Evening star., 1948-04-06

fresh green grass springs up to put extra
weight on the animals in spring and summer.
A good proportion Of the fires the traveller sees
are Of this origin.
To cattleman. with his home and family
to support, his reasons for woods burning seem
sound enough. What's more. except for the
conservation minded, most of the cattlemens
fellow citizens go along with him, at least to
the extent Of making nc protest.
However the cattlemen are not the only
ones who set fires, as they see it, for economic
reasons. Hunters in need Of meat for their
families burn the woodlands to improve the
growth Of game food or to drive game into the
open for easy kill. Many lad has built q
fire to drive 'possum or a squirrel from tree
and, not being indoctrinated with the need for
fire prevention, has let the blaze "get away"
Children waiting for the school bus on cold
morning or workers in the fields often stapt
warming fires; neglected, these frequently
flare up to fire the woods in the heat Of noon.
Even travellers, sensing the general casual
ness toward the fire menace are often likely to
be more careless with the cigarette butts
and matches than they would be back home.
Need for Change in Public Thought.
Basically, the reason for the March-April
rash of Dixie forest fires STEMS then, from
an economic need. The problem of State and
Federal foresters, interested private organ
izations apd the progressive owners of forest
land is, as Dixie forester said the other day.
'to remold the thinking and forest practices
Of the population in the interest of better
economic conditions and better standard of
living"
Much has been done in this direction. Aided
materially by Federal funds made available
on matching basis to the States under the
Clarke-McNary Act of 1924, these States have
gradually built up effective protection organ
izations covering about half their combined
forest area. The extent Of Federal aid Is
shown by the fact that this year the eight
States along the Atlantic and the Gulf are
receiving 2,021,479 in Clarke -McNary money
Where fire protection is available, timber losses
are now held to about IL acres per 100
annually, as compared with 20 acres per 100
where there is no protection organization.
Woodlands under organized protection are
safe bet nowadays to grow timber, while un-
protected areas still are poor risk.
This fact has registered foresters believe
with most timberland owners. Returns from
second-growth forest lands. planted and natu-
raj, and under proper protection, already have
proved that timber growing in the South is q
profitable venture. The timber growing opera
tions Of pulp and paper outfits, which have
increased in number rapidly in the last few
years, also are proving q powerful demonstra-
ton Of the value of this activity, for which
fire protection is, Of course. prime essential.
The fight Of the State and Federal foresters
and cooperating agencies for adequate fire
protection and prevention in the Deep South
admittedly is far from won, even though de-
mands for protection on the part of timber
land owners is rising, enforcement of laws
against incendiarism is becoming more strict,
and public acceptance Of the need for this is
growing. But in any event, since here is poten-
tally our greatest source Of additional supplies
of pulp timber, outside Alaska, the Souths war
on wild fire. would seem to merit all possible
aid and encouragement from the rest of the
country e-s4&a~ @8 .