Mercier. — Effect of Forest Protection 101 



sides of their respective roadways by burning the same or 

 otherwise. 



The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may create, by 

 proclamation, fire districts. During the construction and 

 operation of its line through any fire district, every rail- 

 way company and every license holder, whose license is 

 located in any territory forming part of a fire district, shall 

 place under the control and have at the disposal of the 

 superintendent of forest fires, such number of men as may 

 be required in case of fire. The salary and expenses of 

 such employees are to be borne by the railway company, 

 the licensee, and the Minister of Lands and Forests jointly. 

 Penalty for refusing to comply with the above section 

 ranges up to $500. Moreover, the Minister is authorized 

 to employ in each fire district such number of men as he 

 may deem necessary. All persons who drop burning sub- 

 stances, such as ashes from pipes or cigars, on the ground 

 or elsewhere, whether in the forests, open fields or other 

 places, are bound to extinguish such burning substances 

 before leaving the spot. Contravention of this article is 

 punishable by a penalty not exceeding $50 or by imprison- 

 ment for not more than three months in the common jail. 



Last year a number of new and important modifica- 

 tions were made in the law for the protection of forests 

 against fire, chief among which are the following: 



Every holder of a license to cut timber on crown lands must, at 

 all times between tfie 1st of May and the 1st of November in each year, 

 have his timber limits patrolled by competent fire-rangers paid and 

 selected by him, but appointed by the Minister of Lands and Forests, 

 and the latter may prescribe the number of fire-rangers who must b^ 

 so employed. Such fire-rangers must devote their whole time to such 

 patrol. 



The Minister may, however, require that the limits be patrolled 

 also in the month of April, in certain parts of the Province where it is 

 expedient to do so. 



Every license holder must, between the first and the fifteenth of each 

 month, during the period above mentioned, make a return to the Depart- 

 ment showing the number of fire-rangers employed by him during the 



