4 ^Y:ANNUAL REPORT OF 



only one-third of such expense. It is expected that the 

 counties now will be more prompt and liberal in paying 

 such service. In an ordinary year it may be assumed 

 that the two-thirds of expense the state has to reim- 

 burse to the counties will amount to $4,000. The other 

 expenses pertain to the office of Chief Fire Warden, and 

 include his salary, clerk hire, traveling expenses, postage, 

 printing of warning notices, blanks, circulars, etc., and an 

 edition of 4,000 copies of his annual report. 



The item to cover all these expenses is found in the 

 general appropriation act under the head of ' ' Forest 

 Preservation"; and I think the public will be surprised to 

 learn that it amounts to only $5,000. It is an amount 

 I will not say wholly but very inadequate for the effi- 

 cient execution of the law. I recommend that the appro- 

 priation for each of the next two fiscal years for * 'Forest 

 Preservation" be $10,000, and I trust that you will 

 strongly indorse the recommendation. The amount 

 which the legislature appropriates depends principally 

 upon the Senate Committee on Finance and the House 

 Committee on Appropriations. I have not failed to 

 appear repeatedly before those committees to urge a 

 larger appropriation. 



Nobody knows when an exceptionally dangerous season 

 may occur. It will not do to wait until it has come. 

 Every spring the local fire wardens in about six hundred 

 towns must be furnished with notices, instructions and 

 blanks and kept on the alert so that in case a drouth 

 should occur they will be active in preventing dangerous 

 fires. The economical use of money is in the prevention 

 of fires. 



Our neighbor the province of Ontario expends $30,000 

 and upwards a year in the prevention and extinguish- 

 ment of forest fires. 



