Protection along Railways 



153 



Scotch pine are close seconds. The black 

 locust has the very useful power, like 

 clover in this respect, of enriching the soil 

 in which it grows by the colonies of bac- 

 teria which adhere to its roots. Thus, 

 quite outside of its use as timber, it is 

 useful as a culture plant. The wood, 

 though not well known in Canada, is high- 

 ly valued for work requiring toughness 

 and firmness. Insulator pegs, vehicle and 

 railway car timbers and fence posts are 

 uses to which it is now put. 



On a recent visit to the station at St. 

 Williams, Hon. W. H. Hearst, Minister of 

 Lands, Forests and Mines, expressed him- 

 self as astonished and delighted with the 

 work that was under way and the progress 

 that was shown. He further declared that 

 the movement would have his still warmer 

 sympathy and support since he had seen 

 for himself what was being done. 



PROTECTION ALONG RAILWAYS. 



One of the things that is demanding 

 attention is the protection of forests along 

 railway lines by the clearing of debris 

 from a strip two hundred feet wide on 

 each side of the right-of-way. Mr. Clyde 

 Leavitt, Chief Fire Inspector for the Can- 

 adian Railway Commission writes of this 

 subject: 



* Provision should be made, by either 

 legislative or administrative action or 

 both, of all the Provincial Governments of 

 Canada, for the enforced removal of in- 

 flammable debris on lands adjacent to 

 railway rights of way. This is absolutely 

 essential to a reasonable degree of safety 

 from fire, of forests and other property 

 along railway lines. The Dominion Rail- 

 way Act requires that railways operating 

 under Dominion charters shall maintain 

 their rights of way free from dead and 

 dry grass, weeds and other combustible 

 matter. The Railway Commision enforces 

 this provision. It also requires the use 

 of the best fire-protective appliances on 

 the engines and also that the railway com- 

 panies maintain patrols and take adequate 

 steps in reporting and extinguishing rail- 

 way fires. 



' Engines still throw some sparks, how- 

 ever, and fires along railway rights-of-way 

 are started as well by smokers, tramps, 

 and numerous other agencies, either care- 

 less or malicious, llnless imme<liatoly «lis- 

 covered and extinguished, fires starting on 

 the right-of-way quickly spread to a<ljac- 

 ent lands, where, in the ease of forest 

 lands, the almost Universal presence of 

 large quantities of dea<l, inflammable ma- 

 terial, facilitates the rapi<l spread of the 

 fire, and renders extinguishing difficult, 

 if not impossible. This situation is 

 especially bad in the case of the large 

 areas of cut-over lands, which so gener- 



ally parallel the railway lines in the non- 

 agricultural sections. 



* If the laud or timber owners removetl 

 this material on a strip two hundred feet 

 wide outside the right-of-way, on each side 

 of the track, it would enormously increase 

 the efficiency of the measures which the 

 railway companies are required to take, 

 and would without question decrease to a 

 remarkable extent, the destruction from 

 fires along railway lines. Not only would 

 the destruction of much private property 

 be avoided, but large quantities of young 

 forest growth on cut-over lands would be 

 given a chance to reach maturity, instead 

 of being burned over periodically and so 

 being kept in a perpetual state of unpro- 

 ductivity. 



THE FIRE BUG AND THE EAST WIND. 



E. T. Allen, Forester, Western Forestry 

 and Conservation Association. 



'It's time to hit the trail again,' 



The careless camper said. 

 And left his little fire ablaze 



Within its leafy bed. 



'I'll light another cigaret,' 



The idle loafer said, 

 And chucked his old snipe in the brush 



One end still glowing red. 



'No, I'll not burn my slash this spring,' 



The moss-back logger said, 

 'I'll trust to God and luck again; 



Expense is what I dread.' 



'Let's punch the screen out of the stack,' 



The donkey fireman said, 

 And so he did, and all the sparks 



Sailed blithely overhead. 



'Come on, we'll <lump our ashes now,' 



The railroad trainmen said, 

 The train soon fanned tliem far and wide 



As on its way it sped. 



'Good time to fire my slashing now,' 



The thrifty rancher said, 

 And touched it off without a thought 



Of how far it might spread. 



'I'll think I'll blow an hour or two,' 



The rcHtless east wind said, 

 Then liked it so he changed his mind 



And blew a week instead. 



'Millions in lives and timber lost,' 



The nowHpaj)ers next said. 

 What made those fires all start at once. 



We wondered as we rca<i. 



'It wasn't us, it was that wind,' 



The fools in chorus said. 

 So they're alive and loose this year, 



— We hope the wind is dead. 



