Such fires can be put out by throwing dirt or sand over the fire, by beating it, and, sometimes, by merely raking the leaves away.
Ground fires destroy the vegetable mold which the trees need for their sustenance. They progress slowly and kill or weaken the roots of the trees.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 133.--A Top Fire near Bear Canyon, Arizona.]
Top fires, Fig. 133, are the most dangerous, destroying everything in their way. They generally develop from surface fires, though sometimes they are started by lightning. They are more common in coniferous forests, because the leaves of hardwoods do not burn so readily. Checking the progress of a top fire is a difficult matter.
Some fires will travel as rapidly as five miles an hour, and the heat is terrific. The only salvation for the forest lies, in many cases, in a sudden downpour of rain, a change of wind, or some barrier which the fire cannot pa.s.s. A barrier of this kind is often made by starting another fire some distance ahead of the princ.i.p.al one, so that when the two fires meet, they will die out for want of fuel. In well-kept forests, strips or lanes, free from inflammable material, are often purposely made through the forest area to furnish protection against top fires. Carefully managed forests are also patrolled during the dry season so that fires may be detected and attacked in their first stages. Look-out stations, watch-towers, telephone-connections and signal stations are other means frequently resorted to for fire protection and control. Notices warning campers and trespa.s.sers against starting fires are commonly posted in such forests. (Fig. 143.)
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 134.--Sheep Grazing on Holy Cross National Forest, Colorado. The drove consists of 1600 sheep, of which only part are shown in the photograph.]
The grazing of sheep, goats and cattle in the forest is another important source of injury to which foresters must give attention.
In the West this is quite a problem, for, when many thousands of these animals pa.s.s through a forest (Fig. 134), there is often very little young growth left and the future reproduction of the forest is severely r.e.t.a.r.ded. Grazing on our National Forests is regulated by the Government.
As a means of protection against insects and fungi, all trees infested are removed as soon as observed and in advance of all others, whenever a lumbering operation is undertaken.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 135.--A Typical Montana Sawmill.]
How forests are harvested: Forestry and forest preservation require that a forest should be cut and not merely held untouched. But it also demands that the cutting shall be done on scientific principles, and that only as much timber shall be removed in a given time as the forest can produce in a corresponding period. After the cutting, the forest must be left in a condition to produce another crop of timber within a reasonable time: see Fig. 122. These fundamental requirements represent the difference between conservative lumbering and ordinary lumbering. Besides insuring a future supply of timber, conservative lumbering, or lumbering on forestry principles, also tends to preserve the forest floor and the young trees growing on it, and to prevent injury to the remaining trees through fire, insects and disease. It provides for a working plan by which the kind, number and location of the trees to be cut are specified, the height of the stumps is stipulated and the utilization of the wood and by-products is regulated.
Conservative lumbering provides that the trees shall be cut as near to the ground as possible and that they shall be felled with the least damage to the young trees growing near by. The branches of the trees, after they have been felled, must be cut and piled in heaps, as shown in Fig. 122, to prevent fire. When the trunks, sawed into logs, are dragged through the woods, care is taken not to break down the young trees or to injure the bark of standing trees. Waste in the process of manufacture is provided against, uses are found for the material ordinarily rejected, and the best methods of handling and drying lumber are employed. Fig. 135 shows a typical sawmill capable of providing lumber in large quant.i.ties.
In the utilization of the by-products of the forest, such as turpentine and resin, Forestry has devised numerous methods for harvesting the crops with greater economy and with least waste and injury to the trees from which the by-products are obtained. Fig.
136 ill.u.s.trates an improved method by which crude turpentine is obtained.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 136.--Gathering Crude Turpentine by the Cup and Gutter Method. This system, devised by foresters, saves the trees and increases the output.]
Forestry here and abroad: Forestry is practiced in every civilized country except China and Turkey. In Germany, Forestry has attained, through a long series of years, a remarkable state of scientific thoroughness and has greatly increased the annual output of the forests of that country.
In France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Russia and Denmark, Forestry is also practiced on scientific principles and the government in each of these countries holds large tracts of forests in reserve. In British India one finds a highly efficient Forest Service and in j.a.pan Forestry is receiving considerable attention.
In the United States, the forest areas are controlled by private interests, by the Government and by the States. On privately owned forests, Forestry is practiced only in isolated cases. The States are taking hold of the problem very actively and in many of them we now find special Forestry Commissions authorized to care for vast areas of forest land reserved for State control. These Commissions employ technically trained foresters who not only protect the State forests, but also plant new areas, encourage forest planting on private lands and disseminate forestry information among the citizens. New York State has such a Commission that cares for more than a million acres of forest land located in the northern part of the State. Many other States are equally progressive.
The United States Government is the most active factor in the preservation of our forests. The Government to-day owns over two hundred million acres of forest land, set aside as National Forests.
There are one hundred and fifty individual reserves, distributed as shown in Fig. 137 and cared for by the Forest Service, a bureau in the Department of Agriculture. Each of the forests is in charge of a supervisor. He has with him a professional forester and a body of men who patrol the tract against fire and the illegal cutting of timber. Some of the men are engaged in planting trees on the open areas and others in studying the important forest problems of the region. Fig. 138.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 137.--Map Showing Our National Forests.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 138.--Government Foresters in Missouri Studying the Growth and Habits of Trees. They are standing in water three feet deep.]
Where cutting is to be done on a National Forest, the conditions are investigated by a technically trained forester and the cutting is regulated according to his findings. Special attention is given to discovering new uses for species of trees which have hitherto been considered valueless, and the demand upon certain rare species is lessened by introducing more common woods which are suitable for use in their place.
Aside from the perpetuation of the national forests, the U.S.
Forest Service also undertakes such tree studies as lie beyond the power or means of private individuals. It thus stands ready to cooperate with all who need a.s.sistance.
STUDY II. CARE OF THE WOODLAND
Almost every farm, large private estate or park has a wooded area for the purpose of supplying fuel or for enhancing the landscape effect of the place. In most instances these wooded areas are entirely neglected or are so improperly cared for as to cause injury rather than good. In but very few cases is provision made for a future growth of trees after the present stock has gone. Proper attention will increase and perpetuate a crop of good trees just as it will any other crop on the farm, while the attractiveness of the place may be greatly enhanced through the intelligent planting and care of trees.