Forest Protection m 5. Se Canada, 1912 i Clyde Leavitt | Commission of Conservation Canada Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from University of Toronto http://www.archive.org/details/forestprotectio00Ocana es ad rat 7 a ¥ — ’ a * P i ’ . i * . 5 y 1! Commission of Conservation Constituted under “The Conservation Act,” 8-9 Edward VIT., Chap. 27, 1909 ; and amending Acts ; 9-10 Edward VIT., Chap. 42, 1910 ; and 3-4 George V., Chap. 12, 1913. Chairman : Hon. CLIFFORD SIFTON Members : Hon. A. E. ARSENAULT, Summerside, P.E.I. Dr. Howarp Murray, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. Mr. Frank Davison, Bridgewater, N.S Dr. Geen. < Jones, Chancellor, University of New Brunswick, Frederic- ton, N.B. Mr. WILirAM B. SNOWBALL, Chatham, N.B. Hon. Henri S. BELAND, M.D., M.P., St. Joseph-de-Beauce, Que. MONSEIGNEUR CHARLES P. CHOQUETTE, St. Hyacinthe, Que., Superior Seminary of St. Hyacinthe and Member of Faculty, Laval University. Mr. Epwarp Gouierr, St. Laurent, Que. Dr. James W. Rosertson, C.M.G., Chairman, Royal Commission on Industrial Training and Technical Education, Ottawa, Ont. Str SANDFORD FLEMING, K.C.M.G., Ottawa, Ont., Chancellor, Queen’s University Hon. SENATOR WILLIAM CAMERON EpWarDs, Ottawa, Ont. Str Epmunp B. Oster, M.P., Governor, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. Mr. Cuarctes A. McCoo, Ottawa, Ont. Mr. J. F. Mackay, Business Manager, ‘‘The Globe,’’ Toronto, Ont. Dr. B. E. FErNow, Dean, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. Dr. GEORGE Bryce, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man. Dr. W. J. RUTHERFORD, Member of Faculty, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask. Dr. H. M. Tory, President, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta. Mr. JoHN HEnprRY, Vancouver, B.C. Members, ex-officio : Hon. Martin BurRELL, Minister of Agriculture, Ottawa. Hon. W. J. Roce, Minister of the Interior, Ottawa. Hon. Louis CopDERRE, Minister of Mines, Ottawa. Hon. Joun A. Maruieson, K.C., President, Premier and Attorney-General, Prince Edward Island. Hon. OrLanpo T. DaniEts, Attorney-General, Nova Scotia Hon. JAMES K. FLEMMING, Premier and Surveyor-General, New Brunswick Hon. JuLEs ALLARD, Minister of Lands and Forests, Que. Hon. Witt1Am Hearst, Minister of Lands, Forests and Mines, Ontario Hon. James H. Howpen, Provincial Secretary, Manitoba Hon. James A. CALDER, Minister of Education, Provincial Treasurer and Minister of Railways, Saskatchewan Hon. Artuur L. Sirton, Premier, Minister of Education, and Provincial Treasurer, Alberta Hon. WittraM R. Ross, Minister of Lands, British Columbia Assistant to Chairman and Deputy Head : Mr. JAMES WHITE Commission of Conservation CANADA COMMITTEE ON FORESTS 4 FOREST PROTECTION IN CANADA, 1912 CLYDE, LEAVITT, M.Sck. Chief Forester, Commission of Conservation and Chief Fire Inspector, Board of Railway Commissioners z © THE BRYANT PRESS TORONTO 1913 Committee on Forests Chairman : SENATOR W. C. EDWARDS Members: Mr. FRANK Davison Dr. B. E. FERNow Mr. JouHn HENDRY Hon. Rost. ROGERS Mr. W. B. SNOWBALL and the Ex-officio Members of the Commission who represent the var- ious provinces. Orrawa, CaNnaDA, June 6, 1913 SIR : I beg to submit the attached report of Clyde Leavitt, the Chief Forester of the Commission of Conservation. Mr. Leavitt in sub- mitting his report said : “T have the honour to submit the accompanying report as Chief Forester for the Commission for the year 1912. That por- tion of the report which relates to the railway fire situation in Can- ada was prepared principally in my capacity as Chief Fire Inspector for the Board of Railway Commissioners. “Acknowledgments for the use of some of the photographs illustrating the report are due the U.S. Forest Service, Dominion Forestry Branch, Canadian Pacific Railway Forestry Branch, New York Conservation Commission, E J. Zavitz and H. C. Johnson.”’ Respectfully submitted, , JAMES WHITE, Asststant to Chairman Hon. CLIFFORD SIFTON, Chairman, Commission of Conservation, Ottawa To Fretp Marsnat, His Roya HIGHNEss PRINCE ARTHUR WILLIAM Patrick ALBERT, DUKE OF CONNAUGHT AND OF STRATHEARN, K.G., K.T., K.P., &c., &c., GOVERNOR GENERAL OF CANADA May it Please Your Royal Highness : The undersigned has the honour to lay before Your Royal Highness the attached report on “Protection of Forests in Canada,’’ which was prepared by Clyde Leavitt, Chief Forester of the Commission of Con- servation. Respectfully submitted, CLIFFORD SIFTON, Chairman Orrawa, June 7, 1913 CONTENTS PAGE Parrl. Prorecrion FROM RAILWAY FIRES......-------s¢eee-sseeees 1 SARA CTS MRO MMECATE WAN] ACT spe ya cistsy sere aiouelals is me sors latins ATs 1 APPLICATION BY BRITISH COLUMBIA GOVERNMENT .........-. 4 OrprER 16570 By Ratbway CoMMISSION.............+.--+-+-- 7 IMPROVEMENTS OVER PREVIOUS ORDERS...........---+-- 12 Jia INLET CO hee Aeon Oe le Oo dao see OMe ou SU TOb COREE 13 ORGANIZATION OF PATROL WORK........-...-----0--+++- 13 INSTRUCTIONS TO CANADIAN PaciFic RAILWAY....... 7 INSTRUCTIONS TO RAILWAY EMPLOYEES .........-.--.--- 24 DRAFT OF WORKING INSTRUCTIONS TO EMPLOYEES.... 24 (GMMARING RIGHTSIONMWIAW. seater sites eral etacelel eterepeeiieloy=r/( 25 SPA DYO NEN TEE UBS Tes oe fe vexe essere eccccve sicycs 06 o wo ehaters meee 26 ESSN 5 hs a deo Gee Coke HOME oo.s EDIE DR DAO Goode 26 MemoraNpuM OF Instructions BY CHIEF Fire IN- FOCI 0) Sy aie OO ob tro Cray Eee iets aor ere Oncor 28 RESULTS OF FIRE PATROLS, 1912..-........-..-.2-+5-5-- 32 ifnrin (CaiNDDS 4-0 adéb oun shocacs sovecapuogeerOpecHodes 34 INSPECTION OF FIRE GUARDS.........-.-0-e+-eeeees 35 IRE IGUARDISUUD Miniter ree ire aie sare) isiaiaea snare) spate 36 CONSTRUCTION IN PRAIRIE PROVINCES........-.---- 36 Parr ll. Foresr Frres AND THE BrusH DisposaL PRoBLEM..............- 40 [iia EEL SW Nisin e Se he Ron Od HE OUr CHEE U cite 5 bic ol Goro ai 40 Sard niet isi, poe Aho Boots od neapooud enn woneem coords 40 METHODS OF ORGANIZATION. ....--.-.2 220 eeec cere ee eetees {1 Shanaanain Tas? (CUNNING Bd a ais ano cdo Ooo Un ame Bon OBmOdoDObOnS 41 BRUSHEDISEOSATHNIECHSS Akt Van wepepsere tacit aa) elctsieleiclsis)cfalerel= sisteis i=! 42 No HARDSHIP UPON OPERATORS......-.- 0: se- ee scereerereees 42 DISPOSAL IN CONIFERS AND HARDWOODS......-....-5+-++e005 43 MMnenH ODS ORLDIREOSAT as.) cicys, cel oisiebevel aksie iretautew op ale) ales) eretess<(eleinsr 44 (aby) Tshaarispecieh, eh a hr nooo on On jodmor ayo mmoatEco dor cc 44 (BY Worzose an wnodhcnonionoonedo mE ocd OOO COmD Ob ommOor 45 (8) LLOPPING AND PILING. . 0... cc eee eee e eres ewe ens 46 (4) LOPPING AND SCATTERING... 06... 00s e ee ees ceereeees 47 BRUSH DISPOSAL ON NATIONAL Forests IN IpaHo, MONTANA AND ONIINNE SOT Alcs orcpells cle steer shessietintccvaneel ovee etcas ree ueNereiels ie 47 BRUSH DISPOSAL ON NATIONAL Forests IN OREGON Wiiaren(Ciwenians boken ob bbe gddoobhobe Laven ooDoUo Demon 49 THE SITUATION ON PRIVATE LANDS.......00.0:eeeeeeeeeeeees 53 BRUSH DISPOSAL LEGISLATION IN MINNESOTA ......-..+--0005 54 vii CONTENT S—Continued PAGE Part III. Toe Top-Loprinc Law IN THE ADIRONDACKS.................--- 6C SUMMARY OF OBJECTIONS): 4). c.c oceans eee eee 63 SUMMARY: OB ‘CONCLUSIONS... 3.2 ose ee a ee 64 DISCUSSION 27s yond: cestavous gence devas stages. 4/603) STE 65 (1) EFFECT AS ‘TO RIRE DANGHR.. . - .sos 55s ote neeeee 66 (a2) FIRE PREVENTION® 5 crac 3.2 2232 3 oa ee 66 IVAPIDITY OF DECAY... 2. sso ce «oe oe eee 66 TRACTS VISITOD f:-c.18) «1 nya .5 cyoraray 210 RTE 69 CONCLUSIONS? occ hios cate fos hasnt Oe 71 JSOPPING*ASSINSURANGH a 5 oo cess 73 HOLDING FOR SUCCESSIVE CUTTINGS..........- 73 REMAINING SOURCES OF FIRE DANGER......... 73 (0) IRB ICONTROD 202.52 2 ia ee eee 74 FIRE FIGHTING. ....-...- Pe Aue oro mn 74 CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE LINES................ 75 INTENSITY OF FIRES(... . os5 «ssn eens 75 (2) BEEHCTION KUTURE FOREST... 4 uae eee 76 (a) EXISTING AND FUTURE REPRODUCTION... .. 76 (0) (SOD. ss ence os fogs ancies eee 78 (3) EFFECT ON REMAINING OLD FOREST..............-.-. 79 (4) EFFECT ON THE COST OF THE OPERATION. ............ 80 BISTIMATHS OF COST. 2.420.242 eee eee 80 CLOSER UTILIZATION... =... 2 ee ee eee 81 SEKIDDING | o.oo seis Se ee LE Oe 82 PEELING IN THE) WOODS... s-ne eee eeee 82 THREE-INCH DIAMETER LIMIT FOR LOPPING.... . 82 SHIFTING THE COST TO THE CONSUMER......... 85 PROTECTIVE MEASURES ON GOVERNMENT LANDS 85 ELASTICITY IN REQUIREMENTS DESIRABLE...... $5 Part IV. THe Use or Oi as Locomotive FUEL FROM A FIRE-PROTECTIVE POINT! OB} VIB Wii ais.s cic oid oes a eloat ecine. 8 eee ee eae 87 USB ON STDAMBHIPS 6.5.42 oo boss ss oie aver v ene or bela reper 89 Ow FUEL FOR{DONKHY ENGINES. «<0. oce ee cee unison 90 OD, AS LOCOMOTIVE FUBL «s/o. oc cteg «cursors celine ene 90 FHOWAUSED): oi. 2 oth acute hy aie Cee matics tema tte Aha enete re neeetate 92 SOUTHERN PACIFIC THE LEADER. .....5....00eeueeeeeces 92 THe SITUATION IN| CANADA aaa ciotvocielsiel ent actene bn ieteisieers 93 STATISTICS.) i ceo. aoe eee Sve eile s M eee 93 SITUATION IN THE ADIRONDACKS..........--.--2++0ee8s 96 SYMPOSIUM Ges eon eae PPP OATH O One Ton bu. 99 GONCEUBIONB s50:065, 0.5 0/0 poi cle oyetneia 8 ayes 6 elo tee Ee enna 113 CONTENT S— Continued PAGE PAR TIVE CHORNST PEANTING IN: CANADA] 025 foo 6600 tes vncccvcccluccs. 116 BritisH COLUMBIA............ a taney sete Hee 117 ALBERTA, SASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA..... ieee Asctign MENS Work OF THE DOMINION FORESTRY BRANCH... ........ . 129 PLANTING BY THE CaNapIaN Paciric RaILway......... 131 ONTARION aero ien or Fe CS Oe ara Spt DORs AE Eee eC 132 QURBNCMe PRT Cyt aerde Vat ce ena i ee AT 13 VUAR TTI ERO VIN GES cite =). cae ese a, siey deen cask: 137 Part VI. Report or ComMITTEE ON Vorests, Commission OF CONSERVA- DION MLO Die eas ne eT aie nee ols A ok belo cac bern Bt!) THE Rattway Fire SiruaTION................. ofetaiged yi tetser ase 139 (1) Links sussecT To THE Ratiway ComMIssioNn 139 (2) Lines NoT suBsJEcT TO THE’ Raisway CoMMISSION... 142 BRUSHEDISPOSAT. see ein ee ar oe LEE isc: seas 148 = CO-OPERATIVE FIRE PROTECTION............... erode . 144 FOREST SURVEYS AND FIRE STATISTICS. .............0%: Sones ee RESERVE EXTENSION IN NORTHERN ONTARIO... . Bet 145, DoMINION F'orEST RESERVE EXTENSION... ... LG GAME PRESERVE IN Rocky MounNTAINS............. sreters ay: FORESTRY IN NOVA.SCOTTA...<...5.00-+.20--0% Lore Bee Haves. 148° SUMMARY OF (CONCHUSIONS ojos eee cee 6 ocelot 148 APPENDICES [. Dominion Forest RESERVE EXTENSION........ Ae eter te » 150 MANITOBA...... Scherer ge Mere aie ah hed’ gta taytaens : Sater = LOO DAS RAITCHES WANES tent a ar 90 been a Raia bs Une oe bote Jal ATBRRTALG. 2.2 8 tetera cree es ap tee eee sisal BD British COLUMBIA... ...-.-.. See es i Are Ah ete 153 TABLE OF FOREST RESERVE ARBAS.. . Bapepete, seat, Sieescyevsuasreuney« 155 II. MeMoRANDUM REGARDING THH COUNTRY BETWEEN SUDBURY AND PORTPARTEUE Ea ey Elen HITE) vee eee ser nia ae 156 DULEMOLINIONS ONMOIGME UBL G29 34.50.40... 5.2. eee ee 160 ix Vil. VII. Ix D,« XI XIl. XVIII. XIX xX XXI. XXII. XXIII. ILLUSTRATIONS BRUSH-PILING AFTER CUTTING AND BEFORE BURNING Frontispiece Otp Burns, YAHK RaNnGe, Wast oF GoaTFELL, B.C. ........... 4 Frre DANGER AND DAMAGE ADJACENT TO SAWMILL AND RarLbway.. 4 RicuT-oF-Way IN SOUTHEASTERN MANITOBA BADLY IN NEED OF CLEARING | oo scd0,ca eles heron a> SEE ee ee 12 RIGHT-OF-WAY IN SOUTHEASTERN MANITOBA FAIRLY WBLL (Crmamen 12 Op Burn, NoT RESTOCKING, ADJACENT TO RatLway TRACK Forty Als) GANG CLEARING RIGHT-OF-WAY 27 Granp TRUNK Pactiric RiGHT-oF-way 114 MILES Ease ¢ OF PRiNee RGPBRT ee nce Se Bac Ba Fee 27 Rattway RIGHT-OF-WAY PREVIOUS TO CLEARING................... 35 A Wintsr Forest Camp In NORTHERN ONTARIO............ 30 Tue Errect oF FrrE oN NON-AGRICULTURAL Mountain Lanpbs...... 41 BRUSH-DISPOSAL IN BIGHORN.. NATIONAL Forest, WYOMING 44 Bruse Pitep IN Main Loa Roap arrer HauLiING was COMPLETED. 47 Loaarp-ovER AREA AFTER BEING SLASH-BURNED... 55 An UN Loppnp Sprucn Top....... +~ 160 Top Proppriy Lopppnp, Recent Currine . 60 REMNANTS OF Two LARGE SPRUCE Tops 66 Unuoprep Tops, Lirrtn Tupppr Lakn, WHITNEY Taare 66 Rest.tT oF Firb oF May 20, 1911, tv PIL OF LoppED Tops = 69 Loppnp BrusH PILING AND SKiDWAY OF PELPWOOD ‘ ; 69 RecpNT Currine on Santa Ciara LumBor Co.’s Tract 72 UNtopprEp Top, 21 yHars AFTER CUTTING FOR LUMBER 80 Un toppep Top, FourTHHEN YHARS-AFTHR LUMBHRING 80 WINDFALL ON CuTTiINe To Tan-INcH DiaMeTER Limit 85 Om anp Coat Burnine Rattways tN Canapa anD UNITED StaTHs— Map ee Pe Sets eicte ac a . 98 Scotcu Pinp anp JAcK Pine PLANTATION ON BLow-sAND Formation 116 CorTronwoop 4s A FunL PRoDUCBR 129 WINDBRBAK OF CoTronwoop 12 YHars OLD 129 MaPLes atone C.P.R. Ricut-or-Way, To Protect TRACK FROM DrirTing Snow. 131 WILLows ALONG RIGHT-OF-WAY ON THE PRAIRIES 131 A Ping Nourspry at THE NORFOLK FOREST STATION é we ee ELBVEN-YBAR-OLD ScotcH PINE PLANTATION, NEW YORK STaTR LANDS 135 Scotcu Pinn PLANTATION, AXTON, ADIRONDACK PRESERVE 135 THe ResuLt oF RePEATED Forest Fires, NORTHERN ONTARIO 136 x “~ Commrssian of Constrvdti =e ¥ ~ BRUSH PILING AFTER CUTTING AND BEFORE BURNING ON THE A.C.M.CO.’S TIMBER SALE. BITTERROOT NATIONAL FOREST, MONTANA FOREST PROTECTION IN CANADA OZ Part I. Protection from Railway Fires ROM the beginning of railway legislation in Canada, it has been recognized that the operation of coal-burning locomotives is a source of fire danger to adjacent prop- erty interests. The original Railway Act of 1903 con- tained definite recognition of the principle that railway companies must themselves bear the burden of protecting the public against fire loss due to railway operation. The extension of the applica- tion of this principle has been gradual but steady, until at the present time the provisions of the Railway Act and of the Regulations issued under them comprise the most extensive and the most efficient provis- ions to be found on this continent tor the prevention and control of railway fires by the railways themselves. The provisions of the Railway Act which specifically relate to the fire question are as follows :— EXTRACTS FROM THE Rai~tway AcT OF CANADA AND AMENDMENTS THERETO RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION Sec. 30, The Board may make orders and regulations :-— Railway Act, (f) With respect to the use on any engine of (Chap. 37, nettings, screens, grates and other devices, and RS. £906.) the use on any engine or car of any appliances and precautions, and generally in connection with the railway, respecting the construction, use and maintenance of any fire- guard or works which may be deemed by the Board necessary and most suitable to prevent, as far as possible, fires from being started, or occurring, upon, along, or near the right of way of the railway, (Amendment, and may require the company to establish and by Sec. 2, maintain an efficient and competent staff of Chap. 22, fire-rangers, equipped with such appliances for R.S. 1911.) s . 5 ; ve : fighting, or preventing fires from spreading, as the Board may deem proper, and to provide such rangers with proper and suitable equipment to enable them to move from place to place along the line of railway with all due speed. The Board may require the company to maintain an efficient patrol of the line of railway and other lands in the vicinity thereof, to which fires may spread, and generally define the duties of the company, and the said fire-rangers, in respect thereof. The Board may require the company to make returns of the names of fire-rangers in its employ in the performance of the above duties, and at the places or areas in which they are from time to time engaged. For the purpose of fighting and extinguishing fires, the said fire-rangers may follow the fires which spread from the railway to, over, and upon the lands to which they may spread. COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 269. The Board may make regulations,— (b) providing that coal shall be used on all locomotives in- stead of wood in any district ; and (c) generally providing for the protection of property, and the protection, safety, accommodation and comfort of the public, and of the employees of the company, in the running and operating of trains by the com- pany. 296. Every company shall cause thistles and all noxious weeds growing on the right of way, and upon land of the company adjoining the railway, to be cut down or to be rooted out and de- stroyed each year, before such thistles or weeds have sufficiently matured to seed. 297. The company shall at all times maintain and keep its right of way free from dead or dry grass, weeds and other un- necessary combustible matter. 298. (Enacted as Whenever damage is caused to any property Sec. 298 of prin- by a fire started by any railway locomotive, anal ce ae be the company making use of such locomotive, pealed. ean 10-08 whether guilty of negligence or not, shall be Chap. 22, 1911.) liable for such damage, and may be sued for the recovery of the amount of such damage in any court of competent jurisdiction ; Provided that, if it be shown that the company has used modern and efficient appliances, and has not otherwise been guilty of any negligence, the total amount of compensation recoverable from the company under this section in respect of any one or more claims for damage from fire or fires started by the same locomotive and upon the same occasion, shall not exceed five thousand dollars ; provided also that if there is any insurance existing on the property destroyed or damaged the total amount of damages sustained by any claimant in respect of the destruction or damage of such pro- perty shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be reduced by the amount accepted or recovered by or for the benefit of such claimant in respect of such insurance. No action shall lie against the company by reason of anything in any policy of insurance or by reason of payment of any moneys thereunder. The limit- ation of one year prescribed by section 306 of this Act shall run from the date of final judgment in any action brought by the as- sured to recover such insurance money, or, in the case of settle- ment, from the date of the receipt of such moneys by the assured, as the case may be. ““9, The compensation, in case the total amount recovered therefor is less than the claims established, shall be apportioned amongst the parties who suffered the loss, as the court or judge may determine. “3. The company shall have an insurable interest in all pro- perty upon or along its route, for which it may be held liable to compensate the owners for loss or damage by fire caused by a rail- way locomotive, and may procure insurance thereon in its own behalf. RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 3 “4. The Board may order, upon such terms and conditions as it deems expedient, that fire guards be established and main- tained by the company along the route of its railway and upon any lands, of His Majesty or of any person, lying along such route, and, subject to the terms and conditions of any such order, the company may at all times enter into and upon such lands for the purpose of establishing and maintaining such fire guards thereon, and freeing, from dead or dry grass, weeds and other unnecessary inflammable matter, the land between such fire guards and the line of railway.” It will be noted that these provisions fall naturally into six classes, namely : (1) The use of fire protective appliances on locomotives. (2) The establishment and maintenance of a staff of fire-rangers for special patrol work. (3) The regulation of locomotive fuel. (4) The clearing of rights of way. (s) The financial responsibility of railway companies for fire loss due to railway locomotives. (6) The construction and maintenance of fire guards along railway lines. The first and fourth of these were included in the original Rail- way Act of 1903, and have been carried forward without change into the present Railway Act. The sixth, relating to fire guards, was included in the Railway Act of 1903, in the paragraph relative to the use of fire-protective appliances on locomotives, and was later expanded, in 1909, and re-enacted in Igt1, as shown in subsection 4 of Section 298 above. The modification gave the Board authority to specify the conditions under which fire guards shall be constructed, with especial reference to entry for that purpose upon the lands of His Majesty or any other person. The financial responsibility of railway companies for fire losses was included in the original Railway Act of 1903, and was slightly modified in the revision of the Act of 1906 ; it was again amended in 1909, then in 1910, and was re-enacted in its present form in 1911, as shown in Subsections 1, 2, and 3 of Section 298 above. The later action of the Board in regulating the kind of locomotive fuel to be used was forecast in Section 269, enacted in 1906. The requirement as to the establishment of special patrols by rail- way companies, was enacted in 1911, due in considerable part to the influence of the Commission of Conservation. This is the most pro- gressive, perhaps the most radical requirement of all, since in this re- spect the Railway Act takes advanced ground over any other railway 4 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION legislation on the continent. So far as is known, neither the Federal nor any State Government in the United States has enacted legislation along this line which approaches this so far as placing the burden of fire protection on the railways themselves is concerned. In Canada, action of a closely similar character has since been taken in the Provinces of British Columbia and Quebec as to railway lines not subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Railway Commissioners. An act in New Brunswick would make it possible for special patrols to be required on railways chartered by the Province and therefore not subject to the Board, but this Act has not been enforced. It will be noted, that, by the terms of the Railway Act above quoted, the issuance of orders and regulations by the Board is required, in order to make effective the provisions as to fire-protective appliances, special patrols, the regulation of locomotive fuel, and the construction of fire- guards. The latter question occupied the attention of the Board from a very early date, and hearings were held in the west on the subject of fire-guards as early as 1904. The question of fire-protective appliances on locomotives was also given early consideration, as was that of the great fire danger caused by the use of lignite coal as locomotive fuel. After most careful consideration, an Order (No. 3245) was issued under date of July 4th, 1907, by the late Chief Commissioner Killam, fully covering the question of fire-protective appliances on locomotives, prohibiting the use of lignite coal as locomotive fuel and requiring the construction of fire-guards along railway lines in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Complications having arisen as to the enforcement of the provisions of this Order relating to the construction of fire-guards, these provisions were rescinded by the issuance of a new Order (No. 15995) dated Feb- ruary 16, 1912, modifying the procedure in case of objection by a private owner to the construction of fire-guards across his land, and making some other changes of a minor nature in the terms of the Order. Application by British Columbia Government HE first great stimulus, which ultimately brought about the next and so far the final revision of the fire regulations, was given by the Government of British Columbia, when it made application to the Board in 1909, for the issuance of regulations, which should provide additional and adequate protection from railway fires to the great forest resources of that Province. It was shown that the use of fire-protective appliances on locomotives, as required by the 1907 order of the Board, while highly essential, did not provide sufficient protec- . tion. The requirement for the construction of fire-guards applied only OLD BURNS, YAHK RANGE, WEST OF GOATFELL, B.C. Lower slopes restocking, upper slopes not restocking. FIRE DANGER AND DAMAGE ADJACENT TO SAWMILL AND RAILWAY LINE Note burned slopes and large accumulation of inflammable sawmill débris. RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 5 to Alberta and Saskatchewan, and conditions were such that extension to British Columbia was impracticable. The application of the British Columbia Government was based upon the preliminary report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Timber and Forestry, which conducted investigations during 1909 and 1g1o. The chief result of the work of this Commission was the enactment of the present Forest Law of British Columbia, which places that Pro- vince in the lead as to forestry administration in Canada. Much credit is also due this Commission for initiating the action which led to the requirement that railways should establish patrols wherever neces- sary, at their own expense. The following extract from the report of the Commission* indicates clearly the urgent need for action:— T is a truism that railways are the most frequent cause of fire in any timber areas through which they pass. The great majority of witnesses examined by us were somewhat emphatic upon this point. “Though there seems to be considerable doubt as to the power of the Provincial Government to enfo-ce regulations against any railway company that is under Dominion jurisdiction, your Com- missioners urge, nevertheless, that every effort should be made to minimise the dangerous conditions that exist at present. String- ent regulations should provide during the dry months for a thorough patrolling of the railway track after the passing of every train through a timbered district ; the provisions of the railway Act, concerning the clearing of the right of way, should be embodied in regulations that should be enforced ; wherever practicable oil should be substituted for other locomotive fuel in timber sec- tions during each summer, while elsewhere the use of the most modern and efficient spark arresters, and their frequent renewal, should be insisted on. Fire wardens should be empowered to inspect any locomotive at any stopping place should they have reason to suspect any failure to comply with this last regulation. The aid of the Railway Commission should be invoked should the enforcement of these essential provisions for the safety of forests prove, in the case of any company, to be beyond the jurisdiction of the Provincial Government. “Your Commissioners are pleased to report, that, in an interview with the Railway Commission, they obtained an un- qualified promise that provincial fire wardens, whose duties should include the examination of locomotives, the patrolling of the right- of-way of any railway, or the supervision of new construction in timbered districts, and whose names should be submitted to the Railway Commission, would immediately be given power to act as officials of this Commission in all matters concerning the prevention and the control of fires. The Control | of Railways * Pages 61, 62. 6 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION “We, therefore, urge, that, as soon as the formation of the Department of Forests is undertaken, the Government should take the matter up with the Railway Commission, so that, even for the season of rg11, provincial fire wardens may be clothed with full authority. “Railway construction, on a large scale, is about to take place in the Province. Unless an efficient patrol system is put in force by the Government, railway construction will spell forest de- struction. For example, there is said to be heavy timber the whole way from Tete Jaune Cache to Fort George, covering a very large area. In evidence given before the Commission a witness who had cruised in that belt of timber says, ‘unless there are regulations as to the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific that country is going to be burnt up. It is virgin forest and very in- flammable. There should be special legislation.’ It is a matter of common knowledge that the blackened record of railroad construction in the past justifies to the full forebodings such as these.” As a result of the application, hearings were held by the Board at various points, from the filing of the application by British Columbia until May, 1912. It appeared from the testimony presented at the various hearings that the establishment of special patrols by railway companies was the most essential measure needed, these patrols to be established through forest sections where the fire danger was greatest. The matter was taken up in the intermediate stage by the Com- mission of Conservation, and the enactment was secured of the rg11 amendment to section 30 of the Railway Act, above quoted, providing for railway patrols. In pursuance of a co-operative arrangement be- tween the Chairman of the Commission of Conservation, the Hon. Clifford Sifton, and the Chief Commissioner of the Board of Railway Commissioners, the late Hon. J. P. Mabee, an expert, Mr. F. E. Olmsted was employed by the Commission of Conservation to draft a set of tentative regulations, including a revision of existing regulations, so far as necessary. This tentative draft was the subject of the last hearings on the application of British Columbia, which were held at Toronto and Ottawa, in April and May, ro12. After very careful consideration of the matter, action was taken May 22 through the issuance of the following Order :— RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 7 BOARD OF RAILWAY COMMISSIONERS FOR CANADA Order No. 16570. Wednesday, the 22nd day of May, A.D., 1912. D’Arcy Scort, Assistant Chief Commissioner JAMEs MILLs, Commissioner S. J. McLean, Commissioner A. S. GooDEVvE, Commissioner In THE Matter oF the Orders of the Board prescribing regulations to be adopted by Railway Companies for the prevention of fires, and the application of the Lands Department of the Government of the Province of British Columbia for an Order regulating the operation of railway locomotives within the Province of British Columbia having regard to the spread- ing of fires upon lands adjacent to the company’s right-of- way. - File No. 4741-2. * Upon the hearing of the application at the Sittings of the Board held in the City of Toronto on April 30th, 1912, the Govern- ment of the Province of British Columbia, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, the Grand Trunk Pacific, the Grand Trunk, and the Canadian Northern Railway Companies, the Conservation Commission, and the Canadian Forestry Association being repre- sented by Counsel at the hearing, the Dominion Forestry Reserves also being represented, and what was alleged,—and upon the reading of what has been filed on behalf of the interests affected, and in pursuance of the powers conferred upon the Board by Sections 30 and 269 of the Railway Act and all other powers pos- sessed by it in that behalf— It 1s ORDERED AS FOLLOWS :— 1. Order No. 3245, dated July 4th, 1907 ; Order No. 3465, dated August r4th, 1907 ; Order No. 8903, dated December 15th, 1909 ; and Order No. 15995, dated February 16th, 1912, be, and they are hereby rescinded. 2. Until further order, every railway subject to the legisla- tive authority of the Parliament of Canada, under construction or being operated by steam, shall, unless exempted by a special order of the Board, cause every locomotive engine used on the said railway, or portion of railway, being constructed or operated by it, to be fitted and kept fitted with netting mesh as hereinafter set forth, namely : (a) On every engine equipped with an extension smoke box, the mesh shall be not larger than 24% x 2% per inch of No. 10 Birmingham Wire Gauge, and shall be placed in the smoke box so as to extend completely over the aperture through which (o2) COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION the smoke ascends, the openings of the said mesh not to exceed a quarter of an inch and one sixty-fourth (that is, seventeen sixty- fourths) of an inch to the square. (b) On every engine equipped with a diamond stack, the mesh shall be not more than 3 x 3 per inch of No. ro Birmingham Wire Gauge, and shall be placed at the flare of the diamond of the stack, so as to cover the same completely,—the openings of the said mesh not to exceed three-sixteenths and one sixty-fourth (that is, thirteen sixty-fourths) of an inch to the square. 3. Every such railway company shall cause :— (a) The openings of the ash pans on every locomotive engine used on the railway, or portion of railway, operated or being constructed by it, to be covered, when practicable, with heavy sheet iron dampers ; and, if not practicable, with screen netting dampers 214 x 2% per inch of No. ro Birmingham Wire Gauge,—such dampers to be fastened either by a heavy spring or by a split cotter and pins,—or by such other method as may be approved by the Board. (b) Overflow pipes from lifting injectors, or from water pipes from injector-delivery pipe, or from boiler, to be put into the front and back part of the ash pans and used from the first day of April to the first day of November, or during such portion of this period as the Board may prescribe, for wetting ash pans. 4. Every such railway company shall provide inspectors at terminal or divisional points where its locomotive engines are housed and repaired ; and cause them,—in addition to the duties to which they may be assigned by the officials of the railway com- panies in charge of such terminal or divisional points,— (a) To examine, at least once a week— (1) The Nettings ; (2) Dead Plates ; (3) Ash Pans ; (4) Dampers ; (5) Slides ; and (6) Any other fire-protective appliance or appliances used on any and all engines running into the said terminal or divisional points. (b) To keep a record of every inspection in a book to be furnished by the railway company for the purpose, showing— (1) The numbers of the engines inspected ; (2) The date and hour of day of such inspection ; (3) The condition of the said fire-protective appliances and arrangements ; and (4) A record of repairs made in any of the above men- tioned fire-protective appliances. The said book to be open for inspection by the Chief Fire Inspector or other authorized officer of the Board. (c) In case any of the said fire-protective appliances in any locomotive are found to be defective, said locomotive shall be RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 9 removed from service and shall not, (during said prescribed period), ‘be returned to service, unless and until such defects are remedied. (d) Every such railway company shall also appoint one or more Special Inspectors, as may be needed whose duties shall be to make an independent examination of the fire-protective appliances on all the locomotives of such company, at least once each month, and report the conditions of such fire-protective appliances direct to the Chief Mechanical Officer of the railway company, or other chief officer, held responsible for the condition of the motive power of the said Company. 