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Show of forest land swept by fire is about twice as great as the area cut : over by logging operations. j Four-fifths of the fires each year are man made. They might be j prevented by the exercise of ordinary care. Most of rhem start from i hot coals left by campers or picnickers or from lighted cigarette butts, and some of them through carelessness of settlers in burning up stump piles and brush heaps. The burned-over acreage is largely cut-over lands, which reduces the momentary loss but the potential destruction is nevertheless terrific, ter-rific, for the fires on the cut-over acreage destroy the seeds and young growth that wuld reforest the land. The forestry service says the first important step in reforestration is to start the growth on the cut-over land, and on much of this land "effective protection against fire will be all that is necessary for this purpose." 5Z CAREFUL THIS SUMMER Careless campers who leave their fires burning in the woods or toss lighted cigar and cigarette stubs into the brush, burned last season sea-son more timberland than was cut by all the sawmills in the country all year. The United States is the largest consumer of lumber in the world. It uses half the lumber, more than half the paper, and about three-fifths three-fifths of all the wood consumed in the world. Reforestation has been recognized for years as one of the great necessities. Something is being accomplished in this direction. But forest fires at present wipe out much more timber every year than is being regrown. Records kept by the forest service show that every year the area |