The daily sentinel., 1909-06-22
EXPERIMENTS IN THE
DISPOSAL OF BRUSH

DISPOSAL OF BRUSH
Is yellow pine reproduction better
where the brush is cut up and scat
tered over the ground, or where it is
piled and burned? This is a question
z-hich the forest service hopes Il
answer through interesting expert
saeuts which have Just been started
on the Fremont national forest in
Oregon
Whenever the government sells
timber from the national forests an
essential provision of the contract is
kIat the brush must be disposed of
Ia the yellow pine region ii is usu-
ally piled and burned. In the Doug
tas fir region the whole cut-over area
is burned broadcast under careful
guards and after fire lines have been
constructed about the area.
The primary object of the dispos-
ing of the brush on cut-over areas by
burning is to get rid OF fire trap
but in some types of forest, particu-
Iarly in the Douglas fir forests. ii
serves another very beneficial pur-
pose-that is. il promotes the natural
seeding up of the area and the start
ing of another crop of Douglas fir.
In the yellow pine forests, however,
such as are found over in eastern
Oregon and Washington and in the
suuth west. the effect of burning the
brush may be detrimental rather than
helpful to the young growth. In
these semi-arid regions the soil dries
out very rapidly and natural repro
suctfon of yellow pine is in some To-
eaIitfes very poor on this account.
A soil covering or mulch of brush is
quite effective in protecting the soil
from the intense sunshine and helps
10 conserve the soil moisture. 1t may
be wiser, therefore. to leave the brush
unbErned in these dry stands of yel-
low pine.
II is to settle this question in this
latter type of forest that the present
experiments have been begun. On
an area from which about half of the
gnerchantable timber is now being
tUt by the Oregon Valley Land Com
9any two representative plots of
about acres each were selected
Zach was divided into two parts in
such a way that the conditions on
ono half were just about the same
as the conditions on the other half
On one the brush will be piled and
Burned, on the other it will be cut
Ep and scattered over the ground.
Here. with the two methods being
tAtHu Slht ny Sluts Is SOOu OppOT-
iunity TO prove their relative merits.
This fall there will be abundant yell
low pine seed. so that by next sum
uIer the results of the experiment
should begin to show These plots
viii be examined by officers of the
forest service from time to time If
there are more seedlings at the end
Of two or three years on the half on
which the brush is scattered than on
the half on which the brush is burned
81 Will indicate that. in order to Sc
cure the best growth of young seed
ings, it is better not to burn the
brush. If the experiment does turn
out this way, il is probable that in
this yellow pine region, where the
soil is liable to dry out and natural
reproduction is poor, the brush will
he scattered over the ground in log
Eing operations on the national for
ests hereafter Wherever the danger
from fire is great. however. the brush
will have to be piled and burned
even though this method may be less
favorable to reproduction The es-
sential consideration is to prevent the
brush on cut-over lands from being
IRE menace In most types of forest
siashiugs are a menace for years af-
ter logging unless the brush is dis
posed of. The burning of brush on
eut-over land is becoming a common
practice. not only by the forest SER
Tice, but by lumbermen on their own
lands. In fact, in some of the eastern
states the burning of brush after log
sSng is made compulsory by law.