5. Any authorized officer of the Board, shall have power to inspect at any time any and all locomotives, and may remove from service any locomotive which is found to be defective in the said fire-protective appliances; and any such locomotive so removed from service, shall not (during the said prescribed period), be returned to service, unless and until such defects are remedied. 6. No employee of any such railway company shall— (a) Do, or in any way cause, damage to the netting on the engine smoke-stack or to the netting in the front end of such en- gine ; (b) Open the back dampers of such engine while running ahead, or the front dampers while running tender first ; (c) Or otherwise do or cause damage or injury to any of the fire-protective appliances on the said engine. 7. No such railway company shall permit fire, live coals, or ashes, to be deposited upon its tracks or right-of-way outside of the yard limits, unless they are extinguished immediately thereafter. 8. No such railway company shall burn lignite coal on its locomotive engines as fuel for transportation purposes, unless otherwise ordered by the Board,—lignite coal consisting of and including all varieties of coal between peat and bituminous with a carbon-hydrogen ratio of 11.2 or less, such ratio being based on analysis of air-dried coal. 9. Every such railway company shall establish and maintain fire-guards along the route of its railway as the Chief Fire In- spector may prescribe. The nature, extent, establishment, and maintenance of such fire-guards shall be determined as follows: (a) The Chief Fire Inspector shall each year prepare and submit to every such railway company a statement of the mea- sures necessary for establishing and maintaining the routes of such railways in a condition safe from fire, so far as may be practi- cable. (b) Said measures may provide for the cutting and disposal by fire, or otherwise, of all or any growth of an inflammable char- acter, and the burning or other disposal of debris and litter, on a strip of sufficient width on one or both sides of the track; the ploughing or digging of land in strips of sufficient width on one or 10 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION both sides of the track, and such other work as may, under the existing local conditions and at reasonable expense, tend to reduce to a minimum the occurrence and spread of fire. (c) Said statements of the Chief Fire Inspector shall be so arranged as to deal with and prescribe measures for each separate portion of such railway upon and adjacent to which the fire risk calls for specific treatment. The intention shall be to adjust the protective measures to the local conditions and to make the expense proportionate to the fire risk and the possible damage. (d) Said statements of the Chief Fire Inspector shall pre- scribe dates on or within which the foregoing protective measures shall be commenced and completed, and the fire-guards maintained in a clean and safe condition. (e) No such railway company shall permit its employees: agents, or contractors to enter upon land under cultivation, to con- struct fire-guards, without the consent of the owner or occupant of such land. (f) Wherever the owner or occupant of such land objects to the construction of fire-guards, on the ground that the said con- struction would involve unreasonable loss or damage to property, the Company shall at once refer the matter to the Board, giving full particulars thereof, and shall in the meantime refrain from proceeding with the work. (zg) No agent, employee, or contractor of any such railway company shall permit gates to be left open or to cut or leave fences down whereby stock or crops may be injured, or do any other unnecessary damage to property, in the construction of fire-guards. ro. In carrying out the provisions of Section 297 of the Rail- way Act, which enacts that ‘‘the company shall at all times main- tain and keep its right-of-way free from dead or dry grass, weeds, and other unnecessary combustible matter,” no such railway company or its agents, employees, or contractors shall, between the first day of April and the first day of November, burn or cause to be burned any ties, cuttings, debris, or litter upon or near its right-of-way, except under such supervision as will pre- vent such fires from spreading beyond the strip being cleared. The Chief Fire Inspector or other authorized officer of the Board may require that no such burning be done along specified por- tions of the line of any such railway, except with the written permission or under the direction of the Chief Fire Inspector or other authorized officer of the Board. 11. The railway company shall provide and maintain a force of fire-rangers fit and sufficient for efficient patrol and fire-fighting duty during the period from the first of day April to the first day of November of each year ; and the methods of such force shall be subject to the supervision and direction of the Chief Fire Inspector or other authorized officer of the Board. 12. The Chief Fire Inspector shall, each year, prepare and submit to each and every railway company a statement of the RAIWUWAY FOREST FIRES 11 measures such railway companies shall take for the establishment and maintenance of said specially organized force. Said statements among other matters may provide for— (a) The number of men to be employed on the said force, their location and general duties, and the methods and frequency of the patrol ; (b) The acquisition and location of necessary equipment for transporting the said force from place to place, and the acquisition and distribution of suitable fire-fighting tools ; and (c) Any other measures which are considered by him to be essential for the immediate control of fire and may be adopted at reasonable expense. 13. Whenever and while all the locomotive engines used upon any such railway, or any portion of it, burn nothing but oil as fuel, during the aforesaid prescribed period, under such condi- tions as the Board may approve, the Board will relieve the said railway of such portions of these regulations as may seem to it safe and expedient. 14. The sectionmen and other employees, agents, and con- tractors of every such railway company shall take measures to report and extinguish fires on or near the right-of-way, as fol- lows : (a) Conductors, engineers, or trainmen who discover or receive notice of the existence and location of a fire burning upon or near the right-of-way, or of a fire which threatens land adjacent to the right-of-way, shall report the same to the agent or persons in charge at the next point at which there shall be communication by telegraph or telephone, and to the first section employees passed. Notice of such fire shall be also given immediately by a system of warning whistles. (b) It shall be the duty of the agent or person so informed to notify immediately the nearest forest officer and the nearest section employees of the railway, of the existence and location of such fire. (c) When fire is discovered, presumably started by the rail- way, such sectionmen or other employees of the railway as are available shall either independently or at the request of any attthor- ized forest officer proceed to the fire immediately and take action to extinguish it ; provided such sectionmen or other employees are not at the time engaged in labours immediately necessary to the safety of trains. (d) In case the sectionmen or other employees available are not a sufficient force to extinguish the fire promptly, the railway company shall, either independently or at the request of any authorized forest officer, employ such other labourers as may be necessary to extinguish the fire ; and as soon as a sufficient number of men, other than the sectionmen and regular employees are ob- tained, the sectionmen and other regular employees shall be allowed to resume their regular duties. 12 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Nortre.—Any fire starting or burning within 300 feet of the railway track, shall be presumed to have started from the railway, unless proof to the contrary is furnished. 15. Every such railway company shall give particular instructions to its employees in relation to the foregoing regulations, and shall cause appropriate notices to be posted at all stations along its lines of railway. 16. Every such railway company allowing or permitting the violation of, or in any respect, contravening or failing to obey any of the foregoing regulations, shall, in addition to any other liability which the said company may have incurred, be subject to a penalty of one hundred dollars for every such offence. 17. If any employee or other person included in the said regulations, fails or neglects to obey the same, or any of them, he shall, in addition to any other liability which he may have incurred, be subject to a penalty of twenty-five dollars for every such offence. (Sgd.) D’ARCY SCOTT, Assistant Chief Commissioner Board of Railway Commissioners for Canada BoarD OF RAILWAY COMMISSIONERS FOR CANADA. Examined and certified as a true copy under Section 23 of “The Railway Act,” A. D. CarTWRIGHT, Secretary of Board of Railway Commissioners for Canada. Orrawa, May 28th, 1912. Improvements Over Previous Orders In this Order, the provisions of preceding orders relative to fire- protective appliances, the use of lignite, and the construction of fire- guards are, in substance, included, with the following additions :— Railways under construction are included in the scope of the Order, in addition to those under operation ; A more thorough inspection of fire-protective appliances by railway employees ; (Reg. 4) Provision for removing from service locomotives found defective as to fire-protective appliances, pending repair ; (Regs. 4 and 5) Provision requiring immediate extinguishment of fire, live coals or ashes deposited upon rights-of-way; (Reg. 7) Improved definition of lignite coal (Reg. 8) Complete elasticity in administering the requirement for the con- struction of fire-guards, as to how, when, and where these shall be con- structed ; (Reg. 9) Regulation of burning of inflammable material along rights-of-way under Sec. 297 of the Railway Act; (Reg. ro) RIGHT OF WAY IN SOUTHEASTERN MANITOBA BADLY IN NEED OF CLEARING RIGHT-OF-WAY IN SOUTHEASTERN MANITOBA FAIRLY WELL CLEARED RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 13 Provision for a force of fire-rangers to be maintained by the railway companies, in accordance with the direction of the Chief Fire Inspec- tor ; (Regs. 11 and 12) Partial relief from the requirements of the Act, in case oil is used as locomotive fuel; (Reg. 13) Reporting and extinguishing of fire by regular railway employees ; (Reg. 14). Jurisdiction. —It should be understood that the provisions of the Railway Act and of Order 16570 affect only railways which are sub- ject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Railway Commissioners. These, however, comprise a very large percentage of the total railway mileage of Canada. There are three classes of railways in this category : (1) Those chartered by the Dominion Government. (2) Provincial chartered lines which by Act of Parliament have been declared works for the general advantage of Canada. (3) Provincial chartered lines which have been leased by, and are operated as, a part of a line, or system, which is subject to the jurisdic- tion of the Board under (1) or (2). Of railways owned by the Dominion Government, the Intercolonial is operated by a separate commission and is not subject to the Board. Neither is that portion of the National Transcontinental railway, which is being operated as a government line by the National Trans- continental Railway Commission. However, as soon as any portion of the National Transcontinental is turned over to the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Company for operation, as provided by law, such portion then becomes subject to the jurisdiction of the Board, as a part of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway system. The Temiskaming and Northern Ontario railway is owned and operated by the Ontario Government, and is therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of the Board. The British Columbia extension of the Canadian Northern system is incorporated, under Provincial legislation, as the Canadian Northern Pacific railway, and is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Board. The Provincial Forest Act, however, provides amply for such cases in British Columbia. Organization of Patrol Work.—Soon after the issuance of Order 16570, the writer, who had previously been appointed Forester to the Commission of Conservation, was also appointed Chief Fire In- spector to the Board of Railway Commissioners. This action was taken in pursuance of the plan of co-operation agreed upon between Hon. Mr. Sifton and the late Chief Commissioner Mabee. 14 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION The organization of the work in the west was taken up immediately, with the idea of securing as adequate protection as possible during the balance of the fire season. Attention was particularly needed with regard to the establishment of patrols, since the railway companies were already proceeding with plans for fire-guard construction in the prairie sections, under the previous Order ; and since the requirements as to fire-protective appliances on locomotives had since 1907 been efficiently administered under the direction of the Chief Operating Officer of the Board, who still retains charge of this feature of the fire work. In connection with the previous hearings before the Board, the Government of British Columbia had prepared a plan of patrols covering lines in British Columbia with the exception of the Railway Belt*; and a similar plan had been prepared by the Forestry Branch, Department of the Interior, for lines in the Railway Belt and in the forested sections of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. These plans were made the basis of a series of conferences between designated representatives of the railway companies, on the one hand, the Chief Fire Inspector of the Board and designated representatives of the British Columbia Government, and of the Forestry and Parks Branches, Department of the Interior, on the other. Following these conferences, which were held during the month of June, 1912, letters of instruction to the railway companies affected were written by the Chief Fire Inspector, embodying the various measures to be adopted under regulations 11 and r2 of Order 16570, with particular reference to the establishment of special patrols by railway companies. The aim was to provide an efficient system of fire protection at a minimum of cost to the railway com- panies. Efficient protection is obviously not only essential to the public interest, but is the only correct policy from the point of view of the rail- ways themselves. From the purely selfish point of view, this is true because, with rapidly increasing stumpage values, timber owners are no longer willing to sit quietly by and allow their property to be destroy- ed without any attempt at recourse. The comparatively recent grant- ing of several verdicts for very large sums against railway companies for fire damage caused by locomotives, has strongly emphasized this feature of the situation. The interest alone, on some of the amounts for which verdicts have been rendered, would provide efficient pro- tection over hundreds of miles of railway line. From the long-time point of view, the argument is even stronger, since forest fires will inevitably result in a future decrease of freight *The Railway Belt comprises a strip of land extending 20 miles on each side of the main line of the Canadian Pacifie railway in British Columbia. RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 15 and passenger traffic, as well as in raising the price of ties and other wood products which the railway companies must purchase for their own use. A perfect example of the latter point is furnished by the railway lines running through western Ontario, where, as a result of repeated forest fires, even tie timber has become so scarce that large supplies must be brought in from great distances, at a very great added cost per year. The more progressive of the railway officials themselves are rapidly coming to a full realization of this situation, so that on the whole a very satisfactory desire to co-operate was found to exist on the part of most of the men with whom conferences were held. In determining the measures to be taken, the prevention of fires was the great consideration, but provision was also required for the control of such fires as might get started. It was recognized that while locomotives form the chief source of fire danger along railway lines, they are by no means the only source, since fires are undoubtedly started by people travelling on foot along the right-of-way, as well as by lighted cigars and cigarettes thrown from trains. Patrols. — Under regulations 11 and 12, special patrols were required in forest sections wherever the fire danger was suffi- ciently great to demand such action. Under ordinary conditions of grade and traffic, each patrolman was required to be equipped with a velocipede (hand-speeder). Where the fire danger was great, each man was required to make two round trips per day over his beat, which consisted of from 6 to 15 miles of track, according to conditions. Where one round trip per day would suffice, the length of the patrol district was extended correspondingly. On the heaviest grades only foot-patrols were practicable, these covering from 5 to 10 miles of track each. Where the train traffic was light, as on some of the lines in Southern British Columbia, and elsewhere, it was found practicable to prescribe patrols by power speeder. In this case the patrol district varied from 20 to 50 miles, according to conditions. Power speeders are, however, not practicable for patrol where there is much train traffic, on account of the danger to the patrolman. So far as practicable, track-walkers and bridge and tunnel watchmen were utilized on special patrol work, thus materially decreasing the cost: to the railway company. On portions of the line where the fire danger did not require the establishment of a separate force of special patrolmen, the section-men, track-walkers, and bridge and tunnel watchmen were charged with fire protection as a part of their regular work. In some cases two round trips per day over the line were required, and in others only one. The efficiency of this patrol, as also of the other classes, was greatly strength- 16 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION ened through the requirement, in regulation 14, that all regular employees of the company, either on train or track work, be charged with the duty of reporting and extinguishing any fires found burning within 300 feet of the track. On those portions of the Great Northern and Canadian Pacific systems where the use of crude oil as locomotive fuel was in exclus- ive effect, a special patrol force was not required, the matter of fire- protection being left to the section men and other regular employees of the companies. The use of oil as fuel was in effect on the Great North- ern, on its Cascade Division in British Columbia, from Vancouver to Blaine and to Sumas and Port Guichon, a total of 115 miles. On the main line of the Canadian Pacific in British Columbia, oil-burners were installed during the summer between Kamloops and Revelstoke, including branches, and on about half the locomotives between Revel- stoke and Field,—a total distance, with branches, of approximately 338 miles. Oil-burners have also been installed on the 134 miles of the Esquimalt & Nanaimo railway, on Vancouver island. The use of oil has eliminated the greater portion of the railway fire danger on those portions of the lines. In order to provide an efficient administration, and at the same time handle the work at a minimum of cost to the companies, each local officer of the Board was given authority to modify the require- ments of the Chief Fire Inspector, to fit the local requirements of the time and place. Especial care was enjoined in relieving the companies of the necessity for special patrol when conditions were safe. As a result of the very wet season it was possible to very greatly decrease in this way the requirements which it had seemed earlier in the season would be necessary. The placing of full authority in the hands of competent local representatives is distinctly to the advantage of the railway com- panies, since in this way requirements are made to conform closely to local needs, so that only such measures need be taken as are essential to efficient protection. This proceedure is also to the best advantage of the public, since provision is made for quickly increasing the intensity of protective measures whenever fire conditions are unusually serious. Letters specifying patrols were written the Canadian Pacific (West- ern Lines), Canadian Northern, Grand Trunk Pacific, Great Northern, Esquimalt and Nanaimo, and Victoria and Sidney Railway companies. In order to show fully the general features of the policy adopted, the following draft of letter is quoted in full. This draft was prepared after full conference with the railway officials, for transmittal to the Canadian Pacific railway (Western Lines) to cover fire patrol require- ments on that railway west of Fort William during the ensuing GRaCanservatiine OLD BURN, NOT RESTOCKING, ADJACENT TO RAILWAY TRACK NEAR KITCHENER, B.C. Burned to mineral soil. Practically no reproduction, RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 17 season of 1913. The plans in effect during 1912 were substantially similar, but-were in some cases covered in several letters, supplement- ing each other. The draft is as follows : THE CANADIAN PaciFic RAILway, Mr. Grant Hatt, General Manager, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dear Sir,— You are hereby notified that in accordance with the pro- visions of Order 16570 of the Board of Railway Commissioners you are required to establish upon such portions of the Canadian Pacific railway and of the lines under its control as are hereinafter described, a force of fire-rangers fit and sufficient for efficient patrol and fire fighting duty during the period from April rst, 1913, to November 1st, 1913, except in so far as you may be re- lieved in writing from such patrol by the Chief Fire Inspector or other authorized officer of the Board. Patrols —The details of the patrols required are as follows, it being understood that unless otherwise specified the patrol shall be continuous between the hours of seven in the morning and six in the evening of each day, including Sundays, with a minimum patrol so far as possible of two round trips per day, one in the fore- noon and one in the afternoon. Manitrosa Division On the Fort William Ignace and Kenora Subdivisions, be- tween Fort William and Wi'temouth, 365.5 miles ; on the Arborg Subdivision, between Toulon and Arborg, ane miles ; and on the Lac du Bonnet Subdivision, between Molson Fail Lac du Bonnet, 21.5 miles, the patrol shall be a regular part of the work of the section men, who shall be especially instructed with regard to fire work ; minimum patrol of one round trip per day, including Sun- days. On the Lac Du Bonnet Subdivision, particular care shall be exercised, after the passing of each train in the day time. On portions of the above lines where no trains are operated on eee special Sunday patrol will not be required. ALBERTA DIVISION (1) Laggan Subdivision—Seven men with velocipedes,. to be distributed as follows : Between Bow River Bridge at mileage 53.2 and Canmore, 14.1 miles ; i) Canmore and Bankhead, 12.2 miles ; se Bankhead and mileage 89, 9.7 miles ; : Mileage 89 and Castle, 9.7 miles ; 3 Castle and mileage 108, 9.3 miles ; 5 Mileage 108 and Laggan, 8.6 miles ; os Laggan and Stephen, 5.9 miles, 18 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION These patrols shall be continuous between the hours of seven in the morning and six in the evening of each day, including Sun- days, with a minimum patrol so far as possible of two round trips per day, one in the forenoon and one in the afternoon. Between Stephen and Field, 14 miles, the patrol shall be by one man, who shall work on foot or ride on pushers, as may be most practicable. This patrol shall be supplemented by tunnel watchmen and section crews. (2) Crowsnest Subdivision—Between Burmis and Hillcrest, 5.4 miles, one foot patrolman who may also be watchman or track-walker. Between Frank and Sentinel, 9.4 miles, one man with veloci- pede ; it is suggested that if practicable this man be stationed at Coleman, to facilitate close co-operation with the Divisional Fire Inspector of the Board, who is to be stationed at this point. Between Sentinel and Crowsnest, 5.3 miles, one foot patrol- man, who may also be track-walker. (3) Cranbrook Subdivision—Between Crowsnest and the Loop tunnel at mileage 5.1, 5.1 miles, one foot patrolman. At the option of the Company, this patrol may be divided between two or more men regularly assigned to track walking, such men to be especially instructed with regard to fire work ; Between mileage 5.1 and Cranbrook, 93.9 miles, six men with velocipedes, distributed as follows : Between the Loop tunnel at mileage 5.1 and Wardrop, 15.4 miles ; : Between Wardrop and Fernie, 15.4 miles ; Between Fernie and Courier, 12.5 miles ; Between Courier and Jaffray, 18.5 miles ; Between Jaffray and Tokay, 13.7 miles ; Between Tokay and Cranbrook, 18.4 miles ; (4) Sirdar Subdivisionn—Between Cranbrook and Moyie, 19.8 miles, one man with velocipede ; Between Moyie and Yahk, 20.9 miles, one man with veloci- pede ; Between Yahk and Kitchener, 14.7 miles, one man with velocipede ; Between Kitchener and MecNeillie, 6.5 miles, one foot patrol- man who may also inspect track ; Between McNeillie and Sirdar, 17.9 miles, one man with veloci- pede. (5) Kimberley Subdivision —Between Cranbrook and Marys- ville, Kimberley and the end of the track, 21.2 miles, one man with velocipede ; one round trip per day. (6) Waldo Subdivision—Between Caithness and the end of the track south of Waldo, approximately 10.7 miles, one man with velocipede, who shall also patrol the spur from branch line to Bains Lake, a distance of approximately 2.5 miles; to patrol 30 minutes after each train. RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 19 (7) Fort Steele Subdivision—Between Colvalli and Fort Steele, 23 miles, one man with velocipede ; to patrol continuously. (8) Kingsgate Subdivision—Between Yahk and Kingsgate, 10.5 miles, one man with velocipede. BritisH CoLtumpia DIvisIon District No. 1 On the Mountain Subdivision (between Field and Revelstoke, 130.3 miles), the Shuswap Subdivision (between Revelstoke and Kamloops 129.1 miles), the Okanagan Subdivision (between Sicamous and Okanagan Landing, 50.8 miles), and on the Arrow Lake Subdivision (between Revelstoke and Arrowhead, 27.4 miles), the patrol and fire-fighting work shall be done by the regular force of section men, track-walkers, and watchmen, with a minimum patrol of one round trip per day, including Sundays. No special patrol is required between Chase and Kamloops on the Shuswap Subdivision, and between Mara and Okanagan Landing on the Okanagan Subdivision. The above is based on the assumption that oil will be used exclusively as locomotive fuel during the fire season, and that the right-of-way will be maintained in a condition free from inflammable material, as required by section 297 of the Railway Act. Should either of these conditions not be fulfilled to the satisfaction of the Fire Inspector for the Railway Belt, additional measures will be prescribed by him and may include any of the special measures relating to the above portion of your line enumerated in my letter to the Company dated June ts, r1o12. In particular, a special patrol shall be provided by the Company, following 30 minutes after any coal-burning locomotive passing over any portion of district No. 1 in the day time. Special attention is required on the part of the Company with regard to clearing the right-of-way, since there is a considerable amount of inflammable material along some portions of the line where the danger of fire from sources other than locomotives will necessitate special patrols unless said section 297 is strictly com- plied with. This matter is under consideration by the Board and will be made the subject of a separate letter at a later date. District No. 2 (1) Thompson Subdivision—Between Drynoch and North Bend, 42.3 miles, the patrol and fire-fighting work shall be -done by the regular force of section men, track-walkers and watchmen ; minimum patrol of two round trips per day, including Sundays. (2) Nicola Subdivision —Between the water tank at mileage 15 and Nicola, 32 miles, the patrol and fire-fighting work shall be done by the regular force of section men, track-walkers and watch- men; minimum patrol of two round trips per day, including Sundays. (3) Cascade Subdivision Between North Bend and Waleach, 53-4 miles, four men with velocipedes, distributed as follows : Between North Bend and mileage 14, 14 miles ; Between mileage 14 and Yale, 13.1 miles ; Between Yale and Hope, 13 miles ; Between Hope and Waleach, 13.3 miles. 20 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Should the right-of-way not be cleared to the satisfaction of the Fire Inspector for the Railway Belt, such additional measures shall be taken as shall be prescribed by such Fire Inspector. Whenever oil shall be used exclusively as locomotive fuel on any portion of the above lines, and satisfactory compliance with Section 297 of the Railway Act shall have been secured, relief will be granted in whole or in part from the above special require- ments, upon application to the Fire Inspector for the Railway Belt. District No. 3 (1) Proctor Subdivision—Between Nelson and Proctor, 20.4 miles, the patrol and fire-fighting work shall be done by the regular force of section men, track-walkers and watchmen; minimum patrol of one round trip per day. An additional patrol shall be made, following 30 minutes after each train running from Nelson to Proctor in the day time. _ (2) Lardo Subdivision—Between Lardo and Gerrard, 33.2 miles, one man with velocipede, to patrol 30 minutes after each train. (3) Boundary Subdivision—Between Nelson and Castlegar, 25.7 miles, the patrol and fire-fighting work shall be done by the regular force of section men, track-walkers, and watchmen ; minimum patrol of one round trip per day. Between Castlegar and Shields, 13.3 miles, one man with velocipede ; Between Shields and Mile Point 41.8, 2.8 miles, one foot patrolman, who may also be bridge watchman ; Between Mile Point 41.8 and Mile Point 50, 8.2 miles, one foot patrolman ; Between Mile Point 50 and Mile Point 55, 5 miles, one man with velocipede, who may also be bridge watchman ; Between Mile Point 55 and Paulson, 7.4 miles, one foot patrol- man ; Between Paulson and Coryell, 4 miles, one man with veloci- pede, who may also be bridge watchman ; Between Coryell and Mile Point 74, 7.6 miles, one foot patrolman ; Between Mile Point 74 and Cascade, 7.9 miles, one foot patrolman : Between Cascade and Mile Point 92.3, 10.4 miles, one man with velocipede ; Between Mile Point 92.3 and Grand Forks, 2.5 miles, one foot patrolman, who may also be bridge watchman ; Between Grand Forks and Fisherman, 5.6 miles, one man with velocipede, who may also be bridge watchman ; Between Fisherman and Eholt, 8.4 miles, one foot patrol- man ; Between Eholt and Greenwood, 8.5 miles, one man with velocipede ; RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 21 Between Greenwood and Midway, 9.3 miles, one man with velocipede ; Between Greenwood and Mother Lode Mine, 6.3 miles, one foot patrolman, who may also be bridge watchman ; Between East Granby and Granby Smelter, 2.2 miles, one foot patrolman, who may also be bridge watchman. (4) Slocan Subdivision Between South Slocan and Slocan City, 31.3 miles, one man with velocipede, to patrol 30 minutes after each train. (5) Phenix Subdivision.