FOKEST SERVICE. 379 



There liave been established in many places signal stations for the 

 use of the patrolmen in watching for fires. Usually these are located 

 on high points from which a large area can be overlooked. In some 

 instances, where the topogra})hy is flat, watch towers are built 

 extending above the trees and so located that the observer may see 

 a large portion of the Forest. An example is in the Tusayan Forest, 

 near the rim of the Grand Canyon. A tower which is under con- 

 struction in the Arkansas Forest will be provided not only with tele- 

 phone communication with the ranger stations but also with a sys- 

 tem of lights for signahng at night. In some instances the signal 

 stations are equipped with means of flashing signals to a distance, 

 where they are received b}'' other patrolmen and passed on until some 

 person is reached who can communicate by telephone with head- 

 quarters, whence help can be sent. Experiments are being con- 

 ducted with the heliograph as a means for signaling. 



The Forests not only must be thoroughly organized and equipped 

 but also must have a sufficient patrol force. The Forests are now 

 very much undermanned. Frequenth^ a single patrolman has nnder 

 his charge over 100,000 acres. During the dry periods there should 

 be at least one regular patrol to every 10,000 acres in the heavily 

 timbered Forests. In normal seasons wdien there is considerable 

 rainfall patrol ma}' be considerably reduced, but in exceptionally dry 

 seasons, such as that of 1910, it should be possible to put a greatly 

 increased force of guards on patrol duty. 



Besides a protective force which is sulhciently large, proper organi- 

 zation of the Forests against fire demands also that this force shall 

 be effectively distributed. In the absence of ranger quarters, in 

 which the men may live wliile protecting remote parts of the Forests, 



f)atrol oflicers must return frequently to settlements for supplies, 

 osing much time in going back and forth and leaving the Forests 

 unguarded meanwhile. Satisfactory results can not be expected 

 until the equipment includes a large number of ranger stations pro- 

 vided with cabins, barns, and pastures, so that men and their horses 

 can be quartered where they are most needed. 



The extra expense incurred in fighting fires in 1909, exclusive of 

 the salaries of Forest officers, was $54,669.83, or 818,613.70 less than 

 in the previous year. Of this total $17,162.82 was expended on 

 account of fires not on National Forest lands, but seriously threatening 

 the Forests. 



