The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1916-03-29

state and equipped with telephone
communication, which will be put in
charge of federal lookout watch
man.
AN effort is also being made to or
ganize the timberland owners in the
counties OF Boone, Fayette. Kama
wha and Raleigh for the purpose OF
extending state and government, aid.
The c0-opertIve system will lthen be
extended through the other southern
counties to the border of Kentucky.
Amount Saved by Forest Protection.
In 1908. when no organized EFFORT
for fire protection existed, the state
suffered loss Of approximately $3,-
900, 900 from n total of TO fires. AS
comparison, from records compiled
by the state for 1915, we find the
number of fires occurring in the state
as $50. with los sof only $184,221.
This is a reduction of about one-half
in the number OF fires for these two
years and saving of over 1900 per
cent in the totals of damage done.
Both were average years Of danger.
The causes OF the fires for 1916,
expressed in percentage. are npproxi
mately US follows: Seventeen per cent
were caused by railroads, the largest
individual destructive factor, with
which we must contend; six per cent
by numbering operations; twenty-One
per cent are directly due to careless
ness In brush burning, something en-
ttrely within human agencies to
avoid; four per cent were due to
campers. ten per cent were attributed
to incendiarism, five per cent being
due to miscellaneous casuses, light
ming causing one fire, and thirty
eight per cent of the fires we're re-
ported as cause unknown.
How Fires Effect Our Timber.
Briefly. timber Is damaged in three
ways: by producing fire scars through
which worms enter; by opening a pas
sage through the bark and sapwood
for rots to enter the heartwood; by
weakening trees with hollow butts
till either they burn down. die from
FIRE glrdling or are blown down by
strong winds. "A fire, even light, does
iniure timber and cause actual mon
ey losses. Noticeable effects are the
killing of young growth, the destruc-
ton of the layers of leaves and
mulch and the fire scars left on the
trees of all ages.
Lumhermen and others know well
the tremendous losses due to pin
worms, flag worms, soak and butt rot.
Practically all of these are due to
fire scars on the bases of trees. Even
though the fire occurred fifty to one
hundred years ago and all signs are
hidden by later growth. during the
period of healing over, from three
TO five years, depending upon the Sc
verify of the burn, fungi and worms
entered the tree and started their dc
struction. and in the case of rot are
still working to destroy the timber.
Little punches Of leaves and trash
at the base of trees. If dry and then
set afire, produce sufficient heat to
cook and kill the living bark and sap
wood for several square inches in the
butt. The injury, though slight. may
continue througout the life of the tree
and finally cause It's death. Spores or
seeds" OF the tiny fungus which
causes rot, fall on the exposed spots,
sprout during damp weather and
grow into the heart, causing rot, dote
or soak in the tree. The small fire
scar does, usually, heal over, and in
few years, no exterior evidence Of
the injury is seen, but the rot con-
tinues to grow from the heart to the
sapwood and upwards into the tree.
Old fire scars are the admission
points for many wood boring insects.
Fire also burns through the sound
bark and sapwood into the hollow
butts. Once the interior is exposed,
deterioration follows rapidly. Trees
with tpen hollow butts are much more