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The fires, lasl year, raged with the greatest fury in 

 the latter part of May and the early part of June, or 

 during a time when birds had their nests filled with 

 eggs or brood of young. 



LOCOMOTIVES NOT THE CHIEF CAUSE OF FIRES. 



The assertion that steam locomotives are the chief 

 cause of forest fires inthis State is not, according to my 

 observation, correct, nor is the claim proven by statis 

 tics of this Department. 



My official duties are such that 1 have occasion to 

 travel at least nine months of the year through Penn- 

 sylvania. Much of this time is spent in the mountains 

 and lumbering operations where forest fires are of com- 

 mon occurrence. While it is, of course, true that 

 sparks from engines of steam cars sometimes start 

 serious conflagrations, careful investigations during 

 the past three years show that fires which originate 

 through such causes are rather exceptional. 



RAILROADS ADOPT BEST PREVENTIVES KNOWN. 



It is also a fact that our railroad companies not 

 only use the most improved spark arresters for their 

 engines, but they likewise give particular instructions 

 to section bosses and track walkers in their tmploy, to 

 adopt promptly such means as may be necessary to 

 stop any and all fires which occur along the lines of 

 their respective systems. Through my own personal 

 observation and from the statements of numerous 

 close observing and reliable gentlemen who have de- 

 voted much attention to the cause and effect of forest 

 fires it has boon found, except in isolated cases, that 

 many of the ruinous forest fires which have in recent 

 years been started by steam engines, originated not 

 from puffing and ponderous locomotives of the well 



