Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1910 Excerpt: ... a heavy growth of brush is a common occurrence after fires in many of our eastern forests, as, for example, in Pennsylvania. Forest fires modify the composition of stands. The opening up of a forest may so change the conditions of germination that some species can not develop even when seed is abundantly supplied. This is in some cases due to the drying of the soil. A species which requires protection against drought in early youth might be excluded from openings made by fire. In the same way the reproduction of a species sensitive to frost in early youth is often confined to areas protected by old trees. Where the fire makes a large clearing, the succeeding forest usually differs in composition from the burned stand, except where there are only one or two species native to the region. The first species to spring up on the burn are those whose seed is readily and abundantly distributed to a distance from the seed trees. Thus, in the north woods of the East, birch and aspen are among the first species, because their seed is very light and is blown by the winds to great distances. Bird cherry comes up in abundance, because its seed is spread widely by the birds, and probably much of it is already in the ground before the fire. The trees with heavier seed creep in gradually after a few years. Fires may kill certain nonresistant species, and thus stop their supply of seed. The tendency of repeated fires is to reduce the number of species in a stand. THE PREVENTION OF FIRES. In some sections of the country forest fires have always been of such common occurrence that there is a popular notion that they can not be prevented. The risk from fires can never be entirely eliminated, for in the forest there is always inflammable material which is very easily ignited. Th...
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