764 . JOURNAL, OF FORESTRY 



lots than in the towns of Norfolk, Bristol, and Plymouth Counties to 

 the south. The population ratio is very high, but it must be noted that 

 one-half the people of the district, about one and one-quarter millions, 

 live within 12 miles of Boston, so that over the district as a whole the 

 population ratio is not as high as the statistics would seem to indicate. 

 The fire rate is the highest of the five sections, and is undoubtedly due 

 to the density of population, much of it living in manufacturing centers 

 and inclined to be irresponsible when in the woods. In Massachusetts 

 we have on Saturdays and Sundays more fires than in all of the other 

 five days of the week combined, so it is a pretty clear indication that 

 they are caused by the city or town dweller temporarily in the woods 

 either as an autoist, a tramper, a hunter, or a picnicker. Naturally it 

 is those sections near by this class of population that have a high fire 

 rate. 



Cape Cod. — This section is characterized by a topography so slightly 

 rolling that it may be called flat. The soil is light, but has streaks 

 of loam very favorable to agricultural development, especially as it is 

 free from stones. Most of the cultivated land is found near the ocean 

 shore, and the interior of the Cape is a contiguous belt of woodland. 

 Inasmuch as this woodland occupies the poorest soils it is low and 

 scrubby, and the poverty of the soil has been accentuated by extensive 

 fires in the past. The lack of streams and valleys, as well as the char- 

 acter of the soil and growth, is favorable to the development of 

 extensive fires. In spite of the conditions favorable to fires it will be 

 seen that the rate is remarkably low. Although it does not show in 

 the table the fact is that a majority of the fires are caused by the 

 railroads. The record speaks well for the carefulness of the people 

 who live on Cape Cod. Although the population ratio is low the census 

 satistics do not tell the whole story, because during the summer months 

 the permanent population of 30,000 is increased to over 100.000. 

 Speaking of railroad fires, the writer has noticed in this study that 

 wherever the railroads run through a mountainous country and the 

 tracks cling closely to river banks there are fewer fires than in a flat 

 country where the railroad strikes directly across the country without 

 reference to river courses. This result is due to several factors. Where 

 a railroad is close to a river bank it is, of course, protected by water 

 on one side of the track, and conditions on the other side are often 

 damp. In the second place, in a hill country the valley land is largely 

 agricultural, and the railroad tracks are striking through open country. 

 These factors more than overcome the adverse factor of heavy grades. 



