FOREST FIRE LOSSES, $677,816. 



Fire on the National Forests of the 

 West in 1914 caused a loss to the 

 Government of not quite 340,000,000 

 board feet of merchantable timber, 

 valued at $307,303, and of reproduction, 

 or young growth of trees, valued at 

 $192,408, according to statistics just 

 compiled by the Forest Service. There 

 were 6,605 fires, of which only 1,545 

 burned over an area of ten acres or more. 

 About 77 per cent of all the fires did 

 damage of less than $100 each. In 

 addition to the losses suffered by the 

 Government, timber on State and pri- 

 vate lands within the forests, totaling 

 228,008,000 board feet and valued at 

 $175,302, was lost. The total area 

 burned over was 690,240 acres, of which 

 310,583 acres were State and private 

 lands. 



Notwithstanding that it was an excep- 

 tionally bad year for fires, on account 



of high temperatures, heavy winds, and 

 prolonged drought, the average loss per 

 fire was $103, as against $131 in 1911, 

 when there were only about half as many 

 fires. Eighty-five per cent of the total 

 loss was caused by fires in Idaho, 

 Montana, Oregon, and Washington, 

 where more than half the timber in all 

 the National Forests stands. Less than 

 one-tenth of 1 per cent of this timber 

 was affected. Of the 6,605 fires reported, 

 3,691, or 55.9 per cent, occurred in 

 these States, and of the ninety-nine fires 

 causing losses of more than $1,000 each, 

 eighty-one were in this region. 



Lightning was the chief cause, starting 

 2,032 fires; campers came next with 

 1,126, followed closely by railroad lo- 

 comotives, with 1,110. Incendiaries 

 lighted 470 and the rest were attributed 

 to brush burning, sawmills, etc., or their 

 origin was unknown. 



COYOTES SPREAD HYDROPHOBIA 



THE spreading of rabies by in- 

 fected coyotes among cattle 

 grazing in the National Forests 

 has assumed a grave aspect, 

 according to a report received by the 

 Forest Service from the district forester 

 in charge of the forests in Washington 

 and Oregon. Numerous townships in 

 eastern Oregon, it is reported, have 

 ordered that all dogs be muzzled lest 



those that have been bitten by rabid 

 coyotes develop hydrophobia and attack 

 humans or domestic animals. 



Efforts are being made by the State 

 authorities of Oregon to stop the spread 

 of hydrophobia by this means and 

 officers of the Forest Service are cooper- 

 ating in attempts to kill off the coyotes. 

 In one county alone a loss of 300 head 

 of cattle is charged to rabid coyotes. 



Changes of Address 



Members of the American Forestry Association are requested to send notifica- 

 tion of any change in address so that the American Forestry Magazine and other 

 mail will not be delayed in reaching them. 



Such notices are desired before the 25th of each month so that the address 

 may be changed for the monthly mailing of the magazine. 

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