CHAPTER IX 



FIGHTING FIRES AND THIEVES 



IN the cultivated forests of Europe, fires are rare 

 events and, if they do break out, cause compar- 

 atively little damage. In British India, forest fires 

 used to be as destructive as they are in North Amer- 

 ica. But since the government, through the adminis- 

 trative genius of Sir Diedrich Brandis, has taken 

 the work of rational forest management in hand, 

 they have practically ceased in all districts to which 

 the work of the forester has extended. These ex- 

 amples show that forests, even where they are situ- 

 ated in the midst of dense settlements and are 

 constantly being lumbered over, are not necessarily 

 subject to great danger of fire. But they show by 

 no means that the salvation of American forests lies 

 in an adoption of the protective measures relied on 

 by these foreign countries. Differences arising out 

 of natural, economic, and political conditions make 

 it necessary for us to work out our own salvation in 

 this, as in most other problems that confront our 

 national life. 



Readers will remember that in an earlier chapter 

 we emphasized the fact that practically every forest 

 fire is the result of human carelessness. This 



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