223 



piped during the month, the original survey cutting of two years ago 

 being almost completely obliterated by the rank growth of ferns. 



FOREST FIRES. 



The following fires were reported during the month: 



August 9, 1921: Waianae-uka, Oahu. As a result of artillery prac- 

 tice, a fire occurred on the south r^lopcs of Maili Hill, but w^as extin- 

 guished by the army. An area of 30 acres of grass land, with a few 

 trees in the gulches, was burned over. 



August 10, 1921: Kapapala, Hawaii. A personal investigation was 

 made of a fire that had been burning for a week near the Mauna Loa 

 trail a few miles below^ Camp Bates. It had been started by cowboys 

 to clear out a thicket of pukeawe, w^iere cattle were wont to hide, in 

 a small gulch surrounded by an a-a lava flow and open country. A fire 

 was smoldering in old logs and duff. A fire line was scraped around the 

 burning area, which was thus made safe, and in a few days the fire went 

 out altogether. , 



August 17, 1921: Waioli, Kauai. Fire Warden W. F. Sanborn re- 

 ported a small fire which burned over 2 acres in the forest reserve on a 

 steep ridge. It was reported to have boen set in connction with the 

 illicit distilling of liquor, and the cause of the fire is still under investi- 

 gation. Heavy showers in the mountains extinguished the fire that night. 



August 31, 1921: Waianae-uka, Oahu. Another fire started at 3:50 

 p. m. on the slopes of Maili Hill from an unknown cause and burned 

 over 7 acres of grass land before it was extinguished by the army that 

 same night. 



Mr. L. von Tempsky has resigned as District Fire Warden for Kula 

 and Kaupo, and Mr. John Chalmers as District Fire Warden for Hana, 

 Maui. Recommendations for the appointment of their successors will be 

 submitted in a separate communication. 



WORK ON HAWAII. 



I remained on the Island of Hawaii during the entire month of 

 August to complete the inspection of lands in the Hilo Forest Reserve, 

 to check up fencing as required by general leases and homestead agree- 

 ments, and to explore government forest lands with a view to adding 

 them to the present forest reserve system. The latter work will result 

 in the inclusion of approximately 28,900 acres of additional forest land 

 in the reserves, distributed as follows: 2,500 acres added to the present 

 Hilo Forest Reserve; 15,000 acres added to the present Upper Waiakea 

 Forest Reserve; 9,690 acres of unleased government forest land In Waia- 

 kea, between the Panaewa and Upper Waiakea Reserves and the Waiakea 

 homestead tract, to be set aside as the new Waiakea Forest Reserve; 

 and approximately 1,710 acres of heavy forest in Manowaialee, Kaiwiki 

 and Niupea in the District of Hamakua to be set aside subject to exist- 

 ing leases, as the new Manowaialee Forest Reserve. As soon as descrip- 

 tions and maps of those areas are received from the Surve3'or, they will 

 be submitted to you with detailed reports recommending the setting 

 apart of the lands as forest reserves. 



HILO FOREST RESERVE. 



The work of delineating the makai boundary and surveying addi- 

 tional areas to be included in the Hilo Forest Reserve continued during 

 the month and resulted in the running of 7.5 miles from Pohakupuka 

 Stream to Kaula Gulch at the extreme north corner of the reserve. A 

 visit was made to the survey crew- and the boundary line w^as inspected 

 across the lands of Piihonua, Waipunalei, Piha, Opea Peleau and Kai- 

 wiki 3. 



