. Bulletin. Forests and forestry -- United States. 84 A PRIMER OF FORESTRY. when only tlie top of a thick layer of duff is dry enough to buru. The heat may not be great enough to kill any but the smallest and tenderest young trees, but that does not mean that such fires do no harm. The future of the forest depends on just such young growth, and whenever the forest floor, which is so necessary both to the trees and for the water sux:>ply, is injured or destroyed by fire, the for- est suffers liarm. SURFACE FIRES. Surface fires may be checked if they are feeble l)y beating them out with green
. Bulletin. Forests and forestry -- United States. 84 A PRIMER OF FORESTRY. when only tlie top of a thick layer of duff is dry enough to buru. The heat may not be great enough to kill any but the smallest and tenderest young trees, but that does not mean that such fires do no harm. The future of the forest depends on just such young growth, and whenever the forest floor, which is so necessary both to the trees and for the water sux:>ply, is injured or destroyed by fire, the for- est suffers liarm. SURFACE FIRES. Surface fires may be checked if they are feeble l)y beating them out with green branches, or by rak- ing the leaves away from a narrow strip across their course. The best tool for this i^urpose is a four-tined pitchfork, or a common stable fork. In sandy regions a thin and narrow belt of sand is easily and quickly si^rinkled over the ground with a shovel, and will check the spread of a weak fire, or even of a comparatively hot one if there is no wind. I)irt or sand thrown on a burning fire is one of the best of all means for initting it out. (See fig. 70.) In dense forests with a heavy forest floor, fires are often hot enough not only to kill the standing timber, but to consume the trunks and branches altogether, and even to follow the roots far down into the ground. In forests of this kind fire spreads easily, creeping along on the surface or through the duff or under the bark. Fig. 79.—A surface fire burning slowly against the wind. Southern New Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original United States. Division of Forestry. Washington : G. P. O.
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