—Between Eholt and Athelston, 5.5 miles, and between Coltern and B.C. Mines, 2.5 miles, total 8 miles, one foot patrolman. Between Reffek and Athelston, 3.1 miles, and between Athel- ston and Phoenix, 4.2 miles, total 7.3 miles, one foot patrolman. (6) Rossland and Trail Subdivisions—Between Castlegar and Rossland, 29.3 miles, and between Smelter junction and Trail, 1.4 miles, total 30.7 miles, one man with velocipede to patrol con- tinuously, following 30 minutes after each through passenger and freight train between the hours of 7 in the morning and 6 in the evening, and paying, in addition, as much attention as possible to that portion of the line between Smelter junction and Rossland. If necessary to secure efficient protection, this patrol shall be supple- mented by two foot patrolmen between Smelter junction and Rossland. (7) Nakusp Subdivision—Between Nakusp and Sandon 40.7 miles, and between Three Forks and Kaslo, approximately 25 miles, four men with velocipedes, to patrol 30 minutes after each train, and to be distributed as follows : Between Nakusp and Summit Lake, 12.7 miles ; o Summit Lake and Roseberry, 15.7 miles ; Roseberry and Sandon, 12.3 miles ; Three Forks and Kaslo, approximately 25 miles ; patrol to be established on completion of re- construction. During the reconstruction of this portion of the line, patrol shall be provided by all regular employees assigned to the work. cc “ Lines UNDER CONSTRUCTION Kootenay Central Between Golden and mileage nine south, 9 miles, one man with velocipede, to patrol after each train running over the line in the day time. Between Fort Steele and the Southern boundary of the Rail- way Belt, one patrolman on foot or horseback for each ten miles of the line under construction: Provided, however, that, if a co- operative agreement shall be entered into between the Company and the Lands Department of the Province of British Columbia, whereby the patrol along this portion of the line is to be handled by said Department of Lands, such arrangement shall be con- sidered a satisfactory substitute for the special patrols above enumerated. 22 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Alberta Central Special attention should be given the construction and main- tenance of fire-guards, in connection with construction work be- tween Red Deer and Rocky Mountain House, wherever the plow- ing of fire-guards is practicable. Should special patrols be con- sidered necessary on any portion of this line, such patrols shall be prescribed by Mr. E. H. Finlayson, Fire Inspector. INSPECTION For the efficient inspection of and general supervision over the work of the Company under Order 16570, with special refer- ence to the patrols above specified, the following superior field officers have been appointed by the Board, with jurisdiction as indicated : E. J. Zavitz, Provincial Fire Inspector, Lands Department, Toronto, Ontario : Manitoba Division lines in Ontario. E. H. Finlayson, Fire Inspector, care Forestry Branch, Cus- toms Building, Winnipeg, Man. : Lines in the Manitoba Division west of Ontario boundary ; Alberta Central west from Rde Deer to the boundary of the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve. Mr. Finlayson will be assisted by Thomas McNaughton, Divisional Fire Inspector. P. C. Barnard-Hervey, Fire Inspector for Dominion Parks, care Parks Branch, Edmonton, Alberta: Lines in Laggan Sub- division of Alberta Division between Bow River Bridge at mileage 53-2 and Field, and in the Mountain Subdivision, District No. 1 of British Columbia Division, between Field and Leanchoil. W.N. Millar, Fire Inspector for Dominion Forest Reserves in Alberta, care Dominion Forestry Branch, Calgary, Alberta : Lines in Crowsnest Subdivision of Alberta Division between Burmis and Crowsnest. D. Roy Cameron, Fire Inspector for the Railway Belt, care Forestry Branch, Kamloops, B.C.: Lines in Districts Nos. 1 and 2 of the British Columbia Division west of Leanchoil ; Kootenay Central from Golden south to boundary of Railway Belt. H. R. MacMillan, Provincial Fire Inspector, care Forest Branch, Lands Department, Victoria, B.C. : All lines in British Columbia with the exception of those above indicated as being under the jurisdiction of Messrs. Barnard-Hervey and Cameron. Mr. MacMillan will be assisted by R. E. Benedict, Assistant Pro- vincial Fire Inspector. A number of other officials of the Dominion and Provincial Governments have been or will be appointed officers of the Board and will assist the above-named superior field officers in carrying on this work. The superior field officer in each case will notify the Superintendent of your Company of the name, title and jurisdiction of the subordinate field officer or officers responsible for the inspec- tion of fire work in his district. H. C. Johnson has been appointed a Fire Inspector on the Board’s staff, with headquarters at Ottawa, and has full authority to act as an officer of the Board in connection with any phase of fire work covered in Order 16570. RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 23 GENERAL PROVISIONS So far as practicable, the work of patrol has been combined with the other regular duties of your employees, but where this action has not been specifically indicated the patrol force is to be a specially organized and specially supervised body of men, who shall perform, to the exclusion of other duties, the patrol and other fire-protective work indicated in the Regulations of the Board and specified herein. In every case where special or section patrols are required, special instructions must be issued and special supervision must be provided by the Company. As a matter of record, velocipede patrolmen passing telegraph stations shall be reported the same as passing trains and such records shall be freely open to the inspection of any authorized officer of the Board. Each foot patrolman shall be equipped with one shovel and one canvas bucket. Each velocipede patro'man shall be equipped with two shovels, two canvas buckets and one axe. In addition to the above, and to the regular section equipment, there shall be stored at the tool house for each section in each patrol district the following emergency fire-fighting equipment : one axe, three mattocks and four buckets of not less than twelve quarts capacity each. Equipment for the transportation of patrolmen will also be furnished by the Company as indicated. The object sought to be obtained by the regulations of the Board and by the instructions issued under them, is the prevention of railway fires. Itis desire to avoid as far as possible the imposi- tion of unnecessary expense upon the railway companies, and it is fully realized that the danger of fire will necessarily vary between wide limits during the long season prescribed by the regulations. There is no doubt that a very efficient system of fire control can be established at a minimum of expense if proper provision is made for increasing or decreasing the force as conditions may require or permit. To this end, an average patrol force has been prescribed, with which to begin work, and the various Fire Inspectors appointed by the Board have authority to waive the requirements wholly or in part, from time to time, as may be practicable, it being understood that the roadmaster will restore such patrol upon request of the Board’s representative. ; In order to make the system properly effective, it is essential that your general superintendents be authorized and directed to furnish additional men for patrol work from time to time, as re- quested by the superior field officer of the Board having jurisdiction. It is essential also that the necessity be impressed upon your employees of complying in the utmost good faith with the pro- visions of Regulation 14 of Order 16570. In particular, section men shall be instructed that they must give the same attention to fire that they do to the safety of the track. On this basis, it is believed that damage by railway fires can be very greatly reduced in the future, at a minimum of cost to the Company. Please acknowledge the receipt of this letter. Yours very truly, CrypeE LEAVITT, Chief Fire Inspector, B. R. C. 24 - COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Instructions to Railway Employees To cover the issuance of instructions to railway employees under Reg. 14 of Order 16570, the following draft was prepared and approved bythe Board. This draft was based upon the form of instructions issued by the Great Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific railways. The form is purely suggestive and was prepared by the Board merely as a basis for the preparation of instructions to suit the needs of each par- ticular railway line. The instructions issued by the various railways are as a rule somewhat different, though in a number of cases the draft prepared by the Board is being followed closely. WorKING INSTRUCTIONS IN CONNECTION WITH ORDER No. 16570 OF THE BoarD OF RAILWAy COMMISSIONERS FOR CANADA, DaTEeD May 22, 1912 To Enginemen, Conductors, Brakemen, and Firemen : It shall be the duty of train and engine crews on freight and passenger trains, when discovering a fire, on, or adjoining the right- of-way of the Railway Company, to stop and use every effort to extinguish such fire. In the event of this being impracticable, either by reason of the extent of the fire or its distance from the right-of-way, the train shall proceed to the first telegraph station, where the Conductor chall wire a report to the Superintendent, giv- ing the exact location of the fire, and the action taken by engine ar] train crew concerning the same. It shall also be the duty of Enginemen to stop and notify the first section gang passed, regard- ing any fire not extinguished as above. No employee shall do or cause damage or injury to any of the fire-protective applicances on any engine ; open the back dampers of any engine while running ahead, or the front dampers while running tender first, or permit fire, live coals, or ashes to be de- posited on tracks or rights-of-way outside of yard limits, unless the same are extinguished immediately thereafter. To Agents : Enginemen and conductors of all trains have received instruc- tions to report fire along the right-of-way and adjacent thereto, and it shall be your duty to notify the local fire Inspector of the Railway Commission immediately, giving the exact location of the fire and its extent, and forthwith wire the Superintendent, giving the location of the fire, the extent of the same, and any other in- formation which may be of value, particularly as to the number of men needed to extinguish the fire. To Roadmasters, Assistant Roadmasters, Master Carpenters, and Other Officials : In cases where fires are reported, it shall be the duty of any division official to proceed to the scene of the fire as quickly as possible and to take charge of the work of fire fighting until he can be relieved by the Division Roadmaster. The man first on the RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 25 ground should organize his men to do the best work possible ; and, when this is done, he should immediately proceed to investi- gate the orgin of the fire, and fix the location where it started ; get statements from all witnesses, and make every effort to learn the origin and fix the responsibility. The law, as now interpreted, practically makes this Company responsible for fires starting within three hundred feet of the track, unless it can be shown that the Company is not responsible. It is necessary, therefore, to determine positively the origin, in order to relieve the Railway Company of the responsibility. The first officer on the ground should endeavor to hold a joint investigation with the local Fire Inspector of the Railway Commission, or other local forestry officer, and agree upon the origin of the fire. This will avoid dis- putes later on. To Chief Dispatchers : In all cases where fires are reported, it will be the duty of the Dispatcher to get full information as to the extent of such fire, its location, and the number of men necessary to fight it. It will also be the duty of the Dispatcher to furnish whatever train service may be required to move extra gangs, section gangs, or bridge crews, to the fire immediately, giving this movement preference if the emergency requires it. To Sectionmen, Extra Gangs, and Bridge Foremen : In all cases where fire occurs, it shall be the duty of all section crews, extra gangs, and bridge crews to proceed immediately to such fires, and extinguish same, remaining as long as may be neces- sary to do this ; and it must be understood that this is the most important work that can be done, and that the carrying on of your work, though it may be important, must be set aside until the fire is extinguished. The Section Foreman on whose section the fire occurs, shall, in the absence of an official of the Company, make a thorough investigation regarding the origin of the fire, and submit a full report to the Roadmaster. Between April 1st and November rst, no ties, cuttings, debris, or litter upon or near the right-of-way shall be burned, except under such supervision as will prevent such fire from spreading beyond the strip being cleared. Officers of the Railway Commission may require that no such burning be done along specified portions of the line, except with the written permission or under the direction of such officer. Reg. 17, Order 16570—Penalty : “If any employee or other person included in the said regula- tions, fails or neglects to obey the same, or any of them, he shall, in addition to any other liability which he may have incurred, be subject to a penalty of twenty-five dollars for every such offence.’’ CLEARING RiGHTS-oF-WAY Much was accomplished during the season in securing a better compliance with the requirement of Section 297 of the Railway Act, requiring rights-of-way to be kept free from inflammable material. The 26 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION undoubted scarcity of labor has made it difficult in some cases to secure prompt compliance with this requirement. Excellent results have also been secured through the regulation of the burning of inflam- mable material along rights-of-way, under Regulation ro. The best example of this was in connection with right-of-way burning along the Grand Trunk Pacific construction in British Columbia. Much damage to timber was being done by fires escaping from right-of-way clearings in early July, and, upon the recommendation of the British Columbia Forest Branch, the Board authorized instructions prohibiting further burning until the fall rains should render such burning safe. SITUATION IN THE EAsT After the work was organized in the west, it was too late to organize in the east for the small remaining portion of the fire season of 1912. The matter of co-operation has, however, been taken up by the Board with the Governments of the Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Bruns- wick and Nova Scotia. In some cases the plan of co-operation has been confirmed promptly by the provincial government, while in others action has been more slow, especially with regard to the desig- nation of the official to be appointed provincial fire inspector. How- ever, it is believed that the organization will ultimately be completed, and that the patrol provisions of the Order will be extended to cover the entire Dominion during the fire season of 1913. Inspection A co-operative arrangement was entered into with the Forest Branch, Lands Department of British Columbia, and with the Domin- ion Forestry and Parks Branches, Department of the Interior, in order to provide a system of inspection for the enforcement of the instruc- tions of the Chief Fire Inspector and of the provisions of Regulation ro (concerning the burning of inflammable material along rights-of-way), Regulation 14, (reporting and extinguishing of fires by regular em- ployees of railway companies), and of Section 297 of the Railway Act (clearing of rights-of-way). Under this arrangement, a number of the officials of each of these organizations were appointed officers of the Board, without additional compensation. The supervision of this work was handled by the superior field officers of each organization in addition to their other duties; but, so far as practicable, arrangements were made to have the detailed field inspections handled by men who should devote their whole time to this work, thus insuring continuous attention and the most efficient results. The inspection work handled by the British Columbia Forest Branch embraces lines in British Columbia, except the Railway Belt. To supervise this work, H. R. MacMillan, Chief Forester, was appoint- 14 GANG CLEARING RIGHT-OF-WAY As required by Sec. 297 of the Railway Act. Southern British Columbia. GRAND TRUNK PACIFIC RIGHT-OF-WAY 114 miles east of Prince Rupert, B.C RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 27 ed Provincial Fire Inspector, and R. E. Benedict, Assistant Forester, was appointed Assistant Provincial Fire Inspector, headquarters, Vic- toria. To handle the details of actual field inspection, the following were appointed Divisional Fire Inspectors : W. F. Loveland, T. S. Palmer, and W. H. Smith: lines south of the Railway Belt, including Canadian Pacific, Great Northern, Kettle Valley and Morrissey, Fernie and Michel railways ; headquarters, Nelson. Fred D. Markland, lines on Vancouver Island —Esquimalt & Nanaimo ; and Victoria and Sidney railways ; headquarters, Vic- toria. J. K. McLean, east section of Grand Trunk Pacific ; headquarters, Tete Jaune Cache. R. M. Pellatt, middle section of Grand Trunk Pacific ; headquarters, Fort George. Geo. A. Kerr, west section of Grand Trunk Pacific, headquarters, Prince Rupert. In the Dominion Forestry Branch, Department of the Interior, the following appointments were made : D. Roy Cameron, District Inspector of Forest Reserves, Kamloops, B.C., appointed Fire Inspector for the Railway Belt, exclusive of Dominion Parks. This includes the main line of the Canadian Pacific railway through British Columbia, and tributary branches within the Railway Belt. Mr. Cameron was assisted by two divisional fire inspectors, W. R. Peacock, and J. B. McKenzie. R. D. McDonald later succeeded Mr. McKenzie on this work. W.N. Millar, District Inspector of Forest Reserves, Calgary, Alta., appointed Fire Inspector for Dominion Forest Reserves in Alberta. This includes those portions of the Canadian Pacific and Canadian Northern lines within forest reserves on the east slope of the Rockies. Mr. Millar was assisted by the Forest Supervisors under his jurisdiction. E. H. Finlayson, Inspector of Fire Ranging, Winnipeg, Man., appointed Fire Inspector ; to handle inspection work in the forested portions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and in Alberta outside Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks. This includes portions of the Canadian Pacific railway, Canadian Northern railway, and Grand ~ Trunk Pacific railway. In the Dominion Parks Branch, Department ci he Interior, Howard Douglas, Chief Superintendent, Dominion Parrs, Edmonton, Alta., was appointed Fire Inspector for Dominion Parks. Mr. Douglas was assisted by F. E. Maunders, Superintendent of Yoho Park, Field, B.C., and by A. B. MacDonald, Superintendent Rocky Mountains 28 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Park, Banff, Alta., as to that portion of the Canadian Pacific railway affected ; and by Byron Burton, Superintendent of Jasper Park, Fitz- hugh, Alta., as to the portions of the Canadian Northern railway, and Grand Trunk Pacific railway within the Park boundaries. All -three were appointed Divisional Fire Inspectors. P. C. Barnard- Hervey later succeeded Mr. Douglas as Chief Superintendent of Dominion Parks and therefore as an officer of the Board. The field inspectors on the staff of the Board, in the Operating and Engineering Departments, have rendered material assistance in sup- plementing the fire inspection work performed by the above organiza- tion. This has been especially true with regard to clearing of rights- of-way and the construction of fire-guards. In order to show fully the lines of policy adopted in connection with handling the field inspection, the following draft of Memorandum of Instructions is quoted. This draft was prepared for issuance during the early spring of 1913, and is substantially the same as the Memorandum of Instructions issued during 1912. Memorandum for the information of Dominion and Provincial Officials Appointed Officers of the Board of Railway Commissioners, for the Enforcement of Order No. 16570 of the Board. Each Fire Inspector appointed by the Board should be sup- plied with copies of Order No. 16570 ; Extracts from the Railway Act ; this memorandum ; letter of the Chief Fire Inspector to the Railway Company, prescribing fire-protective measures, or such portions of said letter as may be necessary to familiarize the In- spector with the obligations placed upon the Company within the territory to which he is assigned ; Employees’ time-table covering lines to which Inspector is assigned,—these to be secured from the Railway Company ; instructions by the Railway Company to its employees, in accordance with Regulation 15; such additional instructions as may be given to the Fire Inspector by his superior officer. The object of the plan of co-operation, in effect with the Domin- ion and Provincial authorities, is the prevention and control of railway fires, through the enforcement of Order 16570. To this end, it is expected that the fire-protective work of the Companies will be carefully and constantly checked at all points, as indicated in the various requirements above enumerated. Each superior field officer should get in touch with the local Railway Superintendent, and should notify him in writing, in advance of the fire season, of the name, title, address, and juris- diction of each subordinate field officer of the Board, who will handle fire inspection work within the railway district in question. The Superintendent should likewise be informed of any changes in personnel affecting railway fire inspection in his district. RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 29 Each Divisional Fire Inspector should have some definite station, at which he can always be notified by railway officials of fires occurring within his jurisdiction. The railway officials concerned should be notified of this address. Arrangements should be made at the official station for the prompt forwarding of messages to the Inspector, wherever he may chance to be in his district. The attitude of the Inspector should be so far as possible, one of co-operation with the Company, rather than of criticism. The direct decrease in fire losses and damage claims should render the fire-protective work a paying investment on the part of the Companies, assuming that no unreasonable requirements are made of them. Probably, in most cases, difficulties can be readily adjusted directly between the local Fire Inspector and the local representative of the Company. However, where this is impracticable, the mat- ter should at once be reported to the superior field officer, who will communicate with the appropriate higher officials of the Company, usually the General Superintendent. If the difficulty cannot be satisfactorily adjusted in this way, a report should at once be for- warded to the Chief Fire Inspector, by wire, collect, or by mail, as may be appropriate under the circumstances. In each case a definite recommendation should be included in the statement, covering the action desired. Where reports are forwarded by mail, a statement should also be included as to the extent to which the matter has been taken up with the railway officials, and their attitude in the case. The Inspector in charge of each portion of the organization should consider himself responsible for securing protection from fire within the territory to which he is assigned. In every case, the plan of protection provided in the letter of the Chief Fire Inspector to a railway company is subject to any needed change by authoriz- ed field officers of the Board, and each Inspector should without hesitation initiate any action necessary to make the plan fit the conditions as they may exist from time to time. In accordance with the Regulations and the instructions issued to the Com- panies by the Chief Fire Inspector, relief, either temporary or permanent, according to circumstances, should be granted the Company from any requirements which are unnecessary. The constant aim should be to secure efficient protection from fire at a minimum of cost to the Company. So far as possible, the administration should be in the field, and matters should be fully taken up direct with railway officials. The Chief Fire Inspector should be informed of modifications made in fire plans when the regular periodical reports are submitted to Ottawa, at least once each month. Each fire occurring along or near the right-of-way should be carefully investigated, and a report should be submitted to the superior field officer, covering the cause of the fire, its extent, and the class, amount, and value of property destroyed. Particular care should also be taken to secure a check with regard to the COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION number of incipient fires extinguished, since this is an indication, not only of the efficiency of the patrol, but of the necessity of its continuation and of the intensity necessary. During the season of 1913, particular care should be taken to report separately every authentic case of a fire set by sparks from a coal-burning locomotive. Positive information should be secured wherever possible. The object is to determine, so far as practica- ble, the extent to which fires are caused by sparks from locomotives, and general assumptions will be of little or no value for this specific purpose. In each case where it is positively known that a locomo- tive has set a fire, the record of inspections at the terminal should be consulted, to determine the condition of the netting mesh; and this point should be included in the report to the Chief Fire In- spector. In sections where oil fuel is in use, every effort should be made to determine whether and under what circumstances fire is caused by the operation of such locomotives. A complete report should be submitted to the Chief Fire Inspector in each case. A statistical report to the Board will be expected at the end of the fire season, with regard to fire damage along railways within the territory under the jurisdiction of each superior field officer of the Board. In addition to the above, each superior field officer is requested to submit to the Chief Fire Inspector at some convenient time, or times, during each month of the fire season, a brief statement of the railway-fire situation within the territory under his jurisdiction, as an officer of the Board. This need not be a detailed report, but should cover briefly the general features of the situation, with particular reference to the compliance of the companies with the requirements made of them, the general efficiency of such measures, the general weather conditions, and a general statement as to the amount of railway-fire damage since the last report. This action is essential in order that the Board may maintain proper touch with the field situation. To some extent, this action may, if preferred, be taken by forwarding carbon copies of weekly or monthly re- ports, submitted by Divisional Fire Inspectors. Where correspondence is being carried on in the field, with regard to matters of which the Ottawa office should be informed, the necessity of writing additional letters to the Chief Fire Inspector may frequently be obviated by mailing carbon copies, without letters of transmittal. This is especially important where modifi- cations are made in the requirements imposed by the Chief Fire Inspector. Where essential to a proper understanding of the situation, copies of letters from the railway officials concerned should also be forwarded, but in many cases this may not be neces- sary. When Fire Inspectors, for whom transportation has been secured by the Board, are laid off before the close of the calendar year, unexpired passes should be returned to the Chief Fire In- spector for cancellation. RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 31 By direction of the Board, all telegrams in answer to messages from a railway company, or telegrams the immediate effect of which would prove beneficial, or of special interest to the Company, should be sent collect. Where we want information or want a railway company to take some action which they would not be likely to take of their own initiative, the message should be paid for. In case a message sent collect in accordance with the above, is refused by a railway official, the charge necessary for delivery should be paid by the sender, and the matter should immediately be reported to the Chief Fire Inspector by mail. The Board of Railway Commissioners can pay no accounts for fire-fighting work. This is a matter which must be handled between the Railway Companies on the one hand, and the Domin- ion or Provincial authorities on the other, according to the regula- tions of the Board and existing Dominion or Provincial legislation. In cases where co-operative agreements can be made between the Companies and the Dominion or Provincial Department con- cerned, this will simplify the matter very materially. It is assumed that the first effort will, in any event, be to extinguish the fire immediately, leaving the question of re-imbursement for the cost to be settled later. It is also assumed that, in case of a fire for which the Railway Company is presumably responsible, the rail- way official will be in charge ; and the local officer of the Board will assist so far as possible, but will not take charge, unless so requested by the railway representative. A careful check should be made in case of every fire to deter- mine definitely whether trainmen and agents have complied with the requirements of Regulation 14, with regard to notifying railway employees and forest officers of fires occurring along rights-of-way. Each case of infraction should be reported to the higher officials of the Company, in order to secure complete observance of the Order, in case of future fires. The condition of the right-of-way should be reported on at the end of each season, but a special report should be submitted whenever immediate attention is needed with regard to any par- ticular portion of the line. Successive reports should then be submitted at short intervals on. the progress of the work, in order that the matter may be further taken up with the Company if necessary. Infractions of Regulations 6, 7, and 8, when observed, should be reported to the Chief Fire Inspector, and the matter should, at the same time, be taken up direct with the General Superin- tendent of the railway company concerned. The inspection of fire-protective appliances on locomotives will be handled in general by the Inspectors, stationed at Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal, appointed for this work, under the Operating Department of the Board. Fire Inspectors are requested to co-operate as fully as possible with the Operating Department in this connection, by promptly notifying the nearest 32 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION office of the number or other description of any locomotive which is throwing sparks to a greater extent than the average or which is known to have set a fire. Letters or telegrams should be ad- dressed : Inspector, Operating Department, Railway Com- mission, Calgary ; Winnipeg; Postal Station F, Toronto; or 850 Grey Avenue, Montreal, as the case may be. At the same time, a telegram should be also sent to the General Superinten- dent within whose jurisdiction the locomotive is operating, and a copy should be mailed to the Chief Fire Inspector. It has been found that, in general, the inspection of fire- protective appliances by the railway companies themselves results in the early discovery and rectification of defects. The check inspection by the Companies, required in Regulation 4 (d), supple- mented by the inspection by the Operating Department of the Board, renders it unnecessary, in general, for the officers of the Fire Inspection Department to co-operate further than as above indicated. The utmost freedom of suggestion by field officers is invited, with regard to any features of the work under Order 16570. CiyDE LEAVITT, Chief Fire Inspector, B.R.C. Results of Fire Patrols, Season 1912 As previously noted, Order 16570 was issued May 22, 1912. On account of the time required for organizing the work, holding the necessary conferences with railway officials, and enabling the railway companies to organize by securing necessary equipment and personnel, it was not possible to get the prescribed special patrols actually in effect before the months of July and August. The very unusually wet season then rendered unnecessary the establishment of a considerable number of the patrols prescribed. Many of the patrols, were, however, established as prescribed, and did excellent service. Principally on account of the weather conditions, the only serious railway fires occurred during the early part of the summer, before the measures required by Order 16570 could be put into effect. Statistics of railway fire damage are necessarily incomplete. The accompanying table has been prepared from the somewhat fragmentary data available. £€ *prvog 0} yoofqns you ‘oplovg Wey WON usipeuvgj—eviquiNjoH YsyWE Ul SeuI] epnpoul you seoq (,) *poyrodar you sary quardiour Auvyy (1) OSP‘Sss see ooTs coos GLS‘Ies 0g9‘'zs ogs‘e9% ry ee eee eee . *TBIOL () OSL : Bake . 00g OST OOT **9A0q@ UI pataAod you Ayzodord oy8aAtid 19y}Q (2) 0SZ‘ST OOG 0S2‘8T ROE | RU a | ROS aAOq’ Ul paioAo0d you Aysadoid Avaprey (P) 0s9 OOTs (Nee = ie FeREe 0g |" amyoejnueur jo ssaooid ur sjonpoid ysaioq (2) GLTLT ats 009 SZ8'T 003‘s- OSZST ‘requity Burpusys (4) egg‘ TGs . eee G ¢g 00¢ g eee OST Ics es jos sunox (8) : paAoajsop Ayrodoid jo onje A SPISZ OFT eee ZOOT OLST TISP CZOLT see rd “* *[810.L (2) FL9G OFT 006 OZI FOOT yi pPeene "11+ Buppoo}s-or you wing pjo ro Zuryse[gy (P) ZZ81 sdiate Dado 001 G0Z L OKT oe pury gaqumy, (0) LIOLT * be Ch6 * . 