1917-18 DEPAKTMENT OF LANDS, FORESTS AND MINES. 151 



111 all, 920 inspections were made of 531 locomotives at 37 ditt'erent points, 

 and of these, 295 inspections or almost one out of every three showed conditions 

 below the standard requirements of the Board as regards fire protective appliances. 

 Some of these were minor defects to be sure, but the showing on the whole is 

 decidedly unsatisfactory. The average percentage of defective locomotives is higher 

 than last season, and higher in the case of nearly all the railway systems. Per- 

 centically, the Canadian Northern shows a great improvement over last year. 

 But the percentage defective does not present the whole situation as regards start- 

 ing forest fires, for while the (\N.H. engines showed an improvement in condi- 

 tions and the C.P.R. made a poorer showing (as compared with the previous 

 season) yet the two lines this year showed respectively ll-t and 112 fires of 

 railway origin on practically equal mileages through forest section. The explana- 

 tion lies mainly in the right-of-way conditions which are admittedly bad along 

 the C.N.R. With the cessation of war and freer labour conditions we can expect 

 an improvement in this pha.se of the work next year. 



As in past seasons, the Chief Fire Inspector of the B.K.C. laid down certain 

 requirements as regards patrol by the railway ctmipanies along their lines. In 

 so far as special patrolmen for forest fife protection purposes are concerned, the 

 requirements relate mainly to tiie C.X.H. Twenty-six special patrolmen were called 

 for between Pembroke and Nipigon by the Board's order, but this requirement was 

 not lived up to by the company in anything like a thorough manner. The same 

 unsatisfactory state of affairs has obtained in the past, and it would appear that 

 the only solution will be for the Forestry Branch to put on the patrol. 



The co-operative arrangement on the part of the Temiskaming and Northern 

 Ontario Railway Commission in 1917, whereby their locomotives were regularly 

 inspected by us, was continued this season. One hundred and twenty-six inspec- 

 tions of 39 locomotives were made, of which -12 or exactly one-third showed defects. 



Ten locomotives used in logging, etc., were required to l)e brought up to the 

 equivalent of B.R.C. specifications. 



The annual statistical report made to the Chief Fire- Inspector of the B.R.C. 

 folloM's : 



