News and Notes 165 



damage was done by a single fire, in the vicinity of the Inter- 

 colonial Railway. 



The system of forest fire protection in Nova Scotia is among 

 the most effective in Canada. An important feature is the provi- 

 sion that no person shall make, kindle or start a fire for the 

 purpose of clearing land, or other like purposes, nor set up nor 

 operate a portable steam engine within 60 rods of any woods, 

 between the fifteenth day of April and the first of December 

 next following in any year, without first having obtained leave 

 in writing from the chief ranger or sub-ranger. Such leave is 

 granted only when, in the judgment of the ranger, the action 

 may be taken safely. 



Similar provision for the regulation of the setting out of 

 settlers' fires exists in British Columbia, on Dominion Forest 

 Reserves in the West, in Quebec, and in a portion of New 

 Brunswick. It does not exist in Ontario, nor on Crown Lands 

 or lands in private ownership outside of Forest Reserves in the 

 Frairie Provinces. 



During the drouth of May, 1914, a very destructive fire from the 

 Canadian Pacific Railway burned over several hundred acres 

 (about 400) near Gordon Bay, Parry Sound District, Ontario. 



Miss A. E. Sinclair, the principal owner of the devastated area, 

 took action in the Supreme Court of Ontario. The trial was held 

 in Parry Sound in June, 1915, Hon. Mr. Justice Clute, presiding; 

 Mowat, Maclennan and Parkinson acting for Plaintiff. The case 

 was tried by jury. 



A unanimous verdict was rendered that the plaintiff' recover 

 from the defendant $2235 for 65 acres, and further that the 

 defendant pay to the plaintiff costs amounting to $554.55. 



Subsequently the Canadian Pacific Railway settled with another 

 of the claimants, paying $515 damages and $50 toward costs. 



The verdict was rendered on the basis that the evidence went 

 to show that there was "a reasonable certainty" that the fire was 

 set by a spark from a Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive. 



Enormous damage has been done by forest fires in the Smoky 

 River Valley and the Grande Prairie country, in northern Alberta, 

 according to a report just published by the Dominion Forestry 

 Branch. The examination, made under the direction of J. A. 

 Doucet, covered an area of 8,000 square miles previously well 



