. Bulletin. Forests and forestry -- United States. 84 A PRIMER OF FORESTRY. when only the top of a thick layer of duft' is dry euougli to burn. The heat may not be great enough to kill any but the smallest and teuderest 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 sui)p]y, is injured or destroyed by fire, the for- est sufi'ers harm. SURFACE Fig. 79.—A surface fire burning slowly against the wind. Southern New Jersey. Sur
. Bulletin. Forests and forestry -- United States. 84 A PRIMER OF FORESTRY. when only the top of a thick layer of duft' is dry euougli to burn. The heat may not be great enough to kill any but the smallest and teuderest 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 sui)p]y, is injured or destroyed by fire, the for- est sufi'ers harm. SURFACE Fig. 79.—A surface fire burning slowly against the wind. Southern New Jersey. Surface fires may be checked if they are feeble by beating them out with green branches, or by rak- ing the leaves away from a narrow strip across their coarse. 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 sprinkled 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. Dirt or sand thrown on a burning fire is one of the best of all means for putting it out. (See fig. 79.) 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 duft' or under the bark. 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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