0L09T ee qyMoi3 4So10} suno x (q) GElP . eee onee 009 o00se (fe ed purl payBarqino 10 SSBI5) (8) : ABM JO JYBII opisyno sory Aq JaAO pound s.0V P . . . eee nee nae Ga re a Ce uMOUyUy) (p) 0Z eeee * OL g G ee ey sosnRo uMOUY rtTO (0) ZI . . P P ¥ ry sory dureo pue &on9 ‘sduieiy, (q) POL z z g 4 Z9 19 ee a surely, (8) : Sarg JO sosnBd 00Z re Z g SP TL 0s see ee eee eee ee eee ee eee ee “. (4) yovsy} JO 402} ONG UIYITA Surjz1e4s sv poyodar soy jo oquINN Aoupig | oureus yy oye (4) s[eIO.L, pue pue ee yoni, uIoT]}10 NI sett BIojoIA | 4yeuTIMbsGy d puviy | uerpeusy UEEWAHO) (‘Saul AMIvug JO TAISATOXY) ‘“ZIGT 10 NOSVGQ ‘VAOLINVJ, GNV ‘NVMAHOLVYSVG ‘VLUaaTY ‘VIEINOIOD HSILING NI VAVNV) YOU SUMNOISSINNOD AVA -~Tlvy 10 duvOg AHL 40 NOILOIGSINOf GHL OL LOArAOS SANIT AVAMTIVY OL LNAOVIdV PNINUNHODO SAU NO SLUOdAU JO AUVNWOY 34 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Fire -Guards Owing to lack of time, it was not possible to make a detailed study of the fire-guard question in advance of the issuance of instructions for the summer of 1912. The policy previously adopted was therefore continued ; this entailed a blanket requirement that fire-guards should be constructed along railway lines in the prairie sections, except where satisfactory proof could be made by the company concerned that such construction was either unnecessary or impracticable. Such construction was required, as formerly, in the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and, in addition, in Manitoba, where it appeared that protection was needed by the farming interests. In order to make this situation entirely clear, the following ex- tracts are quoted from the instructions issued the various railway companies concerned : “A fire-guard within the meaning of this order shall be under- stood to be a strip of plowed land not less than sixteen feet in width, along each side of the right-of-way ; the outer edge of each strip to be not less than three hundred feet distant from the centre of the railway, except where, for a*good reason to be shown, con- struction at the distance specified is impracticable. In sections where fire-guards are necessary, and on account of brush or timber it is impracticable to plow, the fire-guard may be constructed by clearing away the brush or undergrowth and removing all combusti- ble matter on the ground, thoroughly exposing the mineral soil for the required width, in such manner as to form an efficient fire-guard. “Where a fire-guard has been constructed within two years past, strictly in accordance with the above requirements, discing will be acceptable instead of plowing, but all weeds and other inflammable material must be plowed or disced under the furrow, so as to make a good and efficient fire-guard. ‘Where fire-guards have previously been constructed which are not strictly in accordance with the above requirements, new fire-guards must be constructed which will conform to the specifi- cations. However, where fire-guards have already been constructed this season at a distance of less than three hundred feet from the track but are otherwise according to the specifications herein contained, such construction will be accepted for this year’s requirements, but no longer. “The construction of such fire-guards shall be completed as specified, within the said Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, not later than the fifteenth day of August, 1912. “Between the said fifteenth day of August and the first day of December, the Company shall keep the said fire-guards, and each parcel or section of land between them and the railway, free from dead or dry grass, weeds and other unnecessary combust- ible matter. = 4 - — © ws + % q iy 7 RAILWAY RIGHT-OF-WAY PREVIOUS TO CLEARING As required by Section 297 of the Railway Act A WINTER FOREST SURVEY CAMP IN NORTHERN ONTARIO RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 35 ‘‘Wherever satisfactory arrangements can be made with the owners of cultivated lands who object to the construction of fire- guards through fields of grain, flax, hay, etc., while the crop is on the ground, fire-guards as above specified shall be constructed at the earliest possible date after the removal of the crop, and the stubble shall be then burned over between the fire-guard and the track. “Where owners of cultivated lands object to the construction of fire-guards through fields of grain, flax, hay, etc., arrangements should be made, wherever possible, for the utilization, during the ensuing year of strips not less than sixteen feet in width, at a dis- tance of not less than three hundred feet from the track, for the growing of root crops, such as potatoes, turnips, beets, etc., since such strips will serve as efficient fire-guards and will not prevent the utilization of the land, as would be the case were fire-guards plowed through fields of grain, flax, hay, etc., Where efficient protection can be secured in this way, such procedure will be construed as a compliance with the requirements of the Board. “Tn all cases where the owner objects to the construction of fire-guards across lands under cultivation at the time when fire- guards are being constructed on adjacent lands, .the fire-guard on each side of such cultivated land shall be turned in to the right- of-way and especial care shall be taken to connect the two such ends, either by plowing along the outer edge of the right-of-way, in such a manner that a fire occurring between the track and the fire- guard on either side of such cultivated land, may not spread around the ends of the fire-guard and endanger the land under cultivation, either before or after the removal of the crop. “The provisions of this Order shall apply to the portions of the line under construction, or to be constructed, in the three Provinces named, the same as to portions under operation. In other words, fire-guards are to be constructed at the time when the grading is done on each new portion of the road.” Frre-Guarp INSPECTION As previously noted, the field Inspectors of the Operating and Engineering Departments of the Board of Railway Commissioners assisted in the fire-guard inspection. Assistance was also rendered by Mr. E. H. Finlayson, Inspector of Fire Ranging, Forestry Branch, who was appointed Fire Inspector in the Fire Inspection Department, in accordance with the plan of co-operation previously described. Mr. Finlayson’s duties were more specifically in connection with the in- spection of patrols and the clearing of rights-of-way, but the assistance rendered in connection with the fire-guard work was very valuable. For the inspection of fire-guards in Alberta, a co-operative arrange- ment was made with the Department of Agriculture of that Province whereby Mr. Benjamin Lawton, Chief Fire Guardian, was appointed Fire-Guard Inspector for the Board. A similar plan has been approved 36 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION by the Government of Saskatchewan, and it is expected that fire-guard inspection in that Province will be largely so handled during the season of 1913. The arrangement was not made in sufficient time to be effective during the season of 1912. In Manitoba, a proposition for a similar plan of co-operation was made, but did not meet with approval, as the Government of that Province felt that the inspection should be handled directly by the Board. Other arrangements will accordingly be made as to fire-guard inspection in Manitoba. Frre-Guarp STUDY In order to make the requirements for fire-guard construction in 1913 and thereafter correspond as closely as possible to local conditions and needs, an exhaustive study of the question has been undertaken. Co-operation was arranged with the representative agricultural organ- izations of the Prairie Provinces, namely the United Farmers of Alberta, the Saskatchewan Grain Growers’ Association, and the Manitoba Grain Growers’ Association. Through the Secretaries of these Associa- tions, circulars were sent to the secretaries and other representative members of the local organizations throughout the Provinces named, calling for answers to a large number of specific questions. The replies to these questions, with other information available, will form the basis for conferences with representative railway officials, and ultimately for the issuance of instructions as to fire guard construction during 1913 ; these instructions should be very much more satisfactory, especially as to land under cultivation, than were the instructions for 1912. The circular used in this connection follows — Fire-Guard Construction in Prairie Provinces EXPLANATORY NOTE: The present requirements of the Railway Commission, as to fire-guard construction by railway companies in the prairie provinces, call for a ploughed strip not less than 16 feet in width, on each side of the track, at a distance of not less than 300 feet from the track, except where unnecessary or impracticable. The railway company is also required to burn over the whole 600 foot strip. In order that efficient protection may be secured during 1913, at a medium of cost to the companies and of loss and inconvenience to the farming interests, a full discussion is invited with regard to the following points, on the part of everyone interested. If preferred, this outline may be considered merely as a basis for discussion, and the whole subject treated in letter form on separate paper. In any event, some answers may require more space than is here provided, and if so, the supplemental data should be submitted on separate sheets, using corresponding figures and letters to designate questions and sections of questions being answered. Return answers to 1. Name of railway company or compan and portions of lines (inclusive of stations), to which your answers to the following questions apply RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 37 2. As to Cultivated Lands ‘"""(@)_ What should be the distance of the outer edge of the ploughed strip from the track ? ' (i) Should the ploughing be in a solid strip, or in two narrow strips with an open space between? (1) To what extent have railway fires occurred in your section in cultivated lands during the past four years ? 3. As to Fenced Pasture Lands (a) In your section, is fire-guarding necessary through fenced pasture lands, aside from burning off the right-of-way ? (c) What should be the distance of the outer edge of the ploughed strip from the track ? (f) Should the burning cover only the right-of-way, or entire area between ploughing and track, or right-of-way and narrow strip between two sections of PIGUET ON PCE er ites ors frase See eines Wosbee cieeeeewceue (g) To what extent does discing make an efficient fire-guard the second or suc- cessive years after ploughing ? (h) ‘To what extent have railway fires occurred in fenced pasture land during the past four years ? 4. As to Open Prairie Lands (a) To what extent have grass fires occurred in your section in the open prairie, caused by locomotive sparks, during the past four years ? 38 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION _(®) Should the ploughing for fire-guards in the open prairie be in a solid strip, or in two narrow strips with an open space between ?..........------seeeeeeeee (c) Does a 16-foot ploughed strip 300 feet from the track constitute an efficient fire-guard without burning off between the right-of-way and the track ?.......... (d) How practicable is it to burn off a 300-foot strip each side of the track in open prairie, assuming strips will be ploughed at the outside limits?.............. (9) Will two 8-foot strips of ploughing, with an open space between of 30 feet width, this space to be burned over, constitute a satisfactory fire-guard, without burning over the ground between the ploughing and the right-of-way ?........... (hk) Will discing and harrowing make an efficient fire-guard the second or suceessive years after ploughing, or is reploughing necessary each year?.......... (i) What system of fire-guarding is recommended for open prairie? ........ 5. What is the best way to prevent the spread of weeds from fire-guards ? Discuss for open prairie and for pasture lands. .................--++-eeeee eee 6. Does a graded wagonroad paralleling the track constitute an efficient sub- stitute for the construction of a ploughed fire-guard ?..............000e eee scene If so, state the greatest and least distances from the track when the presence of such a road should relieve the railway company of the necessity for ploughing guards. Answer for (a) Open prairie, from..:........... tOSr wlan feet; (b) Fenced pasture, from..............-- TOs saeco tree Sretnes feet ; (c) Cultivated |Eve(s Soave Canbaboooonor EOiae oaisvard asers Seitus feet. 7. In your opinion, to what extent would farmers or other landowners be will- ing to contract with the railway companies for ploughing fire-guards across their own lands in return for old ties from the track, to be used as fuel assuming that fire guards across cultivated lands should be ploughed immediately following the harvest, and that width of ploughing and distance from track will conform to needs of local conditions? Discuss as to cultivated lands, fenced pasture and open prairie and fully as to what you think would be a fair arrangement in cases where the necessary work on the farmer’s land is done by the farmer...........-...--.--seeeeeeeeee 8. Where the above arrangement can not be made, to what extent are farmers likely to object to the ploughing of fire-guards by agents of the railway companies ? 10. Where the land owner refuses to allow the railway company access to his lands for the construction of fire-guards, should not the company be relieved of re- sponsibility for damage to the property of such owner through fires occurring be- cause of the absence of fire-guards across his lands ?.............. 00 esses eee eee 11. To what extent is it practicable for the farmer to grow some non-com- bustible crop on a strip along the right of way, such as alfalfa, beets, potatoes, etc., thus forming a perfect fire-guard ?............0eee eee cece reece teeter eee eeeee RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 39 12. What fire protection is necessary along railway lines through poplar (aspen) lands? (Omit if no such lands in your section)........................ 13. Give any suggestions as to fire-guard situation not covered above ...... i re Sipnapursaeemeeme eye eve Sasha Cor Sh Ny abe Officralitition Gitany,))eeey er moore nine tine onic ost Oink hye ae Nope A eek syed PLOW ADCO srs crercra intitle eaicherlaye croton a rae Part i Forest Fires and the Brush Disposal Problem The slash menace constitutes the greatest single problem in con- nection with forest fire protection. Lumbering Slash—The large areas of inflammable material fol- lowing old-style lumbering operations are almost certain to catch fire sooner or later. As a matter of fact, most of the serious fires have started in slashings. Control of such fires in dry seasons is almost im- possible, and the loss of life and property has been enormous. In addition to the destruction of merchantable timber on adjacent lands, the second crop on the cut-over lands is, in case of a forest of mixed age-classes, retarded by fire for at least 50 to 100 years, through the destruction of the young growth under merchantable size. This of course does not apply to a forest where the trees are practically all of merchantable size, especially where fire, following cutting, facilitates reproduction, as is true of Douglas fir on the Pacific Coast and of western white pine in the interior. In many cases, the soil is so injured by fire and resulting erosion, that it is rendered incapable ef producing merchantable timber for generations and possibly hundreds of years. Very frequently the com- position of the forest is changed as a result of fire on either virgin or cut-over lands. Everyone is familiar with the growth of aspen, birch or jack-pine, which frequently follows fire on cut-over lands in Eastern Canada. The rapid extension of lumbering operations into new sec- tions constantly increases the extent of territory subject to this class of fire menace. Settlers’ Slash—The slash resulting from clearing operations of settlers is a source of fire danger which ranks closely with the lumbering slash. In one sense, the danger from this source is greater, since the settler’s slash must be burned, and there is naturally a strong tendency to perform this operation at a season when a clean burn can be secured. As a result there is a great danger of fire escaping and getting either into virgin forest or into adjacent lumbering slash, frequently causing great loss of property and even of life. Considerable progress has, however, been made, through legislation, in the regulation of settlers’ slash- burning operations. The principal point to which further attention in this connection is most urgently needed is the employment through the summer season of a sufficiently large force of efficient rangers to ensure strict compliance with the laws. as “4 - a > al 4 - i tf = Oi ’ { 5 7 { n = & 7 =) ¥ i : : Hi | : ' \ t . ‘ b, . r \ ~ - ve = *sd019 19qUIT} BAISSO9ONS Sulonposd Aq AWUNOD 9y} JO YIM BY} 0} ppe ABUT Ady} BY} JopsO UI pajyoaj}oId aq pynoYys Spur] YONs [Ty VIAINOIOD HSILIMA NUAHLNOS NI SGNVT NIVINQOW TVYNLTNONIOV-NON NO auld AO SLOAAKIaA AHL jo wolssi uo) BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 41 Methods of Organization—The solution of the problem of the lumberman’s slash has been the subject of a great deal of study both in the United States and Canada. On account of differences in economic conditions the situation at the present time is more advanced in the former than in the latter. As to lands in the United States owned by the Federal Government, the lead has been taken by the United States Forest Service, through the imposition of requirements for brush disposal in connection with sales of timber in the National Forests of the Western States. As to lands in private ownership, which comprise four-fifths of the timber of the country, progress has also been made through the enactment of state legislation, particularly in New York, Minnesota and Oregon, and through voluntary co-operation on the part of the associations of timber-land owners in the Pacific Northwest comprising the Western Forestry and Conservation Association. Up to the present time, this organization is limited to the States of Washing- ton, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and California. In addition to fire patrol, the organizations comprising this Association furnish expert assistance in supervising the disposal of slash, thus ensuring the greatest possible efficiency and safety. Situation in Canada.—In contrast to the short-sighted policy which so long prevailed in the United States, the Dominion and Provin- cial Governments of Canada have wisely retained the ownership of non-agricultural lands to a very large extent, disposing for the most part only of the right to cut timber under specified conditions. Thus, the necessity for voluntary action through the formation of lumber- men’s associations is not nearly so urgent asin the United States. With the exception of the relatively small percentage of timber land in pri- vate ownership, the situation is, in the long run, within the control of the Dominion and Provincial Governments, in connection with the issu- ance of new licenses and renewals of those previously issued. In some cases, all that is needed is the enforcement of provisions already included within licenses. This is particularly true of those issued by the Domin- ion Government, where ample provision is made on paper for brush disposal but where these provisions have not been enforced. This continued lack of enforcement has resulted in what is doubtless regarded by many of the licensees as a sort of vested right, which it will no doubt be difficult to overcome. In Eastern Canada, the stand of timber is not nearly so heavy as on the Pacific slope, and the problem of brush disposal must be handled in a different way. The conditions in the Adirondack region of New York, where much has already been done along this line, are closely similar to those in the spruce region which covers so large an area in eastern Canada. Much may also be learned from the experience in 42 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Minnesota, where conditions are similar to those over a large area of forest country in Ontario and Southeastern Manitoba. In the same way, forest conditions in Alberta and British Columbia are closely similar to those in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon, where the problem of brush disposal has been the subject of a great deal of investi- gation and discussion. For these reasons, conditions in the regions named are discussed in some detail later in this report. Brush Disposal Necessary While patrols, the use of spark arresters, care with camp-fires, and similar measures are, and will continue to be, necessary, the root of the problem so far as the slashing menace is concerned, can best be reached through the adoption of measures for the disposal of debris from woods operations, in sections where the fire danger is extreme. It must be recognized that conditions vary widely, and that measures to be taken must be justified by the intensity of the fire danger, and must also be practicable from a business point of view. In the past, when stumpage values were low, and the margin of profit small, owing to large supplies and keen competition for the market, intensive methods could not be practised. Now, however, timber values are becoming sufficiently high to justify the owner in spending money to protect his remaining timber from fire, and, to a certain ex- tent, in protecting the young growth for the sake of later cuttings. This is particularly true in the pulpwood sections, where repeated operations are practicable within reasonable limits of time. This consideration, however, should appeal with especial force to the Pro- vincial and Dominion Governments in Canada, which, fortunately, still retain to a very large extent the ownership of immense areas of non-agricultural lands which are suitable only for the production of timber. Governments can best afford to hold lands for forest produc- tion, on account of the long time element invelved, and thus are par- ticularly interested in maintaining the forest productive capacity of their non-agricultural lands. The question of fire-protection and thus of brush disposal should appeal to Government agencies with especial force. No Hardship upon Operators.—The imposition of conditions under which cutting will be permitted upon Government lands is in reality no hardship upon operators, since these conditions are taken into con- sideration in fixing the prices to be paid for the privilege of cutting. This is self-evident as to the issuance of new licenses, where the operator knows the conditions in advance and makes his tender upon that basis, thus throwing upon the Government, where it belongs, the cost of pro- viding for the perpetuation of the forest. In case of renewals of licenses BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 43 previously issued, there may be some difference of opinion, but the at- titude here should be that stumpage values are constantly increasing, that the Government should get the benefit of a reasonable proportion of this increment, thus necessitating periodical readjustments of the purchase price, and that restrictions upon the method of cutting in order to perpetuate the forest as such, are a part of such price, which must be taken fully into consideration in determining the cash payments. Disposal of Conifers and Hardwoods.—Brush disposal as a fire-pre- ventive measure is generally considered at the present time only in connection with coniferous or so-called evergreen species,—the spruces, firs, pines, hemlock, etc.—as contrasted with the so-called hardwoods or broad-leaved species, such as the maples, beech, birch, etc. Coniferous species are found almost exclusively in the West. In the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada the principal species being cut on a large scale are also conifers. The hardwoods rot much more quickly than do the conifers, so that the debris disappears by decay in a much shorter time. Further, the danger of fire in a hardwood slashing is in no way comparable at any time to the danger in a coniferous slashing. It should also be borne in mind that in a hardwood forest, the fire danger is due to the leaf litter rather than to the tops, though the tops may increase the severity of a fire once it is started. Lopping the tops in hardwoods will not minimize the danger of a leaf fire, although it may possibly do so if the trees are cut in full leaf in the late summer or early fall. If such a leaf fire gets started in hard- woods it is in any event almost certain to kill any reproduction in its way.’ A further point is the fact that under present conditions the stumpage values of hardwood species are generally too low to justify the extra expenditure that would be involved in any plan of brush disposal. Many large areas of hardwoods can not be operated even now, without any expense of this kind, and undoubtedly the imposition of such a requirement would not only delay the day when such tracts can be oper- ated, but would convert into a loss, or at least very materially reduce, the profits on hardwood operations which are now being carried on in portions of the eastern United States and Canada. Where cordwood is taken out as a part of the hardwood operation, the need for consider- ing brush disposal is very greatly reduced, entirely aside from the financial consideration. However, as hardwood stumpage increases in value, more intensive methods will become practicable in fire prevention, through the better disposal of hardwood brush. The depletion of the timber resources of the country is rapidly hastening the day. Such action is even now possible under the most favourable conditions. The most encouraging illustration in this respect is the recent sale of the standing merchantable 44 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION timber on the Biltmore Estate, North Carolina, at a price of approxi- mately $12 per acre, the ownership of the land being reserved. The removal of the timber is to take place within 20 years, diameter limits for cutting the various species are prescribed, and provision is made for the piling and burning of brush resulting from cutting operations. The latter measure is adopted principally as a fire-protective precaution. Methods of Disposal.—So far as possible, brush disposal should keep pace with logging. Deep snow may, however, make this impracticable. In case of summer operations, where there is danger of fire spreading, the brush should be piled as the operation proceeds, leaving the burning to be done at a safe time later, as after a rain or a light fall of snow. Under some conditions, sufficient protection from fire may be secur- ed by the burning of brush so as to form broad fire lines, particularly along railways or wagon roads, laid out in such a manner as to do the least injury to young growth. The necessity for general burning is decreased if an efficient system of patrol is provided. There are four general methods of brush disposal, which are more or less closely related. These are: (1) Burning; (2) Lopping; (3) Lopping and piling ; (4) Lopping and scattering. Burning.—This may be either broadcast, or following lopping and piling. In the Coast type of the Pacific Northwest, broadcast burning has been found most practicable under certain conditions. This applies to sections where the stand is very heavy and the trees are prac- tically all mature, so that the operation amounts to a clear-cutting, with practically no young growth left worth the extra cost of protection. The slash is left scattered as in old-style lumbering operations and is often 4 or 5 feet deep all over the ground. An efficient fire line is made around the slashing by the removal of all inflammable material on a wide strip. The tract is then burned off, but in order to ensure a clean burn and at the same time avoid danger of the fire spreading beyond control, and into green timber, it is necessary to employ men thoroughly experienced in this line of work, and great care must be used in selecting the time for burning. This procedure results in expos- ing the mineral soil, thus facilitating the reproduction of Douglas fir, which species is considered of superior desirability. Broadcast burning can be done at a much lower cost than piling and burning. It is reported that under favourable conditions this work can be done for as little as 25 cents per acre. Probably, however, in most cases, it will cost from 5 to ro cents for each thousand feet of timber cut. Piling and burning are indicated for sections where the cutting is not clean and where, as a result, the remaining young growth of mature or semi-mature timber must be protected and the fire danger is so great as to require the elimination of the slash menace. This method ONINOAM “LSANOA TVNOILVN NUYOHDSIA NO TvSOdSId HSnud ™ BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 45 is very frequently adopted in connection with timber sales by the United States Forest Service in the Western States. It must, however, be re- garded primarily as a fire-protective measure, and where cutting is done in the winter, as in parts of Minnesota and of the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, it has been found entirely practicable to burn the brush as the operation proceeds. The added cost of piling and burning is in part offset by the greater ease of skidding. Lopping.—The disadvantages of burning brush will, under some conditions, outweigh the advantages, thus rendering some other form of brush disposal desirable. For instance, in the Adirondacks, the burn- ing of brush is considered impracticable, partly on account of cost and partly on account of the great danger of soil fires, with resultant loss of young and old growth. Silvicultural considerations also enter into the question, and these will be discussed in the course of the en- suing discussion. The whole theory of lopping brush is that by this means the debris is brought into much closer contact with the ground, so that it will absorb moisture more readily, dry out less in summer, and decay more rapidly than when propped high above the ground. If the work is properly done, brush handled in this way largely ceases to be a fire menace in a very few years, and will practically disappear by decay in from one-third to one-half the time required for brush supported off the ground, as are unlopped tops under ordinary conditions. Following the lopping operation, piling or scattering is usually advisable, unless the added cost renders this impracticable. So far as known, the lopping of tops as a fire-protective measure, either in Europe or America, was first suggested by Dr. B. E. Fernow in 1890. This suggestion was embodied in his report to the Adirondack League Club on a proposed forest policy for the tract of 93,000 acres of virgin timber land in the Adirondack mountains of New York, which had just been purchased for the use of the Club. This tract was pur- chased subject to the reservation of all spruce timber above 12 inches in diameter, without restrictions as to methods of cutting. The follow- ing statement, quoted from Dr. Fernow’s report* will be of interest in this connection : “The danger and damage from fire is increased wherever lumbering is carried on, especially from the fact that the leavings, tops of trees and limbs, dry rapidly and lend intensity to any running fire. The proper disposal of these leavings should have been considered in your lumber contracts. In the absence of con- ditions to that effect the Club must dispose of the matter on its own account. *Report of the Chief of the Division of Forestry for 1890, page 221. (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.) 46 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION “Tt has been urged that the leavings should be gathered and burned. This is expensive and wasteful, and it is my opinion that, at least with the spruce under the conditions before us, it is unneces- sary. The danger arises from the fact that the tops braced up by the branches from the soil are dried and kept dry, like tinder. By lopping the branches and letting both branches and tops fall to the ground, it is to be anticipated that the material would be kept wet from the winter snows and soon be rotted. Besides, some useful material for pulp manufacture, which the lumberman would have left, might be saved from this top material. I would at least recommend the trial of this new method. The lopping should be done soon after the felling and it might be possible to make arrangements for this work with the contractor for the lumber.”’ On account of financial complications, the contract for lumbering the tract was not carried out, and consequently Dr. Fernow’s sugges- tions as to top-lopping did not become effective. According to Graves, the lopping of tops on an extensive scale was first done in the Adirondacks in lumbering spruce and pine. The plan at first was to cut off only the upper branches of the top. This, however, left the top supported off the ground by the lower branches, so that decay was retarded, and the method was modified to include the lopping of the lower branches, so that the stem and brush could rest on the ground, where decay would be rapid. The piles of brush were packed down by the heavy snows of winter, and in this condition absorbed moisture so rapidly that the fire danger disappeared to a very large extent within a few years. A later development in some tracts was the scattering of the brush in addition to lopping. The best example of this is on Nehasane Park, the estate of Dr. Seward H. Webb. However, the essential degree of care in getting the brush to the ground has not been generally taken on other tracts, and is not required by the State law, though the self- interest of the land owners would seem to dictate that this action be taken, in order that full benefit may be derived from the expenditure for lopping which the law requires. The situation in the Adirondacks will be fully discussed in the succeeding section of this report. Lopping and Piling. —This is an improvement upon merely lopping the tops, where no especial attention is given to getting the material either directly on the ground or in piles resting on the ground, and where, consequently, a certain percentage of the brush will inevitably become lodged upon stones, stumps or logs and thus be supported off the ground, where decay will be greatly retarded. Lopping, followed by either piling or scattering, may be preferable to burning, from silvicultural considerations. In dry situations, as in the yellow pine type of the Rocky Mountain region, and especially of the Southwestern States, VNVINOW ‘LSduOd TYNOILVN VINOSSIN' ONINUNA YOM AAVAU ‘CALATANOO SVM ONITOVH UALAV ‘AVON 901 NIVW NI GaTId HSNUua SEAS OAT CT TOO ate UoTPRAJg D Bi tal eae worsen tee . —s BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 47 the best and often the only reproduction comes up under a fallen tree top or other brush. The ground is shaded and soil evaporation re- tarded by the presence of a covering of leaves, twigs and brush. Under such conditions, the burning of the brush may make the difference be- tween reproduction and none. The burning of the brush, unless im- perative as a fire protective measure, thus becomes undesirable from a silvicultural point of view. Lopping and scattering the brush will facilitate reproduction in this type of forest, but it undoubtedly increases the fire danger during the first few years, so that it is sometimes consider- ed most desirable to lop the brush and pile it at a distance from living trees. This protects the mature timber in case of fire, and, at the same time, encourages the development of seedling growth around the edges of the brush piles, through the shading of the soil and the retention of moisture. In Manitou park in Central Colorado, this method of brush disposal was practised at a cost of 35 to 40 cents per acre. If there is already a satisfactory amount of reproduction on the ground, piling without burning will be preferable, unless the brush can be piled in open spaces so that burning will not destroy the young growth. Lopping and Scattering —This has been discussed in the preceding paragraphs. The amount of brush, the degree of fire danger, and the necessity for encouraging reproduction must be considered. The fire danger is decreased by piling, whereas scattering is usually preferable from a silvicultural standpoint. Lopping and scattering is favored for cuttings on second growth woodlands, where the amount of debris is relatively small, as in a mixed forest, where cordwood or pulpwood has been taken out of the tops. In sections where there is danger of soil erosion, or where the reproduction is in danger of being destroyed through browsing or trampling by stock, the lopping and scattering of brush is also preferable, unless other considerations outweigh these. Brush Disposal on National Forests in Idaho, Montana and Minnesota Since conditions in the Rocky Mountain region of Canada are prac- tically the same as in that portion of the United States lying directly south of that region the following is quoted in full from a statement by the U.S. District Forester of National Forest District No. 1, compris- ing Montana, Minnesota, and Northern Idaho : “Practically the only methods of brush disposal which are in use in this District are piling in high compact piles and burning, piling in windrows and burning, and broadcast burning within fire lines. Lop- ping and scattering of brush without burning are not considered ade- 48 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION quately safe in this region, although I understand it is much used in the southwest. The protection of the soil from drying out by this method is an unimportant advantage, and even in many cases a positive disad- vantage in the regions in which most of our timber sales are being carried on, and the extreme fire risk is considered prohibitive. Lop- ping is, however, essential with any of the three methods in use, as even a broadcast burn cannot be depended on to destroy unlopped tops satisfactorily. The conditions for which the three methods are suited are as follows : “Brush piling is essential wherever seed trees are reserved, or a selection system of marking is employed. It is the most thorough of the three methods and also the most expensive, the cost varying with the region. The following examples will serve to give some idea of what can be expected under varying conditions : “On the A.C.M. Company’s sale, on the Bitterroot Forest in Mon- tana, from which 37,000,000 feet of Western yellow pine was cut, under the selection system, the actual cost of piling brush was 42.1c. per M. feet B.M., and the cost of burning was 6.7c. per M. feet B.M., or a total of 48.8c. This was in the yellow pine type. “On the Eureka Lumber Company’s sale, on the Blackfeet Forest in Montana, the actual cost of piling was 42c. per M. feet B.M. with the cost of burning unknown. This was in the western larch-Douglas fir type. “On the Kootenai Forest in Montana, the average cost of brush piling has been estimated by the Supervisor at 25c. per M. feet B.M. “On the Minnesota Forest in Minnesota, where extensive cuttings have been conducted in eastern white pine and Norway pine, the piling of the brush has been contracted for at 25c. per M. feet B.M., and the burning at 6c. per M. feet B.M. The actual cost of piling the brush is estimated at 18c. “Wherever possible we consider it advisable to permit some cheaper method of brush disposal. These cheaper methods, however, have not been thoroughly tried out, and our cost data is less accurate. The piling ~ of the brush in windrows is applicable in cases of clean cutting in strips or with reserved blocks or groups of seed trees, particularly in steep country. It entails a minimum of extra labor to the operator, as, in the ordinary process of skidding in steep country, the swampers usually leave the brush in fairly satisfactory windrows in making the skidding trails. It has the advantage in some cases of not exposing the mineral soil over the whole area and kills unmerchantable weed trees, about which the slash may be piled. It is less thorough, however, than brush BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 49 piling, unless very carefully supervised, due to the tendency of the swampers not to cut the material fine enough. Its cost on the Cceur d’Alene Forest, in the western white pine type, has been about toc. per M. feet B.M., including the burning. “Broadcast burning inside of fire lines has been used in this Dis- trict, chiefly in the case of fire-killed timber, where the low value of the product to be handled demands a minimum cost to the operator for this item. It is also being used in the case of agricultural land which will be eliminated from the Forests as soon as the timber is removed, and from which our principal aim is to derive the maximum financial return without undue fire risk. Its cost is estimated to be between sc. and toc. per M. feet B.M. The essential of this system is, of course, that the exterior fire line be very carefully constructed. This is usually made by clearing a strip about a chain wide with a fire line exposing the mineral soil in its centre for a width of two or three feet. In ad- dition, any snags or stubs standing in dangerous proximity to the line are felled.” Brush Disposal on National Forests in Oregon and Washington Since conditions are very similar in British Columbia to those directly south of the boundary, in the United States, the following is quoted from a statement by the District Forester of District No. 6, U.S. Forest Service. This District includes Oregon and Washington : “The subject of brush disposal in this District naturally falls into two divisions, the disposal of slash by broad-cast burning in the region where Douglas fir is predominant, and the disposal of brush by requiring it to be heaped into small piles and burned, in the region where western yellow pine is the leading species. In this latter division it may be also sometimes advisable to lop and scatter the brush where the conservation of soil moisture and the protection of young seedlings are desired and where at the same time, the fire danger is very small. In the method of disposing of brush by broad-cast burning, the Forest Service has had comparatively little experience as. yet, contrary to what, perhaps, might have been expected. Our large Douglas fir sales are yet scarcely more than two or three years old and consequently the areas cut over have not become very ex- tensive. On a few of the older sales the brush has been burned broadcast at advantageous times in a rather desultory manner, and no record has been kept of the cost of this work. In fact we have had so little experience in it that I would hesitate to guess at any cost figures. On the Snoqualmie Forest, where we have the greater number of comparatively large sales of Douglas fir timber, it has always been planned to burn the slash at the proper time, COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION but, up to the present, none of these sales has progressed to the point where it has been possible to do so. On two of the sale areas on this Forest the slash caught fire from fires which were burn- ing on adjacent land and burned off the slash at very little expense to the Service with no resulting loss to green timber left standing. These burns, however, were very poor, and the local officers have come to the conclusion that several burns should take place on the cut-over areas before they are in a satisfactory condition for the inception of a new crop of timber. “The theory and praetice of slash disposal in Douglas fir sales, for which we make ample provision now in our timber sale con- tracts, may be synopsized as follows : “A fire line from 25 to 35 feet in width is constructed around the area to be slash-burned and is used as a barrier to the limits of the burn. All snags on the area to be burned within the vicinity of this fire line, and wherever they occur on the area in such a manner as to be a fire menace, are first felled. At the most opportune time when the slash can be burned without the escape of fire to adjacent timber the slash is burned and as clean a burn as possible is obtained. This last point is very desirable and probably the hardest condition to obtain. Its desirability is evident on account of the requirement of Douglas fir seed to germinate in mineral soil and to have just as little inflammable debris as possible on the area where the second growth of timber comes up. “The question of whether the brush should be burned in the spring or in the fall has been much discussed. Each time has its advantages and disadvantages. Spring slash burning is compara- tively safe from one standpoint because the ground and litter is still wet from the snows and rains of winter and the fire will not readily spread to areas where burning is not intended. There are several disadvantages, however, in burning the slash at this time of the year. It is often impossible to secure a clean burn because the debris is not sufficiently dry. If all the snags on the cut-over area have not been felled they are apt to smolder for a long time, and may prove to be a constant source of danger in the dry season of midsummer, when a strong wind may fan the smoldering sparks into flames. A smoldering snag, which was ignited during a fire which occurred on July 4, was noticed to be still burning during the week before Thanksgiving, and furthermore, at the time of observation a heavy fall of soft snow was coming down. Another disadvantage of spring burning is that the underbrush will come up after the slash is burned, and the seed bed will not be in such a well prepared condition for the reception of the fall of seed in the autumn. “Slash burning in the fall is rather difficult because it is hard to start the fire at exactly the right time. A delay in order to secure a moister and consequently safer condition of the debris may be prolonged too long and to such a time that the debris will be so wet that it will not burn. If done at the right time, however, fall slash burning is more thorough because the slash is drier and the BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 51 result will be a good clean-up of the debris on the area, leaving the mineral soil in the proper condition for the reception of tree seed at the time of year when the seed is falling. No growth of brush will come up on the area until the following spring when the young tree seedlings will have an even chance with the brush and weeds. If it has not been possible to fell all of the snags, burning in the fall will insure the extinguishment of whatever snags may be smoldering before the next dry season comes around. “The collection of brush and burning it in piles is universally practiced in the Forest Service timber sales in the yellow pine region of this District. The main principle is to get rid of as much of the brush as possible and at the same time to do the least damage by fire to the timber left uncut, and to the young growth and seedlings. It has been our experience that it costs the timber sale purchaser from 20 to 25 cents to pile the brush, and from four to five cents to burn it in piles, per thousand feet B. M. This costs varies with conditions. In many places where the timber is bushy and there is a large amount of foliage, the cost of piling may run considerably higher than 25 cents per thousand. In one of our large timber sales on the Whitman Forest in eastern Oregon it requires on the average, about one man to pile the brush resulting from the cutting of about 15,000 feet B. M. daily. We are becoming more insistent that the burning of brush piles must be done in such a manner as to cause the least possible damage to timber left standing. In many cases piles should not be burned at all where there is a danger of scorching adjacent timber. You can readily see how futile it would be to mark the timber for cutting, in a most careful manner, and then have a considerable amount of the trees left for seed or protection, or even a second cut, damaged by careless brush burning. “T am enclosing for your information a circular letter containing instructions for the piling and burning of brush in yellow pine timber which I think you may find interesting. U.S. FOREST SERVICE INSTRUCTIONS FOR BRUSH BURNING UNDER THE SELECTION SYSTEM OF CuTTING IN District VI. “In most cases where the selection system is practiced in this District, z.e. throughout the yellow pine type and most of the mixed forest types east of the Cascades, the brush is piled and burned in logging operations on the National Forests. “The following instructions are issued in regard to methods of brush piling and burning in order that this most vital and far too often poorly managed part of our administration of selection cuttings may be handled in the best possible fashion. “Pitinc BrusH.—The first step in successful brush disposal is to secure good piles, and this requires the observance of the following provisions : “+. The large limbs should be lopped off the tops so that where piles are made on the tree tips, the brush will lie compactly. 52 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION “ec 2. Piles should be placed as far as possible from reserved trees of all sizes and from patches of reproduction of all species. “3, Piles should be made medium in size, i.e. they should not be so large that they will make a dangerously large blaze, and they should not be so small that they will be unnecessarily costly to burn or cover an unnecessarily large proportion of the ground. ‘4. The debris should be laid on the piles inan orderly fashion, so that they will be compact;—the piles should be piles and not heaps of brush. “5. Large chunks, and heavy limbs free of twigs should not be placed on the piles. - Such pieces will not burn up completely, and if charred, will not rot quickly. “BuRNING THE Prites.—The success of the selection method of cutting, as practiced in the yellow pine region, depends upon the proper burning of the brush. If it is not well done, the sale will be bad silviculturally no matter how good the marking or how much care is taken to avoid damage to reproduction and reserved trees. If the brush burning is not done right, our methods of scientific forestry are jeopardized and the selection system of cutting rendered a failure. “If the burning of the brush piles scorches neighboring trees, runs from pile to pile licking up the reproduction, and now and then jumps from a burning pile into the tops of a group of poles or saplings, all the expense incurred by the Forest Service in doing good marking and by the purchaser in doing careful logging and good brush piling, is of no avail. “In order to burn the piles so that the least possible damage to the forest will be done, the following points should be observed, whether the burning is done by the purchaser under the direction of the forest officer or directly by the Forest Service. ae 1. Each burning crew should consist of but four or five men, who should be in charge of an intelligent, careful foreman. In every case there should be a forest officer to each two crews, and he should be on the ground supervising the burning most of the time while it is in progress. “9. The lighting of the piles should be done only by the fore- man or some other responsible member of the crew, who will use good judgment in applying the torch.* At times when the brush is apt to burn freely, only every other or every third or fourth pile should be lighted, and the balance burned later, or on another day, and thus the intense heat caused by burning consecutive piles will be avoided and the danger of a general conflagration lessened. * A convenient brush burning torch has been devised by one supervisor. It consists of a piece) of light 2-inch pine 18 inches long, with a detachable cap or headstop at one end, which is fitte through a reducer to a piece of 3 or 5g-inch pipe 30 inches long. Through the small pipe is run a cotton wick of the same size, its lower end being bent into convenient shape. The large pipe answers as a tank and will hold one quart of coal oil. BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 53 Account should also be taken of the direction of the wind in relation to reserved trees, and the torch used with discretion accordingly. “The balance of the crew should ‘chunk up’ the piles so that a rim of unburned limbs, twigs, and needles will not be left, and should with shovels confine the fire to the space immediately about the piles. “3. The foremost consideration in brush burning is to lessen the fire menace from the logging debris in such a way that as little as possible of the reserved timber and young growth will be hurt. it is not necessary, therefore, to burn every pile, for, when an occasional pile is of necessity close to young trees, it is far better to leave it than to burn it and damage them. It is also unnecessary to burn the brush absolutely clean to a bed of ashes. The coarser pieces are not a fire menace so long as all the fine twigs and needles are consumed, and though unsightly for a year or two, they are not so much so as a group of scorched or dying poles and saplings. It is usually better silviculturally to have the piles burn moderately than to have them burn fiercely, and the increased cost of slow burning is amply justified. oe 4. In general, the fall is the best season for brush burning in practically every part of the District. On all sales therefore, all the brush piles which have accumulated to date should be burned in the fall and early winter. In large sales where logging is in progress during the winter and early spring, in order to avoid carrying through the dry season a large quantity of brush piles, it may be best to do some spring brush burning. In any event, where a large quantity of brush is on hand in the spring, strips of brush piles should be burned for fire lanes. Begin fall burning as soon as the woods are wet enough, and spring burning as soon as the piles are dry enough. The burning seasons are short and should be made the most of. “5. The key to successful brush burning is the selection of exactly the right time to do the burning. When the season is right for burning, prompt action should be taken to get the burning crew onthe ground. The weather for each day must be considered. On windy days or during the hot mid-days, if the burning cannot be done without danger or damage to young growth, it must be discontinued until conditions are right. On some steep brushy slopes, burning may be safe only when the brush is rather wet or when snow is on the ground. In short, use judgment in selecting the day and the time of day for burning each part of a slashing, i.e. do it only at such times as will insure the best silvicultural results, and the administration of the crew should be so arranged as to accomplish this, even though to do so increases the cost of the brush disposal.” THE SITUATION ON Private LANDS The Oregon forestry law requires that slashings shall be burned between June 1st and October rst, and that these fires must be confined 54 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION to the owner’s land who starts the fire. This law does not apply to the Government lands in the National Forests, but affects all privately- owned lands. The broadcast burning of slash is carried on to a consider- able extent under this law, in the Douglas fir type on the Pacific slope, while piling or wind-rowing the brush is necessary in the yellow pine type in the eastern portion of the State. It is reported by the State Forester that broadcast burning can, under the most favourable conditions, be done for as little as 25 cents per acre. It is doubtful, however, whether this can include the cost of constructing fire lines. Conditions in Washington and Northern Idaho are closely similar to those in Oregon so far as brush disposal is concerned, except that there is no State law on the subject. However, much is being accomplished through the voluntary action of the lumbermen’s organizations, which in part comprise the Western Forestry and Conservation Association. From 75,000 to 100,000 acres of timber are annually cut in Washing- ton. Brush Disposal Legislation in Minnesota As in the Adirondacks and elsewhere generally, a catastrophe was necessary to arouse the public of Minnesota to the importance of eliminating the slash menace and to stimulate them to action. The great Hinckley fire of .1894, in which over 400 lives were lost, con- stituted the first great stimulus, though efficient action was slow in coming. The forestry law of 1895 provided for the appointment of a Forestry Commissioner, but no provision was then made for the enforced disposal of slash. However, the Forestry Commissioner, Gen. C. C. Andrews, at once recognized the desirability of such action and, through his influence, a bill was introduced in the legislature providing that the State should burn the slashings if the operators did not, the cost to be charged against the owner of the land. The measure was, however, too advanced for the times, and it failed because of strong opposition on the part of the lumbering interests. In 1902, an object-lesson was provided by the passage by Congress of the Morris Act, drawn by Gifford Pinchot, regulating logging on the Chippewa Indian Lands in Minnesota, including the Minnesota Nation- al Forest. This act required purchasers who cut pine timber ‘“‘to burn or remove a sufficient amount of the tops and refuse to prevent danger from fire to the timber left standing.” The regulations prescribed under the law have worked satisfactorily and have demonstrated con- clusively that brush disposal is entirely practicable. As a rule, the brush has been burned as the operation proceeds. a - 4 a zy & ore OHVAI ‘SLVTd UAATA AOVd “GANUNA-HSVIS ONIAA AALAV VAUV YAAO GANDOT UOIZDAJAS UO gO UOSSUREN BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 55 The slash problem not having been solved, as to privately-owned lands, a second stimulus was furnished by the great Chisholm fire of 1908, which burned over a large area of slashings, wiped out the town of Chisholm, destroyed an enormous amount of property and endangered many lives. The moral effect of the Morris Act had also an undoubted effect. The result was the passage in 1909 of a law requiring the piling and burning of all slash resulting from wood cutting operations. Burn- ing was to be completed as soon as conditions would permit and before the first day of May. The opposition of some of the lumbermen and the lack of sufficient funds for enforcement were responsible for its fail- ure, together with the fundamental weakness of the law in that it pro- vided only one arbitrary method for meeting all the widely diverse conditions in the State. The law of 1909 proving unsatisfactory, it was repealed by the enactment of the Forest Law of 1911. The section of the law which re- lates to the disposal of brush is as follows : “Sec. 15. Where and whenever, in the judgment of the state forester, there is or may be danger of starting and spreading of fires from slashings and debris from the cutting of timber of any kind and for any purpose, the state forester will notify the in- dividual, firm or corporation, by whom the said timber has been or is being cut, ordering them to dispose of the slashings and debris as he may direct. Where conditions do not permit of the burning of the slashings and debris over the entire area so covered, the state forester may require the person, firm, or corporation, by whom the timber was cut, to dispose of such slashings and debris in such a way as to establish a safe fire line around the area requiring such protection, the said fire line to be of a width and of a character satisfactory to the state forester. “When any person, firm or corporation shall have been notified by the state forester to dispose of slashings and debris, either by entirely consuming the same or establishing a fire line sufficient for the protection of adjoining property, and fails to comply with such instructions, the said person, firm, or corporation shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than $50.00 and not exceeding $100.00 and costs of prosecution for each violation thereof or failure to comply therewith. “When any such branches, slashings or debris are left unburned contrary to the instructions of the state forester, the state forester may go upon the premises with such force of men as may be neces- sary, and burn such branches, slashings and debris, and the expense thereof shall be a lien upon the land on which they are situated, enforced as liens for the improvement of real estate are enforced, and such expense shall be a prima facie valid claim that may be collected from the person, firm, or corporation who cut the timber or wood from which the said slashings and debris were made.” 56 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Although the law has been in effect for only one year, it appears to be working satisfactorily, due in part to its elasticity, and in part to the provision of more adequate machinery for enforcement. The Forest Rangers are given authority to act directly, on behalf of the State Forester, and they prescribe the measures to be taken in each case, after a careful consideration of all the conditions on the ground. The object of slash disposal is to eliminate the fire danger. The methods adopted have a three-fold purpose : (1) To remove the im- mediate fire danger ; (2) to prevent injury to standing timber remaining on the cut-over area or adjacent to it ; and (3) on land which is not to be used for agriculture, to prevent the clean burning over of the land, thus preserving the young growth, the tree seed already on the ground, and the ground cover and soil itself.* As in the Adirondacks, burning is generally considered impracti- cable in spruce and cedar, and lopping is the standard procedure. In pine, piling and burning are prescribed under ordinary conditions. The exercise of much judgment is, however, necessary, in determining the procedure for any specific tract, since conditions vary so widely. As a general guide, the following rules were agreed upon at a meeting of the district rangers held at Bemidji, Minn., January 3rd, 1912 :* (1) ‘‘Where trees are scattered, or the country is generally very rough and rocky, clean burning is inadvisable. In such cases, a fire line of at least 150 feet in width should be burned around each area of slash, and along rights-of-way.” This rule is based upon the theory that, where the trees are widely scattered, their brush will not constitute a serious fire danger. Clean burning would entail a needless expense upon operators. The second part of this rule is based upon the theory that the rocky country would be non-agricultural, hence, forest land. Clean burning would effect to a greater or less extent the destruction of what meager ground cover is usually found in such rocky country, and, in some cases the soil itself, of valuable reproduction and any timber that might remain, and of seeds which have fallen to the ground. To reduce this destruction to a minimum is one of the fundamental principles upon which slash disposal is carried out, hence the rule. Another point to be considered here is that the unburned brush retards evaporation of soil moisture. Also, in decaying, the debris adds to the valuable humus. Where slash from a thick stand of timber, even if on non-agricultural land and surrounded by a fire-break, will in future be a menace to adjoining green timber not to be cut, this rule is often extended to include clean burning. The latter is usually required to be done as cutting proceeds, in order that damage to the soil, young timber, and seed, may be avoided in so far as possible. *Tirst Annual Report of State Forester of Minnesota, 1911, pages 67 and 69. BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 57 (2) A corollary to the above rule is: ‘In cases where clean burning is not required, in addition to a fire-break of not less than 150 feet in width, to be burned around such an area of slash, a strip not less than 150 feet wide should be burned along each side of any form of right-of-way traversing the slash area. This general rule applies specifically to logging railroads in all locations, and will be of value not only in connection with clean rights-of-way, decreasing the danger of fire being set by locomotives, but in order that the strips may serve as lines of defence in fighting fires. (3) ‘‘Where the land being cut over is to be cleared and used at once for agriculture, piling and clean burning is advisable.” Clean burning will ordinarily be done in any event on such lands. It is best that it be done under supervision of forest officers and at a specified time. This is advisable because many forest fires have originated from the burning of brush on farm lands at wrong times. (4) ‘Where operators have been permitted to postpone one burning until spring, when the snow is going or gone, times should be selected for burning when the fire will not run freely on the ground. A sufficient force of men should be on hand to surely prevent fire escaping.’”’ The selection of times for burning when the fire will not run on the ground has a dual purpose. It is this : When fire will run on the ground the danger of its escaping is increased. Furthermore, running fires are ruinous to any valuable reproduction which may exist, of any seed which may lie on the ground, and to the ground cover itself. (s) “In piling brush for burning, care should be taken not to make piles in close proximity to any green timber, old or young, which may have been left standing. This will prevent the injury of the trees when the brush is burned.’”’ The rule should be especial- ly observed in regard to mature trees which have been left standing to secure reseeding. Equal care should be taken in regard to young timber left standing on forest ground. (6) “Whenever circumstances will permit, required burning should be done during the winter, as cutting proceeds.” This, because winter burning as cutting proceeds insures the proper disposal of the slash, and leaves no opportunity for the operator to neglect the work. Furthermore, it is usually the cheapest method of securing effective disposal. Also, when a large area of slash is left unburned until spring, there is always a chance that the snow will disappear rapidly and be followed by a dry period. Thus, unless the work of burning is begun and diligently pushed as soon as conditions will permit, serious danger of fires escaping will occur. Accordingly, the work of burning may then in some cases have to be discontinued before completion. Hence, danger- ous areas of slash may exist in the fire season which would not occur had the slash in question been burned closely behind the cutting. : The six rules in the above series apply particularly to pine slash. Rules 4 and 5 apply to any form of slash which is to be burned. COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION The rules to follow apply in each case especially to the types and species named therein : (7) ‘Where cutting operations are being carried on in spruce or cedar timber, the branches should be lopped separately from the unused tops, so that every one lies flat on the ground.”” One reason for this method of procedure is that these species grow largely in swamps, ordinarily more moist than the uplands; hence, decay there is more rapid. The branches lying on the ground are uni- formly damp in summer. They are not so pitchy, and rot more quickly than pine, and are therefore not so dangerous. If the large tops commonly to be found in spruce and cedar cutting, held high from the ground by their branches, are left intact, they dry out, remain for years, and fire will sweep through them readily. Usual- ly, in spruce and cedar forests there are large numbers of young healthy trees, too small to be merchantable, which often stand very closely together after the larger timber has been removed. ‘It is the policy of the Service to protect such young valuable timber. Piling and burning of the brush could not, in the majority of swamps be carried on without serious injury to it. Furthermore, if burning were required, and was not done in the winter, there would be a probability of the fires getting into combustible peat soil on which spruce and cedar often grow. Other things being equal, another reason why lopping is more advisable than burning in the treatment of these forms of slash (even on spruce on high land) is that piling and burning is relatively more expensive than in pine timber. The reason is that there is a greater proportion of branches in com- parison to merchantable timber resulting from operations in spruce and cedar than in pine. Hence, it is cheaper to merely lop the branches than to lop, pile and burn. The relative efficiency of two possible methods of disposing of a given area of a slash being equal it is the policy of the Service to require the use of the cheaper method. Since lopping in these species (spruce and cedar) is as effective in removing the fire danger as is piling and burning, and since other considerations render lopping the more advisable, the latter is the method usually required. A very considerable ob- stacle in the way of securing proper lopping is the fact that much of the spruce pulpwood, and cedar tie, post and pole operations, are carried on upon a piece-work basis ; that is, laborers are paid a flat rate per cord in pulpwood, and per piece in the cedar operations. They pay their own board, furnish their own tools, and are at liberty to do as much, and to a certain extent, as little work in a day as they wish. Consequently, any work which tends to cut down the number of cords or pieces which a piece worker can turn out in a day, and for which he is not especially paid, is avoided wherever possible. Heretofore, no provision has been made to allow of paying of piece-workers for lopping. Until some method is evolved by which this obstacle can be overcome, such as increasing the rates paid per piece, it is a difficult matter to secure thorough observance of the lopping requirements. In the meantime, it has in some instances been found necessary to allow operators to con- struct a safe fire-break, not less than 150 feet in width, around the BRUSH DISPOSAL PROBLEM 59 cutting areas and along rights-of-way. Since the slash disposal law is now generally understood, every operator should make pro- vision for handling this situation next winter. (8) ‘Hardwood slash should be disposed of by lopping as cutting proceeds, or by the burning of adequate fire-breaks around the areas of slash.”” The hardwood forests of Minnesota grow on land that is good for farming, unless too rocky. Therefore, the slash resulting from cutting operations will in a majority of cases be burned sooner or later, to put the land in shape for tilling. The above rule is devised to prevent the escape of fire from burning brush and to preserve remaining timber. Part Ill The Top-Lopping Law in the Adirondacks This discussion is included in this report on account of its close bearing on the brush-disposal situation in Eastern Canada. Following the very severe fires of 1908 in the Adirondack moun- tains, public sentiment in the State of New York became strongly aroused, and it was generally realized that the existing forest fire laws were not sufficiently effective. Accordingly, Commissioner Whipple of the State Forest, Fish and Game Commission, called a conference of various land owners, lumbermen and others interested in the Adiron- dacks, for the consideration of this problem. The stake of the lumbermen in the Adirondack region is only a very small percentage of the interest of the general public. For every dollar represented in stumpage values, probably ten to twenty dollars must be expended in connection with the manufacture of the raw material. It is thus seen that the interest of the general public in the protection and perpetuation of the forest is not less than ten times as great as that of the individual timber owner. It is probable, also, that the Adirondack region is sought for pur- poses of recreation or health each year by a larger number of people than is any other portion of the United States or Canada of equal area. The insistent demand of these large and influential elements, in addi- tion to the desires of the many who were interested solely from a business point of view, made radical action imperative. It was realized from the beginning, that, not only do a very large percentage of the fires start in old slashings, but also that these fires are very much more difficult to control under ordinary conditions than fire in the virgin forest, owing to the vast accumulation of inflammable material. The presence each year of a large number of hunters, fishermen, and other pleasure or health-seekers in the Adiron- dack region, renders the existence of the large amount of inflammable debris in the woods a much more serious matter than would be the case under other and more ordinary circumstances. Although the burning of brush in connection with a lumbering or pulp operation is feasible, and is very desirable ‘vhen the slash is heavy and the fire danger great, the cost was considered prohibitive as to pri- vately-owned timber lands. There was also to be considered the un- AN UNLOPPED SPRUCE TOP Commission( of laseryattad’ TOP PROPERLY LOPPED, RECENT CUTTING, BRANDRETH PARK, ADIRONDACK PRESERVE TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 61 doubted danger of starting fires which will burn indefinitely in the duff in addition to the danger of destroying more or less young growth and mature standing timber. Cutting operations are carried on during the summer months, so that burning of brush as a regular part of the operation is clearly impracticable. The only way the situation could be handled, were the cost not prohibitive, would be to pile the brush away from living trees and burn the piles at a favourable time, as in the fall when the ground is wet on account of rain or snow. This method was, however, eliminated on account of cost. After much deliberation, the Committee appointed by the Con- ference, decided that the enforced lopping of tops of coniferous species was the most feasible measure that could be considered in connection with the lessening of the slash menace on future operations. Therefore, the Committee, on which the lumbering interests were strongly repre- sented, recommended the enactment of legislation which became law early in 1909, in the following form : “Every person who shall, within the forest preserve counties of the state, cut or cause to be cut, or allow to be cut any coniferous trees for sale or other purposes, shall cut off or lop or cause to be cut off or lopped from the said trees, at the time of cutting the said trees, all the limbs or branches thereof, unless the said trees be cut for sale and use with the branches thereon.” During the four summers that have elapsed since the passage of this law, climatic conditions have been such that fire danger has been very materially lower than in 1908. In addition, the severe lessons of 1908 and of:previous years have resulted in a very much more efficient State fire protective organization, in the form of special patrols and a system of mountain lookout stations. The extent and efficiency of the lookout station system has been increased through the co-operation of the Federal Government under the terms of the Weeks Law, which provides for co-operation with states for the prevention of forest fires on the watersheds of navigable streams. _ The fire danger has also been very materially decreased through the issuance in 1909, of an order by the Public Service Commission of the State of New York, requiring the use of oil as fuel on locomotives running through the Adirondacks in the day time, between April 15th and November rst of each year. Naturally the worst and most exten- sive slashings in the Adirondacks were to be found along, or within, a few miles of the railways, since ease of transportation is the governing consideration in determining whether lumbering operations on a par- ticular tract are financially practicable. At the same time, the danger of these slashings catching fire from the coal-burning railways was very great, on account of the escape of sparks from the locomotives and of 62 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION burning coals from the fire-box. The use of spark-arresters and of other fire-protective appliances did not provide satisfactory protection under the extreme conditions then prevailing. Thus, the issuance of this order by the Public Service Commission practically eliminated what was probably the most serious source of fire danger in the Adiron- dack region. However, while the fire danger has decreased in these several ways, and the impressions from the severe lessons of 1908 have grown dim with the passage of time and with the cessation of public clamor for effective action, the operators have constantly felt the added ex- pense imposed upon them by the law. They have felt also the annoy- ance caused by the readjustment to new methods of woods work im- posed by the existence of state regulation of their business. The result has been a gradually increasing protest against the law on the part of many who accepted it without protest in 1909, for fear worse might befall as a result of the then thoroughly aroused public sentiment. It is quite possible also that the feeling against the law may be somewhat intensified on the part of some timber owners by the fear that the top-lopping law may prove but an entering wedge for the wider regula- tion by the state of the lumbering industry. As a result of the objections to the law, and of the adverse repre- sentations made as to its operation, three hearings were held during the week of September 30, 1912, by the Superintendent of State Forests, representing the State Conservation Commission. These hearings were held at Watertown, Saranac Lake and Glens Falls, N.Y., anda very complete discussion of all phases of the situation took place. It developed at these hearings that a wide diversity of opinion exists as to the merits of the law and as to the soundness of the fundamental theory upon which it is based. It was found also that while many operators are wholly opposed to the law, both in theory and in practice, others defend it just as vigorously ; while a third class exists of those who maintain that the law has not yet been in operation for a sufficient length of time to demonstrate whether it should be continued, repealed or amended, and that a longer trial is necessary before any radical action adverse to the law is justified. It was evident at the hearings that many of the arguments, both for and against the law, were based more or less upon personal opinion, without sufficient basis of careful observation of the actual results on the ground. Arrangements were therefore made for a field investigation by the State Forester, F. A. Gaylord, accompanied by a number of prominent lumbermen or their representatives. Through the courtesy of C. R. Pettis, Superintendent of State Forests, the writer was allowed to accompany the party as a representative of the Commission of Con- TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 63 servation of Canada. Similarly, T. W. Dwight, accompanied the party as a representative of the Forestry Branch, Department of the Interior. Acknowledgment should here be made of the value in the preparation of this report of the discussions with and suggestions received from Messrs. Gaylord and Dwight, as also from W. C. Bagg, forester for Finch, Pruyn and Company, large pulpwood operators in the Adir- ondacks. The party spent the week of October 28th in a careful examination of the results of top-lopping on a number of representative tracts in various sections of the Adirondacks. These will be discussed in some detail later in this report. It should be understood that the lopping operations carried on prior to 1909 were wholly voluntary, and were carried on partly to minimize danger from fire and partly to improve the looks of the forest and facilitate its use for park purposes. The observations made were all in the spruce section of the Adirondack region. The cutting operations of recent years have been for the most part in spruce and balsam. Hardwoods have been logged only to a very limited extent. The original growth of white pine in this section was to a very large degree cut out many years ago, and areas where young growth white pine was left from the earlier cuttings, have been gone over repeatedly in later years for this valuable species. The white pine region proper, on the eastern slope of the Adirondacks, was not visited in connection with this investigation. It is understood, however, that there is comparatively little objection in that section to the opera- tion of the top-lopping law, the principal objection coming, as stated, from the operators in spruce and balsam. Another way of stating the same point is that in general it is not the operators in saw-timber but those in pulp wood from whom the objection is coming. Nor should it be understood from this that all the pulp men are opposed to the law, for such is not the case. In order to make the situation clear, the following summary of objections is here given. It should be understood that this summary includes the principal objections raised from all sides, and is not neces- sarily a statement of the opinion of any individual. Summary of Objections.—Fires in lopped tops burn deeper, harder and faster, and are harder to fight, than fires in unlopped tops ; lopping does not materially if at all increase the rate of decay of debris, and is therefore ineffective as a fire preventive measure. The conditions resulting from lopping are more unfavourable to young growth, both present and future, and to the remaining old forest than where tops are not lopped ; and the beneficial results, if any, are not commensurate with the cost to the operators and land owners. 64 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Summary of Conclusions —In advance of discussion the following summary of conclusions is here inserted : 1. Increasing stumpage values render fire prevention and control essential from the point of view of the timber owner. Decrease in wood supplies renders it still more essential from the point of view of the general public, and, in particular, of the communities and business interests directly dependent upon the manufacture of forest pro- ducts. 2, Logging slash constitutes the most serious fire menace in ex- istence. 3. Brush disposal is a practicable and feasible method of minimiz- ing fire danger, though secondary to patrol. 4. The method of brush disposal to be adopted in any particular case can be determined only by careful consideration of all the surround- ing conditions. It is desirable that the administrative officers should have a reasonable degree of discretionary authority. 5. Where brush-burning is practicable both financially and silviculturally, this is the most efficient means of reducing the slash menace. 6. Where brush burning is not practicable for any reason, the lopping of tops may be advisable. In case tops are lopped, financial and silvicultural considerations will determine whether the material should be piled or scattered, or left without further attention. The necessity for lopping may under some circumstances be obviated by some other fire-protective measure, such as the construction of fire- lines, etc. 7. The lopping of tops does materially increase the amount of debris which reaches the ground or forms piles resting on the ground in sufficiently compact form to absorb and retain moisture ; the time re- quired for decay is thus lessened by one-half to two-thirds. The slash menace as an element of fire danger disappears in direct proportion to the rapidity and completeness of this process of decay. Piling or scattering, following lopping, is desirable, but is generally considered to be impracticable in the Adirondacks on account of expense. This would apply also to a large section of Eastern Canada, unless such disposal is required under a Government license, and allowance is made for the added cost in dues to be paid. 8. With closer utilization, the relative efficiency of top-lopping as a fire protective measure decreases. In other words, lopping is much more necessary in an old-time lumbering operation and will have a great- TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 65 er relative effect in decreasing the fire danger, than in case of a pulp operation, where a far larger percentage of the branches will in any event be brought into contact with the ground, as a necessary part of the operation. 9. The beneficial effect of top-lopping far outweighs the disadvant- ages due to any possible injury to soil, reproduction or old growth. 10. Lopping to only a 3-inch diameter limit in the lop materially decreases the cost of the operation ; this modification may be justified in sections where the fire danger is not extreme and where cost is a determining consideration.* 11. The question of brush disposal and of fire prevention in general should be given much more careful attention in Canada by all concerned than has been the case in the past. This is entirely practicable in case of issuance of new licenses by Dominion or Provincial Governments, as well as in the case of renewals of existing licenses. 12. Patrol is the most important and the most essential element in any plan of fire protection. This must be provided, regardless of what other methods are adopted. The construction of roads, trails, telephone lines, lookout stations, and other permanent improvements of a similar character is essential to an efficient patrol system. Discussion The arguments for and against the top-lopping law, and the con- clusions resulting from the field trip above referred to, can most ad- vantageously be discussed together. For convenience, this discussion will be divided into four general heads, concerning the effect of the top-lopping law, as to : (1) Fire DANGER (a) Prevention (b) Control * Since the preparation of this report the Legislature of the State of New York has amended the top-lopping law with relation to the 3-inch diameter limit to read as follows : ‘Every person who shall, within any of the towns enumerated in section 97 of this chapter except as hereinafter provided, fell, or cause to be felled, or permit to be felled any evergreen trees for sale or other purposes shall lop, or cause to be lopped from the said trees and the limbs thereof, at the time of felling the said trees or at a time to be fixed by the commission as hereinafter provided, all the limbs thereof up to a point where the trunk or branch has a longest diameter which does not exceed three inches, unless the said tree be felled for sale and use with the branches thereon or for use with the limbs thereon.” 66 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION (2) ErFrEcT ON THE FuTurRE ForREstT (a) Existing and future reproduction (b) Soil (3) ErrEcT ON THE REMAINING OLD Forest (4) Errect ON Cost OF THE OPERATION. (1) Effect as to Fire Danger It is maintained by opponents of the law that lopping increases the fire danger instead of diminishing it, at least for the first few years ; and that a fire in lopped tops burns harder and faster, and is harder to fight, than is a fire in unlopped tops. It was even seriously maintained by some that unlopped tops will decay more quickly than lopped ones, since brush in the air is more fully exposed to the elements than it is on the ground. (1-a) Frre PREVENTION The point as to relative rapidity of decay is fundamental, as far as the question of fire prevention and control is concerned. The whole theory of laws or regulations providing for the lopping of tops is that the debris will thereby be brought into closer contact with the soil, thus facilitating decay and concentrating into a much shorter period of time the existence of that part of the fire danger due to the slash. Beyond this is the crucial point as to whether more material is, as a matter of fact, brought into contact with the ground by lopping than by not lopping. Some of the opponents of the law take the adverse position on this point, even though they may admit that brush will rot quicker on the ground than in the air. Unquestionably if this position can be sustained, the additional expense involved in observance of the present top-lopping law is not justified, and it should either be repealed or so modified as to make it really effective. Rapidity of Decay.—With regard to relative rapidity of decay, all observation as well as all theory sustains the contention that brush will rot more quickly on the ground than in the air. It follows that in so far as lopping tends to bring the debris into contact with the soil, either scattered over the surface, or in piles resting on the ground, decay will be more rapid than if the tops are left unlopped and are supported off the ground by the lower branches. It is also equally true that the expense incurred in lopping tops may be in large or small part wasted through allowing the brush to remain supported off the ground by stones, stumps, or logs. This frequently happens when the REMNANTS OF TWO LARGE SPRUCE TOPS TEN YEARS AFTER BEING PROPERLY LOPPED The vast majority of tops on this operation have entirely disappeared. Nehasame Park, Adirondacks. (Courtesy of N.Y. Public Service Commission.) UNLOPPED TOPS, LITTLE TUPPER LAKE, WHITNEY TRACT, ADIRONDACK PRESERVE Fire has run through this top, extending to the tip of the upper branches, consuming the finer material and carrying fire to the adjoining live balsam. TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 67 brush is thrown aside to make room for the construction of skid- roads without any thought as to the underlying theory of the top- lopping law, or any intelligent desire to secure the fullest possible benefit from the expense which the enforced observance of the law entails. The partial failure of top-lopping to accomplish its object on ac- count of this neglect is particularly noticeable in the case of single branches of small piles. When these are supported off the ground by falling across stones, stumps or logs, the effect is practically the same as though they were supported in the air by the stem to which they were originally attached, and decay is relatively slow. On the other hand, large piles of brush, even though supported above the ground by resting on stones, stumps, or logs, or in any other way, gradually settle down through the weight of recurring snows, and quickly become sufficiently compact to hold moisture, thus facilitat- ing the process of decay. This process is more rapid in a mixed forest than in one of pure spruce and balsam, since the fall of leaves from the trees of hardwood or broadleaved species, quickly covers the tops of the brush piles, preventing the sifting of the snow among the branches. Thus, the weight of snow on top of the piles is greatly increased, causing the finer branches on the interior of the piles to come into suffi- ciently close contact, so that they can retain a portion of the moisture which will necessarily trickle through from above. In this way is supplied the element, which in addition to heat and air is essential to the growth of the fungus, the development of which constitutes the pro- cess of decay. Where piles of brush rest on the ground, moisture is available from below, as well as from above, so it follows logically that, under these conditions, decay will be most rapid. It is universally recognized in other connections that the conditions essential to decay—the presence of heat, moisture and air,—are found in most favourable combination at the surface of the ground rather than above or below the surface. Fence posts and telegraph poles decay most quickly where they enter the ground. Fuel, pulpwood, and saw- logs are always raised off the ground by skids in order to prevent decay at the bottom, if they are to remain in the woods for any length of time. The woods operator always gets his logging sleighs off the ground during the season of the year they are not in use, his object being to prevent decay of the wood-work and consequent loss of strength. The application of this general principle to brush disposal is just as com- plete as in any other connection, and it seems almost inconceivable that such an objection could have been seriously advanced in connection with the top-lopping law. 68 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION It is also undoubtedly true that the lopping of tops does bring a larger percentage of this debris into contact with the ground than non- lopping. In an ordinary lumbering operation, where the utilization into the top is not close, this could not be seriously questioned, as the difference in this respect would be obvious to the most casual observer. It must, however, be borne in mind that, in the Adirondacks, a very large percentage of present-day operations are for pulp rather than for lumber, and that the material is utilized from the top down to a diameter limit of four or five inches on an average. In this way, instead of the tops being left in the woods below a diameter limit of eight or ten inches, as in a lumbering operation, 75 per cent to 90 per cent of the branches must be lopped as a necessary part of the operation in getting out the pulpwood. This leaves affected by the top-lopping law in the Adirondacks, aside from culls and small trees brushed out for roads and skidways, only tops below an average diameter limit of four or five inches. It will thus be seen that there is less necessity for a top-lopping law in a pulp operation than in one for lumber only, as a result of the much closer utilization in the former. The fire danger, which primarily led to the enactment of the top-lopping law, was probably for the most part due to slash resulting from lumbering, rather than from pulp opera- tions. This may to a certain extent explain the present lack of sym- pathy with the law, on the part of some of the pulp operators. If the tops are not lopped, the bulk of this debris can not come in direct contact with the ground except in rare instances, as when the top is broken down in falling, or when another tree falls across it. De- cay will thus be relatively slow, since only the ends of the lower branches will touch the ground, and since it takes many years for the lower branches of a top to rot away sufficiently to let the main stem rest on the ground, where decay will be facilitated. The upper and side branches usually persist until this process takes place, especially in the larger tops, where the percentage of heartwood is high and the branches are correspondingly stronger. The smaller tops resulting from a modern pulp operation have a larger percentage of sapwood and will thus decay more rapidly, either in the air or on the ground, than large tops under similar conditions. On the other hand, where tops are lopped, the branches must be disposed of in the same way as those cut from that portion of the stem which is utilized. This will usually be a combination of both scattering and piling even though no extra pains are taken in this connection. In the ordinary operation, the great majority of the lopped branches from the utilized portion of the tree fall either directly on the ground, or in piles which rest on the ground. A minority will be supported RESULT OF FIRE OF MAY 2oth, 1911, IN PILE OF LOPPED TOPS, CUTTING OF 1909, SPERRY POND, WHITNEY TRACT, ADIRONDACK PRESERVE Pile had not dried out on bottom, so that fine material at bottom of pile did not burn nor did the larger branches on the top of the pile. Thus the fire did not burn into the ground nor make a hotter fire than if the tops were not lopped. Shows that spring fires in lopped tops are not necessarily hotter than when tops are not lopped. 1 ‘ \ 5 ‘ y , *s >> ye are of Conservatson. LOPPED BRUSH PILING AND SKIDWAY OF PULPWOOD CUT ON SANTA CLARA LUMBER CO.’S TRACT, ADIRONDACK PRESERVE Heavy stand of spruce. Note dense mass of brush on the ground. Practically a clean cut of spruce and balsam. Brush piled along road to make room for skidding, but little, if any, extra trouble taken to. pile lopped tops. TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 69 above the ground, either singly or in piles, by stones, stumps or logs. There is no reason to assume that the percentage of the branches lopped from the trees failing to reach the ground, or piles resting on the ground, will be any greater than in the case of branches necessarily lopped from the lower portion of the tree utilized for lumber or pulp. In fact, the probabilities are that the reverse is the case. It is, however, obvious that lopping the top must necessarily result in a material increase in the total amount of brush reaching either the ground or piles resting on the ground, and thus the fire danger will be decreased through the quicker disappearance of this class of material. As previously indicated, it must also be recognized in this connection that there are various degrees in the efficiency of top-lopping as a fire- protective measure, depending upon the extent to which the material is brought into position to receive moisture from the soil. Rapidity of decay is also influenced both by the heaviness of the cutting and by the amount of shade after the operation. Where the cutting is heavy, resulting in a great amount of brush, there will be a larger percentage in piles, the piles will be higher, and a greater percentage of the debris will be supported off the ground, being thrown across stones, stumps or logs to get it out of the way of the road building and skidding opera- tions. On the other hand, where the cutting is light, the reverse con- ditions will obtain, and, in addition, the remaining trees left uncut will shade the ground, assisting in the retention of the moisture and thus facilitating decay. This effect is particularly noticeable where pulp is cut in a mixed forest of hardwood and spruce. The hardwoods and the smaller spruce remain uncut and afford a higher percentage of crown cover, so that the ground is shaded and the soil moisture is protected from rapid evaporation. The same conditions obtain in a stand of pure spruce where only the larger trees are removed, leaving a sufficiently heavy stand to prevent wind-fall and to shade the ground. In case of a heavy cutting, a thick growth of shrubby plants will come in under some con- ditions, thus furnishing shade and facilitating decay. Where the cutting is heavy and there is relatively little shade from the trees left standing or from the ground growth of shrubs, the soil dries out and decay is relatively slower. Tracts Visited —Detailed observations made on the tracts observed fully bear out these conclusions. Everywhere on old unlopped tops, the under branches on the ground are more rotted and have fewer fine branches than on the top side. The same was observed of brush in piles, where the fine branches disappear much more quickly on the ground and in the lower portion of piles than where exposed to the drying effects of sun and wind. 70 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION In this connection, it must be borne in mind that the fire danger due to the presence of brush is not so much from the larger branches as from the small ones. It is the latter which ignite so readily when dry and which carry the fire so fast in a dry time that control is often impossible in old slashings. The lopping on Nehasane Park was done 12 years ago (1900), under the forest working plan prepared for Dr. Seward H. Webb, by H. S. Graves, now Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. This tract affords probably the best example of the beneficial results of top-lopping to be found on the continent to-day. The lopping was properly done and the brush has now practically disappeared. The reproduction of spruce and balsam is very fine. The cutting was for lumber and material was removed only to a top diameter limit of approximately ro inches. Tops up to a foot in diameter which were so lopped that they rested on the ground have either entirely disappeared or are so completely rotted that they can easily be kicked to pieces. In this con- dition there is practically no fire danger as the wood is too wet to burn under any ordinary conditions, and would not make a blaze even if dry. Where for any reason a top was not properly lopped, or brush was left suspended in the air by stones, stumps, or logs, the process of decay has proceeded with exceeding slowness and this material will still burn. The Superintendent of Nehasane Park stated that in his opinion the fire danger resulting from the lumbering operation on that tract prac- tically disappeared at the end of eight years. On the old Dr. Webb cutting of 16 years ago, (1896) on what is now the Brandreth tract, the brush which was properly lopped and piled has practically disappeared. What is left is the material in the relatively numerous unlopped tops and in tops which were lopped and left lying across