16 REPORT OF THE FOREST COMMISSION. 



TABLE I. FOREST FIRES IN 1912 AND PREVIOUS YEARS. 



fBurned less than 5 acres. 



NUMBER AND AREAS OF FIRES. 



To one unfamiliar with the problem it may seem strange that 

 with more and better wardens, continued enforcement of the law 

 and increased co-operation both public and private, fires reported 

 still multiply. It is by this feature, however, that the Fire Service 

 measures its advance, when linked to the results shown in Table II. 

 Highwater mark has probably not yet been reached in numbers, 

 for as both the wardens and the public take more active interest in 

 the work, in just the same proportion do hitherto unnoticed fires 

 assume importance enough to demand attention and report. The 

 increasing number of fires reported is, therefore, a sign of health, 

 not of decline. 



That the flood tide seems passed in area burned, however, is 

 brought out strongly from this year's record. .A year ago increased 

 efficiency of the fire service was argued from the diminished num- 

 ber of large fires and the increased number of small ones caught 



