The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1910-10-30
very irregular

very irregular.
! 1t was really Union Of a rlpunbef Of
separate fires, driven to fury by til.
fierce hurricane of August 26. To the
west OF the Idaho Montana boundary in
the region of this fire lies a very mac
cessible mountainous country, into
which, on account of the absence OF
trails and of forage, it was almost inn
possible for forces of fire fighters to
penetrate When the hurricane arose
! it drove the fires upon the parties which
: were heWing a way towards them. and
forced these parties to seek refuge wher-
ever it. could be found, and swept down
upon the forests where the fires were I'D
to that time generally well in hand. The
extensive losses are ascribed to the
combination OF hurricane and lack OF
means to get to the fires and pitt them
out before the storm came. On the for
ests which were equipped for controll-
ing fires the results achieved are re.
garded as a demonstration of the eff
fcaey of the fre-fghting methods en-
ployed, even under highly adverse nat
ura1 conditions.
Forester Graves believes that. as us
ually happens IN the case of big fires.
there will be found to be considerable
areas of living timber within tie regions
1
now mapped as entirely burned over. OF
necessity, the figures given are tenta-
tive, for it has been impossible to ex-
anime all the burned areas thoroughly
As fast as possible, however, the forest
officers are locating ard estimating the
bodies of timber killed but capable of
being numbered, il taken in time. There
will be an enormous quantity of fire
killed timber, both on the national for
ests and on private lands, to be disposed
of as soon as possible, since if not mar
keted quickly Ii will not be worth cut
ting at all
The Department of Agriculture will
push vigorously TO dispose of this fire.
killed timber. As with ali other national
forest timber, it will be sold on the
stump, to nillnen who will lumber the
land, paying a set price per thousand
board feet fer the timber, and conform
ing to whatever regulations are stipu-
lated in the interest of the forest. Pend
ing the disposal of this fre-k1led tim
her, future sales of green timber from
the national forests which were badly
burned last summer viii probably be
greatly restricted. if not entirely sus-l
pended.
Since the amount to be disposed of isl
doubtless greater than can be marketed
in any event, and since if is better for
the country that the timber should be-
utilized than that it should go to waste
in the woods, the. price at which it will
be sold will be lower than would be
asked for the timber under ordinary
circumstances. Generally speaking, Sec-
rotary Wilson does not regard it as al
wise policy to sell off the national for
est timber except when it is in reason
ably good demand, for the country isl
sure to need the supply badly later on.
But with the 6re-kil1ed timber ii is a
case of now or never Consequently
there is an unusual opening for lumber
men who are ready to buy national for
est stumpage at bargain prices.
How much of the six billion feet that
was either killed or burned up in Mon
tana and northern Idaho can eventually
be salvaged it is of course impossible
to predict If it were all total loss,
and if its stumpage value were put at
the average price at which national for
est timber was sold last year, it would
be the equivalent of money loss of
about fifteen million dollars.
It is believed that last summers fires
either burned up or killed between one
and two per cent of the total stand of
national forest timber. At the present
rate of cutting from the national for
ests, six billion feet is equal to twelve |
years supply; but it is less than one
sixth Of single years cut in the entire
country, or enough to keep all our 1un-
Der mills busy for something under two
months
aA1n po0zrn 417A N4-,4-r,,,