HOW THE FOREST-IS GUARDED .. 



ranger in charge of that district and tells him as well 

 as he can just where the fire is. The ranger collects 

 a man or two and immediately starts to the fire to put 

 it out before it has obtained any headway. The old 

 adage, "A stitch in time saves nine/' is doubly true 

 regarding fire fighting for several men can extinguish 

 a fire within an hour or two of its beginning that a 

 regiment could not hold after a day or two. 



The most up-to-date fire-fighting organizations have 

 regular war maps. The district in charge of a super- 

 intendent is divided into sub-districts each in charge 

 of a district ranger. Every square mile of territory is 

 mapped to show where the danger spots are, the char- 

 acter of the country, the best way to get in, where 

 men can be collected and other points of value. Thus 

 when a fire is located a glance at the map shows all 

 necessary details. 



"WMle such organization is necessary under present 

 conditions, with increasing knowledge our forests should 

 be as safe as those upon the continent. A story is told 

 of an American who was visiting a German forest who 

 asked his guide if they ever had any forest fires. "Oh 

 no/' said the forester. Then after a moment's thought 

 he said, "I'll take that back; we did have one here two 

 hundred years ago." The future of American forests 

 and their safety from fires is largely in the hands of 

 the boys who are now growing to manhood. 



Other Enemies of the Forest. Other kinds of injury 

 to which a forest is subject are those due to insects, 

 fungus disease, and wind and ice storms. These, how- 

 ever, are not so noticeable nor is there prevention or 

 suppression in which the help of the general public is 

 possible. In certain parts of the country, however, the 

 Boy Scouts have been of great service in destroying the 