stones, stumps, or logs so that it remained in the air. The lopping on this tract was not so well done as on the Nehasane tract, and for this reason the process of decay has not been so complete. This must be considered in estimating the efficiency of the New York top-lopping law, since, as indicated, only lopping is required, with no direction as to getting the material on the ground. It is not to be expected that as great care will be taken under the top-lopping law in getting the material on the ground as was exercised on the Nehasane tract. However, it is undoubtedly true that a very large percentage of the debris will, under the ordinary observance of the law, reach the ground, or piles resting on the ground, and the decay of this material will within a few years result in isolating the balance of the debris to such an extent that its character as a serious fire menace will very largely disappear. TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 71 In the 3-year-old cutting of the Santa Clara Lumber Company, the piles of lopped tops have already settled materially toward the ground, while the unlopped tops are standing off the ground, supported by the branches, without any appearance of material change since the time of cutting. On the 21-year-old cutting area of the Santa Clara Lumber Com- pany the tops were not lopped. The operation was for lumber only, and little cutting was done below a top diameter limit of 8 or 10 inches. Many of these unlopped tops are still standing in the air supported by the branches. On the other hand some have settled to the ground, while undoubtedly others have entirely disappeared. The tops lying on the ground still have, as a rule, their wpper and side branches in a fairly sound condition. The slow process of decay leaves a soft fuzzy coating on the outside of each branch standing in the air which would enable a fire to cover the whole surface of the limbs. Similar conditions were observed, and similar conclusions were drawn, from the other tracts visited, as follows : Taggart Paper Co.’s tract, near Otter Lake ; cuttings of various years between 1905 and 1g1o0 : Whitney Preserve, 9 year-old lopping and recent lopping ; also results of fire of May 20, rorr, in lopping of 1909, and of fire in same year in unlopped cutting of 1907 ; P. X. Blake tract, near Joe Indian Pond, lopping of tg11 ; also unlopped cutting of 1905 on adjoining land ; Recent loppings on Brandreth Preserve and tract of Santa Clara Lumber Company, not specifically noted above. Conclusions —Conditions vary so widely, as already indicated, that it is somewhat unsafe to make any definite statement as to the rapidity with which lopped and unlopped tops will decay. Ina general way, however, it may be stated, that, in the spruce region of the Adirondacks, tops properly lopped and on the ground will practically disappear by decay in from 6 to r2 years, while unlopped tops require from 12 to 30 years. The conditions which influence this process have been quite fully discussed above. Under similar conditions, unlopped tops will require not less than twice as much time to decay as lopped tops, and it is probable that the ratio is more nearly three to one, assuming a reasonable degree of efficiency in getting the lopped material on the ground. Fora rough average, in the Adirondacks it may be estimated that decay of lopped tops on a pulp operation will be practically complete in 7 years and the period of most extreme fire danger will be over in three years, due to the earlier disappearance of the leaves and fine branches and 72 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION the absorption of moisture by the balance of the material, bringing about partial decay. In unlopped tops, possibly an average of 18 years would be required for decay, while the period of extreme fire danger would extend through not less than half this period instead of being limited to about 3 years as in the case of lopped tops. In a lumbering operation, where only saw logs are removed, the time required for decay in lopped tops may be averaged at 8 years and for unlopped tops at about 25 years. These statements must be regarded as only the roughest kind of approximations, intended merely to give some idea of the relative rate of decay under different average conditions. There was not sufficient opportunity to check all these figures with field ob- servations, and the subject should be investigated further. The striking point in connection with the efficiency of top-lopping is the fact that the period of extreme danger is concentrated from 8 or 10 years to approximately 3 years, and that decay is practically complete in 7 or 8 years, with only a moderate fire danger after the first three years, instead of having the period of decay doubled or tripled with a serious fire danger covering at least the first half or two-thirds of the total period required for decay. The margin of difference is of course greatest on a lumbering operation and decreases with the degree of utilization into the top. As previously noted, on a present-day pulpwood operation, the amount of brush necessarily lopped from the merchantable portion of the stick may be as much as go per cent. of the total amount of brush originally on the tree. It is self-evident that decay will on the average proceed much more rapidly, and the fire danger will be much less serious after a few years, where 75 to go per cent. of the brush is lopped, as on a modern pulpwood operation, than it will in the case of an old-time lumbering operation, where the percentage of unlopped material may closely correspond to these figures. Any increase in the percentage of brush lopped, whether by closer utilization or through observance of law, will inevitably increase the average rapidity of decay and will thus decrease the fire danger to that extent. Since the fire danger due to slash is in direct proportion to the amount of brush, the above conclusions may be stated in another way. In an ordinary lumbering operation, the lopping of tops will reduce the period of decay from 25 years to 8 years on 75 per cent to 85 per cent of the debris, while the period of most extreme fire danger will be decreased from 1o years to 3 years; this statement assumes that the lower branches, comprising 15 to 25 per cent. of the debris, would be lopped in any event as a part of the operation. In a pulpwood operation, lopping will reduce the period of decay from 15 years to 7 years, on RECENT CUTTING ON SANTA CLARA LUMBER CO.’S TRACT, ADIRONDACK PRESERVE Lopped pile in the foreground. Skidways of pulp wood in the background. Note also how the forest has been opened up. Hardwood, hemlock, cedar and small spruce remain. TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 73 ro per cent to 25 per cent of the debris, and the period of most extreme fire danger will be decreased from 7 to 3 years. As before, these figures must be regarded as merely broad generalizations, subject to great variation on account of difference in local conditions, and to revision following more exhaustive investigations. The prevention of fire is much more important after the young growth is established, and has secured a good start, than it is during the first three or four years after the completion of the operation, since, in the former case, the owner has at stake a far greater investment, which should be regarded as accumulated interest upon the capitalized productive value of the land. The larger the investment the more should the owner desire to secure protection and the more willing should he be to pay a moderate insurance premium, in the form of slightly increased operating expenses, to secure such protection. Lopping as Insurance.—A large pulp concern in the Adirondacks was offered insurance by a commercial company at 2 per cent of the value of its timberland per annum. This company cuts 80,000 standards per year. At 5 cents per standard, the cost of top-lopping is $4,000 or one-fourth of one per cent. on a total timber-land valuation of $1,600,000 in the Adirondacks. Taking into consideration fire losses, amount spent for lopping tops, maintaining patrol, constructing tele- phone lines, etc., the cost of fire protection is still under one-half of one per cent. This company therefore considered the protection of its own lands, as above, much better business policy than carrying ordinary commercial insurance. Holding for Successive Cuttings —The fact that private owners can and do figure on holding forest lands for successive cuttings, is well illustrated in the spruce region of the Adirondacks. In one case a tract was examined, which was cut over 50, 30, and 19 years ago, and can now be cut over a fourth time. The amount of pulpwood now available for cutting will approximate 8 cords to the acre. The earlier cuttings were, of course, to a diameter limit, and the young growth just under merchantable size had full opportunity to develop. The cutting on a present-day pulp operation is much closer, and the time between cuttings must be correspondingly longer. Remaining Sources of Fire Danger.—In connection with the attitude of operators and land owners, it may be noted that a great deal of slash was observed remaining from old cuttings, which, of course, is not affected by the existing law. There is also much fire danger from windfalls in old cutting areas, as well as from old burns, where the dan- ger of recurring fires is great until all inflammable material shall have 74 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION been destroyed in this way, or by the process of decay. These sources of danger are offset only by the State system of patrol and lookout stations. The conditions on the lands owned by the State, which comprise approximately one-third of the so-called Adirondack Preserve, are also very unsatisfactory from the standpoint of fire prevention, since, under the State constitution, no cutting of any kind can be done. The declaration is made that these lands must forever remain as wild lands, and not even fire-killed timber can be removed for any purpose, to say nothing of over-mature green timber. A strong effort is being made to secure a modification of this provision, so that the practice of forestry may be made possible on State lands, thus decreasing the fire danger, and securing a handsome revenue to the State to offset the cost of administration and protection, and at the same time increasing the character and value of the forest from a long-time point of view. It is perhaps not surprising, that, so long as the State retains its present non-progressive attitude toward the use and development of its own lands, the holders of privately-owned lands should object to bearing what they consider more than their fair share of the burden of fire protection. Sufficient allowance is not made by many for the direct benefit of top-lopping to timber owners in the form of decreased fire danger, and for the system of patrol which the State is maintaining in the Adirondacks at its own expense, for the protection of privately-owned, as well as of State lands. The expense incurred by the State in this connection is in excess of $100,000 per annum. (x-b) Frre Conrrou There has been much discussion in connection with the relative difficulty of fighting fire in lopped and unlopped tops. Most of the opinions expressed were by men who had had no experience in fighting fires in lopped tops, and thus had only theory as a basis for argument on this feature of the situation. Fire Fighting —The forest rangers employed by the State for fire- patrol work testified for the most part, that fires in lopped tops can be more easily controlled than fires in unlopped tops. In the latter case, branches and fine, inflammable material will be standing several feet above the ground, so that in case of fire in a dry time, burning bark, twigs, and small branches may be carried forward by even a light wind. If the weather is sufficiently dry with a strong wind blowing, fire will travel in a sheet of flame, fed largely by the inflammable material standing above the ground. At the worst, a crown fire ensues, with complete destruction of the forest. Where tops are lopped, the debris is on or nearer the ground, so there is less chance for the fire to sweep ahead, and less likelihood of a crown fire, and men are able to get closer TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 75 to the fire, for the purpose of fighting it. It seems probable, also, that other conditions being equal, a fire in unlopped tops will spread faster than one where tops have been lopped, for the above reasons. Construction of Fire Lines—The relative ease of constructing fire lines was much debated. In this connection, as also with regard to other points discussed, a clear distinction must be made between lumbering and pulp operations. It does not seem possible that anyone could seriously dispute that fire-line construction in an unlopped lumbering slash is much more difficult than in a lopped slash, owing to the large tops, their tangled position, and the resulting large amount of chopping necessary in order to clear a line. There is, however, a certain amount of reason in the contention of the opponents of the law, that on a pulp operation the tops are so small that they can very readily be thrown aside by one man, and that this work can be done more rapid- ly and more satisfactorily than in lopped tops, where so many more individual pieces have to be handled. On the other hand, the evidence of the forest rangers, who were the only men with actual experience in this particular work in lopped tops, was that fire-line construction was easier in lopped tops. It is, however, undoubtedly true, that the margin of difference on this point would be relatively small, in case of a pulp operation, where there is a close utilization of material in the top, so that very few tops would be left on the ground too heavy for a man to drag aside. The danger of a fire getting across the fire-line would, it is believed, certainly be greater in unlopped tops. Intensity of Fires.—It is argued that fires in lopped tops are hotter, on account of more of the debris being piled, and are thus more difficult to contend with. The point was made that a camper piles his material together in order to get a fire hot enough for cooking or warmth, in- stead of scattering the sticks. This is of course true, but, on the other hand, the camper in the first place gathers sticks for his camp-fire, not from old piles of brush, but from the dead lower limbs on standing trees, or from material corresponding to unlopped tops on the ground. Even in a rain this class of material can be utilized to start a fire, since it is almost invariably thoroughly dry inside as a result of long exposure to sun and wind. It is equally true, that, if material for a large camp- fire were so gathered, and were arranged in a pile ready for burning, but not ignited, it would in a relatively short time absorb moisture from the ground, besides retaining a larger percentage of moisture from rain and snow, so that a camper a year or two later desiring to build a camp fire would choose, not the material in the old pile, but material newly collected from individual dry branches, the same as the original source of material for the first pile. 76 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION However, during the two or three years after cutting, while the piles are settling toward the ground and the brush is absorbing moisture, it is probable that fires in lopped tops will be somewhat hotter than in un- lopped tops. The difference can easily be exaggerated, however, in a pulp operation, where the top-lopping law, as already explained, affects only 10 per cent to 25 per cent of the total amount of brush. In this connection, it should be noted, that, if a fire does occur in lopped tops, a cleaner burn is probable, thus materially decreasing the danger of a second or recurring fires. The material, being piled to a greater extent, will be more likely to be consumed than in unlopped tops, where a larger percentage of the branches stand out singly, so that the fire is likely to run over them without consuming them en- tirely. Bearing on the latter point is the argument by opponents of the law, that a fire in unlopped tops will run under the top without burning it, while in lopped tops the piled condition of the debris will tend to a much harder burn, causing greater damage to soil and to any living trees, old or young. ‘The effect on soil, reproduction and old trees will be considered under later headings, but it may be noted here, that such observations as it was practicable to make, indicated that a fire in un- lopped tops, will,as a matter of fact, run over the surface of the branches, consuming the smaller ones, and scorching and blackening the larger ones so that they will still constitute nearly as bad a fire-trap as before the first fire. Second or recurring fires are disastrous, since they gener- ally destroy any seed trees or young growth escaping or following the first fire, thus rendering hopeless the question of restocking of valuable species except by planting. (2) Effect on Future Forest This involves consideration of the effect of top-lopping on (a) existing and future reproduction ; (6) soil. (2-a) Errect oN ExIsTING AND FuTURE REPRODUCTION Opponents of the law claim that top-lopping tends to smother existing reproduction, and to prevent the establishment of a new growth on account of the larger amount of debris on the ground or in piles. We may here note the evident inconsistency of this point with the argument previously discussed under (1-a) that top-lopping does not tend to bring materially more debris either in contact with the ground or in piles, and thus does not facilitate decay. In connection with the effect of top-lopping on reproduction, it must be borne in mind that nearly all operations in the Adirondacks are for pulp, and that three-fourths to nine-tenths of the brush will in any event be lopped in connection with getting out the pulp wood. TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 77 Where the cutting is heavy, it is necessary for the’ brush to be piled to a considerable extent, in order to make room for the skidding opera- tions. The piling of the additional one-tenth to one-fourth of the brush, resulting from the lopping of tops, can have no very noticeable eff ect upon smothering existing reproduction, or upon keeping out new growth. Under any ordinary conditions the piles of brush can not cover more than 3 per cent to 15 per cent of the ground. This is not enough to interfere seriously with either existing or future reproduction. Condi- tions in the edges of brush piles are very favorable to both classes of young growth, and piles are seldom so large that a normal crown cover will not result from the growing together of the tops of trees around the edges of the piles, as the trees approach maturity. Where the cutting is light, so that piling is not necessary, the lop- ping of the relatively small branches remaining on the top, after the pulp wood has been taken out, will make so thin a covering as they lie on the ground, that they cannot possibly have any material effect in keeping out new reproduction or in smothering any young growth which may chance to be on the ground. In fact, the presence of brush on the ground will facilitate reproduction, if the covering be not too thick. It is well known that spruce requires a moist seed-bed, and the presence of a light or moderate covering of brush, certainly assists in retaining the moisture of the soil. In case of very heavy cuttings, it is undoubtedly true that the brush may be so thick as to interfere with reproduction, but, in this case, the proper remedy is the burning of at least the larger piles of brush, rather - than the discontinuance of top-lopping. As noted, the margin of differ- ence is too small in a pulp operation to be very material from the point of view of reproduction. In a lumbering operation, the margin would be very much greater, butt here the extreme fire danger incident to unlopped slash prohibits the abandonment of top-lopping. The argument has also been advanced that top-lopping tends to hotter fires, and therefore to a greater destruction of existing repro- duction. While it may be admitted that fires in lopped tops may be somewhat hotter, as already stated, during the first two or three years after cutting, the reverse will be the case after that time ; and, in any event, the difference can not be very material as to reproduction, since usually even the lightest surface fire will kill all small growth. It is a matter of common observation that spruce seedlings are most frequently found on old rotten logs. In some cases straight rows of spruce seedlings were found, where the seeds had sprouted in the moss on the tops of rotting logs, which later decayed entirely, carrying the root systems to the ground, thus enabling the small trees to firmly 78 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION establish themselves on a permanent basis. From this point of view it may be argued that the lopping of tops facilitates natural reproduction, since the lopped stems of trees will unquestionably decay and acquire a covering of moss on the ground, thus forming a suitable seed bed for spruce seedlings, much more rapidly than would be the case were the tops not lopped. In the latter event, the stem of the unlopped top will remain in the air for many years, until the lower branches decay suffi- ciently to allow the stem to fall to the ground, after which the process of rotting will set in rapidly and a cover of moss will be formed. Too much attention can not be given the question of reproduction, since, in the long run, the true test of any system of forest management will be the extent to which the forest is re-established on cut-over areas. It must, however, at the same time be recognized, that the fund- amental requisite to this end is protection from fire. Unless this is secur- ed, all other measures looking to the re-establishment of the forest are useless. The perpetuation of the forest through wise use, con- stitutes the distinguishing characteristic of the forester, as contrasted with the old-time lumberman. (2-b) EFFECT ON SOIL The effect of fire upon the soil is chiefly important because of its bearing upon the re-establishment of the forest. Soil fires in the Adiron- dacks either result in a material change in the composition of the forest, or render the land incapable of producing anything of value for an indefinite time, through destruction of the elements of fertility and through erosion of the remaining mineral soil. Planting is generally necessary, to secure a forest cover of valuable species on burns, especi- - ally where fires have been successive, thus destroying seed trees. Opponents of the top-lopping law argue that top-lopping tends to harder burns, and therefore to greater soil destruction in case a fire once gets started. This subject has already been discussed in part under previous headings, and the conclusion reached that lopping tends toward a cleaner burn, and that a fire will very probably be some- what hotter if it occurs during the first two or three years after the cut- ting. It does not, however, necessarily follow that the danger of soil destruction is sufficiently greater with tops lopped to furnish any real argument against the law. If weather conditions are very dry and a fire gets started, it will destroy practically everything, entirely regardless of whether tops are lopped or not. The tremendous areas of unlopped slash burned over in the great fires of 1903 and 1908 in the Adirondacks illustrate this sufficiently well. In such a time, not only the brush but the thick layer of decayed vegetation known as duff will be as dry as tinder, and any kind of a fire will develop into a soil fire. Unless the TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 79 brush has previously been burned, it will carry a fire and ignite the duff in extremely dry weather, whether tops have been lopped or not. Observations were made on the burn of May 20, rorr, near Sperry Pond, in the Whitney Preserve, where tops were lopped in 1909. The conditions here indicated, that, in case of spring fires, the bottoms of the piles of lopped tops remain in a moist condition much longer than where tops have not been lopped. Fine branches were found unburned at the bottom of what had been a pile of lopped tops, indicating that the moisture from snow and rain had been retained far beyond the time when similar material exposed to sun and wind would have become thoroughly inflammable. It seems fair, therefore, to conclude that a spring fire in lopped tops may not injure the soil as much as one in unlopped tops, where there has been a better opportunity for the drying action of sun and wind. Later in the season the situation might be reversed, but, as noted, by the time the piles of lopped tops have become thoroughly dry, as a result of extreme weather conditions, the duff will have become suffi- ciently dry to burn readily, regardless of the intensity of the surface fire. (3) Effect on Remaining old Forest The considerations already discussed with regard to the relative intensity of fires in lopped and unlopped tops, are also the controlling factors here. It is possible that a fire occurring in lopped tops within two or three years after a lumbering operation will destroy more of the remaining old trees than would be the case in unlopped tops. The controlling factor would be the relative amount of inflammable debris piled against or near the standing timber. In a pulp operation, how- ever, it is believed there would be little if any difference within three years, since from 75 to 90 per cent. of the branches will be lopped anyway, and a fire in these would be hot enough to kill any green timber standing near the piles, regardless of whether the remaining 10 to 25 per cent. were lopped or not. After the first three years, on the other hand, the danger on lopped tops should grow rapidly less, on account of decay and the greater degree of moisture where material is on the ground or in piles. After 7 or 8 years, the slash danger will have practically disappeared in lopped tops, while it will still be very serious in an unlopped slashing. The percentage of brush resisting decay, on account of being supported above the ground, will be so small and so widely distributed in a lopped cutting, that the menace from this source will not be serious, and the situation could readily be con- trolled in case a fire should occur. 80 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION (4) Effect on the Cost of the Operation The really fundamental objections to the top-lopping law on the part of most lumbermen who are opposed to it, are, the additional cost, the annoyance involved through inspections by State officers, and the resulting interference with the methods of handling woods work. The claim is made that the beneficial results are not commensurate with the cost. As previously indicated, some operators claim that top- lopping is a distinct detriment, and say that they would, if they had the option, prefer to pay the extra cost to the State and be relieved of the necessity of lopping. Others argue that much more efficient protection from fire could be secured through the expenditure of the same amount of money in some other way, as on patrol. The essence of the problem is, then, whether the benefits of top-lopping are worth what it costs. EsTIMATES OF Cost Claims of operators, as to the added cost imposed by lopping, vary widely, ranging from 5 cents to 50 cents per cord. Conditions also undoubtedly vary widely, so that no positive statement will hold good, except in a very general way. The preponderance of evidence seems to indicate, that, under average conditions, the additional cost imposed by the top-lopping law is from ro to 15 cents for each cord of pulpwood taken out. Fifteen cents per cord is the amount with which the Santa Clara Lumber Com- pany credits their camps, on account of additional work required in lopping tops. The Empire State Forest Products Association says it costs 5 to 10 cents per cord to lop tops. Finch, Pruyn and Company, large pulp operators in the Adirondacks, estimate the added cost at 5 cents per standard, or 15 cents per cord. Graves states in “ Principles of Handling Woodlands,” that the cost of lopping the tops of spruce on the early operations in the Adirondacks was 12 cents per thousand feet of lumber cut. This would correspond to approximately 6 cents per cord. Here, however, it must be considered that the operation was for lumber only, and that, consequently, only the larger trees were cut. Asaresult, the amount of brush per unit of measurement was low, whereas on a pulp operation the trees will average much smaller and the amount of brush per unit of measurement will be relatively high. These figures, aside from the one quoted from Graves, cover the cost of lopping small trees which cannot be utilized, but which must be cut and lopped in connection with road work. They cover also the cost of lopping trees felled but found to be culls, from which little or no utilization is possible, but which must neverthe- UNLOPPED TOP 21 YEARS AFTER CUTTING FOR LUMBER Old operation of Santa Clara Lumber Co., on what later became the Cornell College Tract, Adirondack Preserve. Note extent to which decay has been resisted. The top consisting principally of sapwood, has nearly rotted away. UNLOPPED TOP, 14 YEARS AFTER LUMBERING, SANTA CLARA LUMBER CO. TRACT, ADIRONDACK PRESERVE Note extent to which this top has resisted decay. Verne - TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 81 less be lopped, under the law. Where the number of culls and of small trees cut out to make room for roads is very large, an additional expense is imposed for lopping, which may augment the total cost for all top- lopping work up to about 25 cents per cord. This, however, is the extreme and not the average case. The late Mr. E. G. Joly de Lotbiniere reported at the Quebec Convention of the Canadian Forestry Association with regard to experiments conducted by him, as to the cost of brush disposal in the spruce region of Eastern Canada. The result of the experiments indicate that it cost approximately $1.25 per M. to burn the brush. This involved the processes of lopping, piling and burning. Lopping and piling alone cost one half the above figure or 62c. per M.; but lopping and scattering the brush cost 31c. per M. The latter figure would correspond closely to 15¢c. per cord for pulp wood. However, where the pulp is cut to a diameter limit of 4 or 5 inches in the top, and where no extra trouble is taken to scatter the brush the cost should be materially lower. It has been demonstrated by the U.S. Forest Service that the cost of brush disposal can be very materially decreased after one or two years’ experience. This is due to the fact that brush disposal becomes a recognized part of the operation, the men becoming more familiar with the work, and the most satisfactory methods being developed through experience. In this way the cost of burning brush, after lop- ping and piling, has been reduced from an initial figure sometimes as great as $1.00 per M. to as little as 10 cents per M. The average cost of piling and burning the brush, on many operations in the National Forests in the Western States, is approximately 35 cents per M. This corresponds to approximately 18 cents per cord. Closer Utilization.—The enforced lopping of tops by the state law, has, on many tracts, resulted in a much closer degree of utilization through the removal from the woods of much pulp material from the tops that would otherwise be left unused. Some operators claim that the additional revenue from this source alone will offset the cost of top-lopping. Close utilization is of course possible and should be prac- tised as a business measure, whether tops are lopped or not. The more progressive concerns have voluntarily made much progress along this line. In connection with the above, the following statement is of interest, quoted from a report dated December 20, 1909, to the Superintendent of State Forests, by John W. Stephen, then State Forester of New York : “The amount of wood saved varies greatly with the nature of the operation, and there are various opinions as to the saving made in guttering and skidding. One operator, estimating the 82 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION cost of lopping at an average of two and one-half cents per stan- dard, remarks, that to offset this, he was able to run a skidding crew about one man less to each team, and also occasionally got a log that would otherwise be left. The actual additional cost he did not think would be over five cents per thousand feet board measure. He believed, that, when four-foot pulp-wood was taken, the cost of lopping would be entirely made up in the extra amount of wood he would get. In addition, his forest was left in much better condition than under the old plan, and he believes that it decreases materially the danger from forest fires. “A remarkable saving in connection with lopping was made by another operator who had been cutting spruce for saw logs, taking the timber out with what was considered good economy. He left the lopping until after the logs were removed, and then went through, lopping the branches and taking the timber out of the tops for pulpwood. In this operation, with a force of eight men and a horse employed six days, ninety-seven cords of pulpwood were obtained that would bring him $7 per cord delivered at the mill. This is an average of two cords per man per day, making a very profitable operation.” Skidding.