FOREST COMMISSIONERS REPORT. 3I 



Penobscot county, cspecialK ilic northern part, came in next 

 :o Aroostook in the number of acres burned over, but only a ht- 

 tle over 3000 acres of its 857,000 acres was touched, the esti- 

 mated damage being about $6500, which is small compared with 

 the assessed value of the timber lands of the county of nearly 

 three and a half millions of dollars. 



Somerset county which in 1908 lost more than 50,000 acres 

 In- the ravages of the forest fires, escaped in .1909 with about 

 ! 500 acres burned over at an estimated damage of $6890, which 

 is light compared with the wild land acreage of 1.740,917 acres 

 \alued at nearly ten millions dollars. 



Hancock county which has a little over a third of a million 

 acres of wild wild valued at $1,190,283 had only 40 acres burned 

 uver at an estimated damage of $100. 



in Washington county one or two townships suffered quite 

 badly but the total was only 2000 of the 658,000 acres of the 

 ■ounty's wild land, on which the estimated damage was about 

 S6000 compared with the assessed valuation of over two millions 

 dollars. 



Franklin county with its 554.559 acres of wild land valued at 

 about three and a c[uarter millions dollars got through the season 

 of 1909 with a burned acrea of 600 acres on which the estimated 

 lamage was $600. 



The causes assigned for the fires of 1909, by the forest fire 

 wardens on the part of the Maine Forestry District and the 

 selectmen on the part of the incorporated towns are as follows : 

 Clearing land, 37; railroads, 22; unknown, 68; river drivers, 5; 

 ampers and fishermen, 10 ; lightning, 2 ; trappers, i ; berry pick- 

 ■rs. 2; surveyors, i; school children, 1; smokers. 2; portable 

 nill, 2; burning buildings, 2; blueberry burning, t. 



The tabulations follow : 



