48 FOREST commissioner's report. 



"We also repaired the line from White Cap station to Roach 

 River, which, on account of the lumber operations in this 

 section during the previous winter was down in several places 

 and rendered entirely useless. This covered a distance of 

 about eleven miles and when repaired formed a reliable means 

 of communication in this direction, making connection with the 

 central office at Greenville. When this work was done we had 

 repaired betwee 35 and 40 miles of old line and constructed 

 II miles of new, about 16 miles of which is the property of 

 the State while 11 miles is owned jointly by the vState and Mr. 

 C. H. Randall. These have been kept in repair during the 

 summer and are now in good condition. 



"The conditions of the past summer have been so favorable 

 that the number of patrolmen employed in this district has 

 been verv small and their term of service short. No serious 

 fires have occurred although several which would have proven 

 such were discovered and reported through the vigilance and 

 efficiency of the lookout man in time to prevent their doing 

 much damage. These fires were fully reported at the time 

 of their occurrence and were undoubtedly, the result of light- 

 ning. 



"In closing I will add that under ordinary conditions the 

 system now employed is fully adequate for the protection of 

 the district in so far as it is possible to protect such a large 

 territory with limited means. The telephone is proving a most 

 efficient instrument for reporting incipient fires and with well 

 placed look-out stations manned by reliable and vigilant men 

 a large territory can be protected at a moderate expense. As 

 is the case of fires occurring in buildings, the factor of time 

 is a most important one and every means should be employed 

 to get riien on the ground at once for after a forest fire gets 

 well under way in a dry time the efforts- of a multitude of men 

 are likely to prove of but little avail. 



"In regard to the system employed at the present time in 

 my own district, I would recommend its extension and perfec- 

 tion rather than a change to any other. The telephone should 

 be employed more widely as a means of reporting fires and of 

 keeping in touch with the patrolmen and look-outs. In fine 

 the things which seem to me to be most important in this con- 

 nection are the following: 



