56 REPORT OF THE FOREST COMMISSION. 



In actual service, however, the time covered by all was less, be- 

 cause of the wet weather that so often prevailed, under which 

 conditions the patrol ceased automatically. The average time 

 served by each patrol was but nine days, and this brief service, 

 linked with prevailing weather conditions, should properly, and 

 does, account for a lower aggregate of tangible results than had 

 been expected. On the other hand, the moral effect of a body 

 of men known to be on the watch for fires and their originators 

 is an item in the account that the future probably will appraise 

 highly. 



Despite the conditions stated, however, the patrol reported 27 

 fires with the significant feature that 17 of them,, found on days 

 and in situations making it quite probable that they would have 

 become true forest fires without this prompt attention, were put 

 out by the patrol themselves and that a warden or competent 

 fighting force was notified of all others in time to prevent a 

 serious fire. It is particularly noteworthy also that so far there 

 has been no fire reported from the patrolled section of which 

 mention is not made by some patrolman. 



A continued and thorough supervision of the men when on 

 duty proved that, with few exceptions, their work was done con- 

 scientiously throughout and a canvass subsequent to the patrol 

 season further showed that practically all are ready to serve 

 again. The fall work has, therefore, accomplished these things : 

 the actual control of fires in the patrolled district; the establish- 

 ment of an organized force available for future use ; the focussing 

 of public interest in this section on the forest fire problem in a 

 way never before realized; and finally, though not concretely 

 measureable, the stimulating of respect for the fire law and 

 of care among forest users in handling fire. 



The actual expense to the Federal Government has been $984 

 for patrol service only and the expense to the State for 

 patrol organization and administration only approximately 

 $492, in addition to the cost of the regular fire service. It is 

 believed that the work already done has paved the way for a 

 continuance of this fire preventative, so vastly preferable to the 

 most effective cure. The hope is further that the lesson in effect- 

 iveness found in the present record may encourage private enter- 



