594 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



mize the danger of greatly strung out or scattered camp fires along the routes 

 of travel. Crude but safe outdoor fire-places are thrown together by the 

 patrolmen for the use of campers in localities much used. 



The railroads have been brought to realize that a businesslike system of 

 fire protection is a paying proposition, and they have organized special forces 

 of patrolmen mounted on speeders and placed where the district rangers feel 

 that they will be most effective. These places are, of course, on the heavy 

 grades and along sections of the tracks peculiarly susceptible to the starting 

 of fires. The companies are also paying much more attention than formerly 

 to the question of spark arresters on their locomotives. At least two new 

 spark arresting devices of great promise have been produced within the last 

 three months by the master mechanics of railroad companies within the state. 



In the construction of new railroads, wagon roads, trails, etc., the brush 

 is no longer piled along the outside of the right-of-way to serve as a fire trap, 

 but is required to be burned as construction proceeds. 



In the summer logging being done this season on a large scale becaxise 

 of the large quantities of timber killed by last summer's fires, the slash has 

 been either burned as the logging progressed, or piled ready for burning late 

 in the fall or early in the spring, depending upon the character of the timber. 

 The most economical and satisfactory method for the disposal of slash differs 

 widely in different types of forest, so that the method to be used in each 

 case is left to the district ranger to prescribe, the idea being to cooperate with 

 the lumber companies in working out the best method for each individual tract. 

 There is no disposition to be arbitrary, but there is a persistent desire to get 

 rid of the slash which constitutes a fire danger. 



Cooperation with the settlers is being brought about. The settlers are 

 coming to realize the importance of forest fire prevention to themselves and 

 the community, and in many localities are rendering valuable assistance to 

 the rangers. Volunteer fire brigades, similar to the ones maintained in 

 villages, are being organized in communities where this is feasible. Control 

 of forest fires will be much more effective when the rich agricultural lands of 

 northern Minnesota are thickly settled, thus cutting the forest region into 

 belts and irregular tracts, and confining it to the poor, sandy, or rocky land, 

 which alone should be maintained in forest. 



The state has made a good start in the matter of creating parks and 

 forest reserves. Principal among these are Itasca Park, which includes the 

 source of the Mississippi, and Burntside Forest in the wild rocky region north 

 of the Vermilion Range. It is the duty of the state forest service to care for 

 and improve the state reserves, which are rapidly coming to be appreciated 

 for their beautiful lakes and pine forests, full of ideal spots for summer camps. 



The rangers serve as special game wardens without pay, and the regular 

 game wardens of the game and fish commission serve as special forest rangers, 

 thus increasing the force of men devoting their efforts toward making safe 

 and accessible the great forests of northern Minnesota. 