—Some operators claim while others deny, that the lop- ping of tops will materially facilitate skidding operations, on account of the brush being less in the way and easier handled when necessary. Some of the friends of the law state that this advantage offsets at least a considerable part of the extra cost imposed by the law. Peeling in the Woods.—Some operators make a practice of peeling the stick of pulpwood as a part of the woods operation, instead of. leaving it to be rossed at the mill. Peeled pulpwood will dry out with relatively greater rapidity and is therefore lighter and more can be hauled at a load than where peeling is not done. One operator claims that the saving in this respect is sufficient to pay for the cost of peeling. Peel- ing slightly decreases the bulk, so that there is a loss of about one cord in twelve. This, however, is offset by the higher value at the mill. THREE-INcCH DIAMETER Limit FOR LOPPING If pulp is peeled in the woods, there is no reason why it cannot be utilized to a diameter limit of two or three inches in the top. If this were generally practicable, it is believed that the problem of top- lopping would be practically solved in connection with the high degree of utilization, since it would seem unnecessary to insist upon lopping any tops below a diameter of three inches. It is claimed however, by operators, that, where the pulpwood must be driven down rocky streams, the cost of handling in the woods, and the loss in driving, will offset the revenue derived from the sale of the small sticks, so that it does not pay to cut to a diameter limit of less than 4 inches. It is also claimed by some operators, that the smaller sticks merely fill up the chinks in the TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 83 piles of the larger poles, so that there is no material increase in the num- ber of cords for which payment is received on account of turning in the smaller sticks. This objection may hold good to a limited extent but it is not believed to be generally applicable, since it is well known that there is a larger loss in air space from piled small sticks than from large ones. Where the operator is also the owner and operator of a pulp mill this objection would entirely disappear since the small sticks will unquestionably furnish a large amount of valuable pulp wood. It is however, essential that at least the small sticks be peeled in the woods, since poles cannot be rossed at the mill below 4 inches in dia- meter. The utilization of short lengths of pulpwood, in addition to the pre- sent practice of taking out only poles 13 feet or more in length, would result in saving a great deal of material that now goes to waste, and would facilitate cutting to a smaller diameter limit in the top than is now practicable. This would assist very materially in solving the prob- lem along the lines discussed in the preceding paragraph. The utiliza- tion of short lengths of lumber has been found entirely practicable, and is in effect in Canada, though unfortunately in the United States the strong attempt to secure adoption by retailers failed of success. It is probable, however, that under present conditions, not much is to be looked for along this line in connection with pulpwood, on account of the inconvenience in dealing with the odd lengths prior to their reaching the pulp mill. It should be understood that the adoption of the so-called 3-inch diameter limit in connection with top-lopping operations is suggested only as a possible measure of relief to meet the claim of excessive cost by the operators. It is admittedly not quite as efficient in promoting decay as the lopping of all branches, but it may certainly be maintained with a good show of reason that the results from lopping tops below 3 inches are not worth the added cost to the private owner. One disadvantage of a 3-inch diameter limit for top-lopping is the fact that the small saplings cut out in connection with road work would not be lopped, but would be thrown in wind-rows along the road- sides, thus somewhat increasing the fire danger, and decreasing the value of roads and trails as potential fire-lines. It may be argued, that, because some operators are now utilizing material almost, or quite down to, 3 inches in the top, laws or regula- tions requiring the lopping of tops are really unnecessary. It should, however, be remembered here that very many pulp operations do not even approach a 3-inch utilization, and that it is still necessary to pro- vide for control of the situation on lumbering operations, where close 84 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION utilization is impossible, unless combined with a pulp operation. It will be seen that the adoption of a 3-inch diameter limit for lopping on pulp operations would place a distinct premium on close utilization. The difficulty of administering the top-lopping law, under a 2 or 3 inch diameter limit, introduces the matter of judgment of the men in the woods. Some of the pulp operators state that they would rather see the law remain as it is, than have this modification made. In some cases the reason is given frankly, that the law in its present form will the more quickly defeat itself through the infliction of apparent hard- ship upon the lumbering interests, thus resulting in the early repeal of the law. In others cases, lumbermen, who are either fully in sympathy with the law, or believe that it has not yet had sufficient time for fair trial, claim that the introduction of a requirement for top-lopping only above a stated diameter limit would result in more trouble and an- noyance and would, in the end, be a greater hardship than the enforce- ment of the present law, which requires the lopping of all branches from the main stem without regard to size. Still others favor the change unqualifiedly. The modification of the law to provide for top-lopping above a three-inch diameter limit, would relieve the pulpwood operators of pro- bably not less than half, and in some cases two-thirds or more of the additional cost now imposed upon them by the law. The greatest relief would be in connection with the smaller trees brushed out in order to make way for road construction. The branches on small trees below a 3-inch diameter limit, as well as the branches on the tops of the larger trees below the same limit, are much smaller, have a greater percentage of sapwood, and will, accordingly, decay much more rapidly, even without lopping, than the old branches lopped from the lower portion of the tree cut for pulp or lumber. This process is facilitated by the heavy snow fall which will force to the ground within a few years the relatively small branches comprising the sapling or top below a 3-inch diameter limit. Undoubtedly the lopping of all branches below a 3-inch diameter limit will facilitate more rapid decay ; however, on the other hand, this requirement involves a material extra expense to the operator ; this does not seem to be justifiable in view of the relatively slight decrease in the fire danger which can take place before the decay of the larger branches from the lower portion of the tree. This question would be of importance in Canada, should laws or regulations be proposed, requiring the lopping of tops. In general, it is believed, that, where lopping is considered necessary, such a law or regulation could as a matter of fact be administered with less friction and dissatisfaction under a 3-inch diameter limit than where all tops are required to be lopped, regardless of size. WINDFALL ON CUTTING TO 10 IN. DIAMETER LIMIT, ADIRONDACK PRESERVE State law requires that no cutting shall be done below ro in. diameter limit where land purchased subject to the right of the owner to remove timber. Tops not required to be lopped. Shows evil of rigid diameter limit cutting in spruce. Fire danger extreme. Neutralizes good effects of lopping on later operations. Cutting two years old. - TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 85 nn LEN It is essential to the enforcement of any law, that the people con- cerned should fully understand its purpose, and sympathize with the object sought to be obtained. A law requiring lopping only above a 3-inch diameter limit would undoubtedly appeal to the general public and to the lumbermen, as being more reasonable than the present requirement for the lopping of all tops without regard to size. The de- tails of administration could readily be handled through the assignment of a sufficient number of rangers to keep constantly in touch with the operators in the woods and assist them in the execution of the law with- out unnecessary resort to the infliction of penalties. Shifting the Cost to the Consumer.—Since lumbermen and _ pulp- wood operators in the Adirondacks are affected alike by the top-lopping law, it might be maintained, that, in the long run, the extra cost of lop- ping would naturally be regarded as a necessary element of total cost, and would appear in the form of higher prices to the saw or pulp mills, thus shifting the burden to the consumer. This, however, is met by the argument that the prices of pulpwood are determined not so much by local operating costs, as by the competition of outside sources of sup- ply, particularly the Canadian forests, where top-lopping is not required. It is also pointed out, that values of pulpwood at the mill are partially determined in a general way by the market prices of paper, and that these prices are regulated by competition throughout the country, so that a local matter like the New York top-lopping law could have but little if any effect in bringing about such a readjustment as to shift the cost of lopping to the ultimate consumer. It appears, therefore, that for the present at least, the bulk of the extra cost of lopping must be borne by the land owner. Protective Measures on Government Lands.—Where the Government is a land owner, whether State, Provincial or Federal, the individual can have no reasonable complaint as to the imposition of conditions looking toward the protection and perpetuation of the forest. This is true since he necessarily takes these conditions into consideration in fixing the amount of his tender or bid for the privilege of cutting. In case of renewal of a license, the conditions, whether new or old, are again considered fully, and the prices are adjusted to correspond, so that the burden of the protective measures falls upon the Government, where it belongs, since it is chiefly interested in maintaining the perman- ence of the forest as such. Elasticity in Requirements Desirable-——It will be noted that the top-lopping law in the Adirondacks provides a rigid and unyielding system for minimizing the fire danger due to cutting operations. It might, with much apparent justice, be argued, that, under some cir- 86 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION cumstances, other measures would afford a reasonable amount of protection, such as the construction of fire lines around cutting areas, combined with efficient patrol. However, no administrative officer has any discretionary authority in determining what steps are necessary to meet the ever-changing conditions. It seems fair to assume that the rigidity of the system is at least partially responsible for the general complaint that is now made against the law. While the fire danger in some portions of eastern Canada is much less than in the Adirondacks, in other portions the danger is greater, and it is not believed that any general and non-elastic system of brush- disposal would be advisable. On the contrary, the requirements to be imposed should closely fit local conditions in every case. This can best be brought about by having competent administrative officials with full discretionary authority to settle each case on its own merits. The exercise of discretionary administrative authority is distinctly to the advantage of the operator, as well as of the land-owner, since in this way the minimum rather than the maximum of requirements will be imposed without sacrificing efficiency of protection. -Where a rigid system is imposed, the requirements must necessarily fit the extreme rather than the average or the minimum case. In this connection, the experience of Minnesota, in changing from a rigid to an elastic system of enforced brush-disposal, is of great in- terest. A brief statement of this situation is included elsewhere in this report.* * See page 54 et seg. Part IV The Use of Oil as Locomotive Fuel * From a Fire-Protective Point of View In many lines of industry, oil fuel is rapidly displacing coal. The change that has taken place in this respect in the Western United States within the past five years is remarkable. In Canada, a notable move- ment towards oil fuel has been going on within the past two years, principally in British Columbia. In this connection, the following is quoted from a recent article by Mr. H. Foster Bain :} “The dominant factor in the Pacific coast fuel situation is no longer coal but oil, and of this, in 1911, California produced 77,224,359 net barrels. Not all was shipped, and by no means all was used for fuel, but it is estimated that 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 bbl. each year are now burned for fuel, replacing 11,000,000 to 12,000,000 tons of coal. Fuel oil is delivered at tidewater from Alaska to Peru at prices that give it a marked advantage over coal, without taking into account the incidental advantages of cleanliness, lower cost of handling, and decreased labour cost in the fire room. Fuel oil is delivered on the Pacific Coast at 85c. to $1 per bbl., equivalent to a cost of $3 to $3.50 per ton for coal, con- sidering fuel value alone. The surplus above ground, over 40,000,000 bbl., the extent of territory developed, and the ease with which produc- tion is increased, give every assurance of continued supply at reasonable price for years to come. As a result, oil has practically replaced coal throughout California, western Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon, and is rapidly gaining a foothold in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Mexico, Central and South America. In California, coal is now little used, except for domestic heating and for bunker purposes on certain steamships, that have not yet found it economical to change to oil burners. Practically all the regular coast-wise steamers, save some belonging to the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, which company has its own coal mines, now burn oil. The Alaska Steamship Company, the Canadian Pacific, the Grand Trunk, the Oceanic, the Matson, and other lines have adopted oil. It is especially interesting to note that the Oceanic steamers now being rebuilt at San Francisco, to run between that port and New Zealand, will burn oil. The steamers of the Toyo * Liquid fuel is crude petroleum as received from the wells, or the product of crude petroleum, distilled or reduced (Howard Stillman, in Railway Age Gazette, March 15, 1912.) tFuel Problems on the Pacific, by H. Foster Bain, Transactions Can. Mining Inst., 1912. 88 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Kisen Kaisha on the trans-Pacific run, originally fitted for burning oil, have been altered to burn coal because of the absence of an oil supply in Japan and difficulties over the tariff, on oil imported into that country. This fact is notable in that it is almost the only instance of a large user of oil going back to coal-burning. The trans-Pacific steamers in general burn coal. The reason for that lies in part in the conservatism of the management, but also in part in the low cost of coal in Japan, low cost of Oriental labour available in the fire rooms, and excess of cargo space which has permitted Pacific Mail boats, for example, to take coal at Nagasaki for the round trip. In general, however, California oil not only dominates the fuel situation on land along the Pacific coast, but is rapidly being substituted for coal on the sea. On land, for transporta- tion and manufacturing, the most important competitor of fuel oil is hydro-electric power. Here the race is between low overhead charges and low operating costs, and at competing centres such as San Francisco, the two are about equal.”’ Because the greatest supplies of oil fuel are to be found in Southern California, its use on an extensive scale has naturally first taken place along the Pacific coast, where cheap water transportation is available. This tendency has been much strengthened by the fact that coal is relatively scarce and expensive, or of unsatisfactory quality, along the Pacific Coast of the United States. It has been confidently predicted, that, with the opening of the Pan- ama Canal, oil will become the fuel of the Gulf and Atlantic coast vessels and of the railroads of the Mississippi Basin. The extent to which such use is likely to increase in Eastern and Central Canada is problematical, though a material development in this respect must be anticipated. In the meantime, a long step toward the solution of the problem for Canada and the Atlantic Coast in general, has been taken by the great development of oil supplies in Mexico. Should a satisfactory source of oil fuel be developed in Canada, so that it could be supplied for a long period, in large quantities and at a low cost, the market would be practically unlimited. In this connec- tion, it must be recognized that the potential sources of oil fuel are very great in the extensive deposits of oil shales in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and in the regions around Fort McMurray and Fort McKay on the Athabasca river, Alberta, where enormous deposits of tar sand have been found. Although the relationship between oil fuel and fire protection along railways is the principal subject of this discussion, it may be of interest first to consider briefly some of the other uses and advantages of this relatively new fuel. OIL AS LOCOMOTIVE FUEL 89 Use of Oil Fuel for Steamships Oil is being used to a constantly increasing extent as fuel on coast- wise steamships along the Pacific Coast of Canada and the United States. The recent installation of oil-burners on Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk Pacific steamers out of Vancouver is an illustration. In Eastern Canada, the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Co. has equipped two steamers with oil-burners. The rapid increase in the use of oil as fuel for battleships is note- worthy in this connection. One by one the navies of the world have been tentatively and slowly adding oil-driven warships to their fleets. It is said that the British navy has made greater advance in the use of oil fuel than has the navy of any other country, notwithstanding her magnificent resources in coal, which have so long formed the backbone of her naval supremacy. It has been found that two tons of oil will do the work of three tons of the best coal. This is a tremendous advantage in favour of oil, since it means equal or greater, efficiency with an enormous saving in weight and space. This is of vital importance in a warship, since it means a proportionate increase in cruising range. The development and adoption of internal-combustion engines, of which the Diesel engine is a type, will enormously increase this advantage. Other general advantages of oil fuel for steamship use are : (1) Great saving in time and labour in loading with fuel ; (2) Great reduction in number of men required for handling fuel on board ship ; (3) Reduced cost of boiler and other repairs ; (4) Increased cleanliness ; (5) More complete combustion and therefore greater efficiency of oil fuel. The following report by G. W. Dickie, published in The Vancouver Province, on the comparative costs of coal and oil as fuel on one of the C.P.R. British Columbia Coast Service steamships, is of interest, in view of the number of vessels which have recently been built to consume liquid fuel, or have been changed so that either of the two fuels may be used. The costs of coal and oil for the Princess Victoria are given as follows :—* Coa Per Day LOO ons ahi Se 50h emissraccitccacc conse: Stns seule os $450.00 Oifremenl at ooo a MOntheachry.scrware se a ctvates catelete < 16.50 9 trimmers at $45 a month each............-ceceee0. 13.50 God forelSiment erect eerie eee cae eterna e 7.56 MopalleveavercestetacPaarer tee teres scetcrsrsts elie aks cieeeas eters $487 .56 *Canadian Railway and Marine World, April, 1913. 90 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION Om S44:17 Marrels; (at: 90¢% oi «sh Sas eoa ards: ates aN ON ite pers 122 Woe asstin ele laut able dt Ol Meets sri kee recto ilaacnicieva gers als meee ey! EXOLICNALGWOOGS IIe. fates eAC Gs is 5 aero ssicaees eer seyant tS Sere ope) fireimspectors; appointment of, IMs.) 6. foc. nce eee see Sez LAO, Hrepleginla boners: mia seers. Aakers ksdeiminis: oye Moye eares 2 4 Teer AGIONS ODIMAL WAYS Dect. cysts 85) ALPE ranrie yp rOvin Ces nr. eer eee re ieee ee ine eee we Osea ‘onkratlwva WlevislAblonyTe mace irr. csisiae frets Soaicpwitharacs yale rated eet requirements re... ... Ade OG OREAGE com RigeteA o.com She oe . 34 study of, needed... .. » WAI OA SRN On A ese eeearan’ . 36 Hire inspection, organization of. -....0...5..).2..-.2-2+-2: — ia dete eee Fire, instruction to railway employees re................ : : . 24 BireviinesnCONStrUCHONOfettsr..ceeacca st ee ae nas Soe ; « UB Fire patrols, 1912, results of BN 5 Se aeesly oe be o, 32 Fire prevention, by top-lopping..............:......... : 66 tire protection, co-operative. = a. ose. 5... Serene na ns 144 general provisions. .... . me ; . 23 Fire protective appliances on aelipnasact leelatior TE cree . : iy Fire rangers, legislation requiring..................... oe ke ea O Rires ShatishiCs 76... «2-1-5. +2 -/i... Lindl Reece Hans Se aeke : ere AG use of oil fuel, by. Ly A eee Latins SEAN ar Paes Oo Lal H Haanel, Dr. Eugene, on oil fuel... ... : Sk: se ; 163 Hardwoods, brush disposal in. . . : 43 exotic, in British Columbia... .... sq. Wale) Hastings County, Ont., forest planting in... ... near ats ae Ae NEY! Edson wACU Emre portnbin 76 Ol LUCl ssc) sisiarns hae meee aa eye ces are MP tp GD I tdahow brushidisposslanme ssp): - nerve ear ore _ AT, 54 Idaho and Washington Northern Ry. Co., opinion af re oll fuel... . Soros Inspection to enforce fire regulations... .... a : : 26 1TTRD (4V EON lee aati Oa ORs REE : : 35 under order No. 16570, Railw. ay Commission: : Pht ee Instructions re fire, memo. of, quoted ..... ee Aa al Bay Sie tre oe Vesa eRe Insurance, top-lopping as.............. 4 = ; ; a 73 Intercolonial Railway, relation of, to Seenlione aes a BS tye 13 Interior, Department of the, inspection by............. CM Tea 26 patrol work by....... 2 Pena eR ie ACA Ist ; 14 L Lake Whatcom Logging Co., opinion of, re oilfuel............. Ue peer hy Pes OS Lands, Dept. of, British Columbia, officials of, made inspectors...... . . .22, 140 Lands and Forests, Dept. of. Quebec, work of, re planting. . . we é 134 Laurentide Co., Grand ’Mere, forest planting by ..... d nee coos) Lets Legislation re brush disposal, Minnesota... . . : : ook so tafe) TEfOLeEst fXeS. yy. 4... 2. : 35% a eset eee : 1 re railway patrols. : ! en : : 140 Lumbering slash............ naar De REET EL adobe r ek Poe a tie cemeeatoh E40) M Mabee, J. P., work of, re fire legislation . Ws MeN ee J tead com 6 Manitoba, farm planting in........ : : are ae a>, 129 fire guard inspection in. Ente ; : in, HS) fire guards in........ TON et eee be 34, 141 forest planting in... .. a3 Bi Day ener seu tee riche Sandy Ot ist fa nile, Dey, forest reserves, area of, in tee ae Sa et 155 forest reserves in... . ao Bidye hate the diy tee Bis eee 4G EXCENSiONVOla Innes el eee, ee tease Late Ue RA ea ston, Nte{0) forest resources of........ Craters de Rear Atcys, sitaammet onde, Siercicd icepe aot 116 patrols on Can. Pac. Ry. in...... TREAT Pe TAN : 17 DALrOLWOLke Ieee reeset ato, eat eee eae A eee Aoeeeen 14 summary of, reports of fires, Oey epithet eae Re rare yes Me stae ae Maritime Provinces, fire organization in. ....... ; Seca Ae Sent em AeA fire regulation on railways in.......... Nec Sea 2» 142 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION ee Maritime Provinces (Continued) PAGE forest planting in... .. Bec Ghotayaher ais 3% Stes ete Ak es ee 137 ollighales (in's 2.2.5 sehr ifs ight atte $e eo eee eee Ee Oe eee eee 88 Memorandum of Instruction re fires, noted 3 Chao oe Ceres DAE ees, ee ee 28 Mexieo}suseroimoiliiuelineser = sae) ee eee ba : Gan aa Ot eee 87 Minnesota,brush disposal sin .3 «4... ise 442 as ere eee 41, 54 brushi disposal legislation in 5 ..d-ceueei ee oe eins aie eee 55 Montana, brush disposal in........ Re EIN TN he ete Pe: ES A, oc 47 Myers; Dr--A>'R-, forest planting, by... .c =. 1-5-1 e cee eee 138 N National forests, United States, brush disposal in. . . — soit eee 47, 49 National Transcontinental Ry., relation of, to regulations................... 13 NehasanelPark=top-lopping ania. 9 0) eee eae DSi eee 7 Nevada, use of oil fuelin................. : Se eee Weep wei New Brunswick, fire organization in... . atic Ge Le eae ok ee eae 26, 141 fire regulations on railways in. Peete ApS AEN eM SSG 55 142 forest planting in....... ae a eee yee Beco. waKy oil shales in. ee : ee ain 23 Se Rees 88 New York, brush disposal in....... OS Ste ees 41 New York Central Railway Co., opinion ion re ol muell. -e cSt. Ea 2 Oe New York and Ottawa Railway Co., opinion of, re oil fuel.......-...... 22 e1'60 New York Public Service Commission, order of . . . - 2 uae ronal New York top-lopping law, amendment to. . ee Lait nek 2 65 objections to. ROPE a eral OPO Seis So Ac tin sees Northern Pacific R: ok ay Co., opimion 6k re oil fuel. . nee os: ae OW Northwestern Pacific Railway Co., opinion of, re oil frel MS Sti 103 Nova Scotia, fire organization in..... . Bat See Sete oe 1 DO La fire regulations on railways in ‘ey. ie OE ws =) a eee 142 forest planting in. . . hase Bee OPE ons 3 2 Rote cK! forest survey of PONS S55 A 145 forestry in. . . oe fae woes ors La oull'shalesiin.y 55:22 fces Aas ncn Smee ae eee PI ona 88 oO Oceanic Steamship Co., use of oil fuel by... # : 2a ott Jee oe Oil-burners, cost of conversion of coal-burners to.......................... 97 Oil-burning locomotives, report on.............. eae sive actpetahecre meas Oil fuel, advantages of, over coal. “id eee ae o3r, 1G) onocomotives...........:..- i Saat cre ee 87, 90, 92 on steamships : ites Re OO carbonaceous scale, cae of : RASA fc 163 conclusions re... ..... , : 320 Ce Le consumption of, by r: oaliea ays ut jini le dake heat ee eee 96 cost of, in New York....... : 3) a re 97 on Pacifie coast. ‘ ee An OT on Pacific coast s,eamships. . Sees: cs ce CL!) for donkey engines... ... -«) = 90 effect of Panama canal on price of . 88 flue cleaning, necessity for, where used . “92 170 ——= % INDEX Oil fuel (Continued) MAL Ke mrOr sini Cane ddan teen ee eer Gana, lw ea: ccs eee cootcee deeds Nesociated Oil Cosset eel saree eee ener Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co... Bellingham and Northern Railway Co....... Benedict; Rid sahe.g. 0s ia sce ce: Isyatsle> do We ee os ca nope ane Canadian Paeitie Railw ay Co.. Chapman, C.S..... Chicago, Milwaukee end St. ‘Paul Railay Co Cleveland-Sarnia Sawmills Co........... Conservation Commission, New York Delaware and Hudson Railway Co. District Forester, Missoula, Montana....... Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Co........ Great Northern Railway Co......... Idaho and Washington Northern Railway iGo. ; Isaacs, John D.. etree, oR ef ae, A MacMillan, H. Re Bs New York and Onan Railway Gar New York Central Railway Co Northern Pacifie Railway Co Northwestern Pacific Railway Co... Public Service Commission, New York... Rock Island Railway Co... San Pedro, Los i «& Salt Lake Railws ay Co. Sums Comes an Southern Pacific Railw ay Co Texas Company, Houston, Texas. Tonopah and Goldfield Railway Co. Washington, Idaho and Montana Bile ay Co.. PAW ary Salis peels bOkieverar eile eens sos tse report on use of, by Canadian Paceifie Ry . sources of, in Canada..... symposium of opinions, re total railway mileage using. : use of, in Adirondack Forest Preserve, New York. rin (CANOE, 6 ning oe by Canadian Pacific Fail ay. by Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway by Grand Trunk Pacifie steamers. . by Great Northern Railway. . by Southern Pacifie Railway ON WATSHIpS|)-2 102s) Ontario, fire inspectors, appointment of, in fire organization in....... fire regulations re railways in. . forest planting in. Northern, description of . forest reserve recommends d in 171 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION PAGE Order No. 16570, Board of Railway Commissioners, quoted................. ai Oregons brushidisposallinmeg year ase eee ELEY Ne Sra shes ae 41, 49, 54 Oregon Forest Fire Association, opinion of, re oil fuel....................... 111 12 Pacific Coast Steamship Co., use of oil fuel by....................-........ 87 Parks Branch, Dept. of Interior, appointments made in...._............... 27 Patrol inspection: 5 4.) seauctn ee ent z ee cca csc hen Cee ee ee 22 Patrols on Canadian Pacific Railway.......... Be Mar ee. Saat eee 17 fire;sresults ‘of; for LOUIE. Se sistv not eisesg os sede Se ee ee ne eee 32 FUNCHONSKOL. «iscsi cvs Ge one Ie CLL CRORE EAC CUE 15 general: provisions ne! aeyt mech eee ele eee eee a ee 23 letter to railways re draft of......... Re eres J ehet tis ee ely, OLZANIZAtOnOliarwa<}-meeeyaeitat clea de ee 52 Getet e eeee 13 on railways, legislation re........\... RAO ie See e aS eet 10, 140 PatroliworksmibBritish|Columbiaeneee seer eae een iia EA ee 14 IN PTAIPIOKPLOVINGES fer forestyplanting ines) see seein ene eee 1388 Public Service Commission, New York, opinion of, re oil fuel................ 100 order of re: oilfulele yan ye. 2 5 Pics ces otek cco ec eC eee 61, 90 workvoliireroil fuel qo crpsrecerte eect aa, ae ee ee ee 97, 99 Q Quebec, fire legislation in................ Sisie''s\6, ele bls Sle Satins a ete Cee eee 4 fire organization in... . . SORE RRL Ra RN Ot Suites ooo - 26, 141 firereulationsiye railways) in) cee sete ieee eee eens ae eee 143 forest planting In. cose ac ie eign ne REA Oe MON OO en een ee 134 township forest. reservesiiMian ag icc ogc oes inciele soars Crorisl a oR 135 R RalwayvAct, extracts: front sy. ci./5 oc aiels cet actos Seca. see tien eae eee 1 Railway, Belt; Britishi Columbia, defined er. nies slebiniescies iereeiere enero eee 14 reserve extension ini) jay. chaspeisicin S osisis lite sicioteerlanletn ete teen 153 Railway Commission, functions Of seee eae ieee eee 1 instructions to wailway, employeesa.-)cacesenice iene voerienieie eee eee 24 Jurisdiction OF’ iiss Wid | clots tne wate eel ceeloginye SEs Pe 13 lines not subject)ito,. <.lesccces seam Yolucrs Suis aiced aerate ae ee ae 142 lines subject to.......... aca Ec dligs aE ters asa eva torre ahaa) ni Sie lore Pee eee 139 order Nos G57Oiof; (quotedr sects sseniee ieveteis cic tie eae eens net ene a INDEX Railway employees, duties of, re fires............... AUB UNICHONS LOM fara ee eee Railways, financial responsibility of, for aco fire situation on, in Canada...... Government, fire protection on. . . using oil fuel, list of......... Bos Rangers, fire, legislation requiring . : Ne Soeobre a Recommendations of Committee on Waseticy ; Reserves, extension of, in Alberta....... in British Columbia. ... . in Manitoba. . WNONEATIO sera ee ete l= the Sate a a ee agit in Railway Belt..... bere ee oes in Saskatchewan....... ae Rhodes, Curry Co., tree mlariiae 7 DRA erie Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Co., opinion of, re oil fuel. mea Mi GihwOly ep esosasednssomaee lek CoO eas ey he acre Rights-of-way, clearing/of..... 024... a2nsesse eee legislation, re fire prevention on. Rock Island Railway Co., opinion ah re oil fel’. Rocky Mountains, game preserve in............ Set, No Mn te St. Maurice Forest Protective Association, work of... . . SentenaeGd Saskatchewan, farm planting rete 3 Sr ey eC Ee irate forest planting in.............. Ann heat trys fs SOR earn oe forest reserves, area of, in. . ROTESU TESCLVES NIM eters freee see) ties. ieeder ee new forest resources of. . SSW hare te SSC ER A Aislabet eae soncreisat patroliworkim).:..-...-- Bre ote ty ere reserve extension in......... summary of reports of fires in meee 56 ee Settler’s slash, disposal of................. ; Sarat rot Sifton, Hon. Clifford, work of, re fire Ieelatione: : Holmenectot top-lopping ON ys... ys see sarees sees ses hate Southern Pacific Railway Co., opinion of, re oil fuel. . MBEOMOU UCL AD Years atrceiele Sutstactecyn aie Min euieas sere eae =f Stansfield, Edgar, report on carbonaceous scale by... .. Speveccae eae Statistics of fire losses, collection of... ... Stumpage, expectancy values of................. The Texas Co, opinion of, re oil fuel.. On clr te haat He ae EN oro Timiskaming & Northern Ontario Ry., cejation of, to fre regulations. .... Tonopah & Goldfield Railway Co., opinion of, re oil fuel............ 173 78 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION PAGE Top-lopping, advantages of...... Te Ole Ser rks hI is He Tp eee 81 CONCLUSIONS! $76 2 si). ie, Sede srr ae eee etree A 64, 71 COBEOEY cco Syce sasvnsks cronies ooo meine a Ree SST onan RCT ey Pee 80 cost of, incidence of................ So cgi PAE ae ee 85 effect/of, oni forest reproduction= == seer aes eee eee 76 effectof; on old'foréstao: : i cs:<0 ase St ae ee oon oe eee 79 elfect/of jon operating costsaanae 3508 teen Hate eee eee 80 effection onsiadding yee eee eee SevPhy as Rie nae + SOMO 82 effectiof, on soils.) 50n2 bccn gna seen ane ee ee Ao eee 78 Top-lopping;“as' insurance. 2. osccsiecsok oe eee et ee eee eee 73 Top-lopping law, in Adirondack Forest Preserve.....................---00- 60 New York, amendment to............ 3 2S aad urtenaes She eee 65 New, ork; objections}to--- i see eee tee adie ntts CRO Ee oe eee 63 ‘Top-lopping:iniNehasane! Parks 3. 2 o8.ce< oc vs cls Se ee eee 70 three-inchdiameteniimit):.62 9%