THE time has passed when flying machines should be 

 looked upon as toys or experiments. They have been 

 developed to the point where they are being used daily 

 and with comparative safety. Within the past five years, 

 thousands of men have been trained to guide aeroplanes and 

 hydro-aeroplanes among the clouds with a greater degree of 

 safety than any other kind of machine or conveyance can be 

 driven at the same speed on the ground. 



The European war is calling for aeronauts in increasing 

 numbers. They are wanted to carry dispatches, to observe 

 movements of enemy forces, and even to carry on offensive 

 movements against the enemy. They are not only practicable 

 and reliable as machines go, but are now considered almost 

 indispensable for the armies. 



Some years ago, when I watched the Wright Brothers make 

 le first successful flight for the government prize at Fort 

 [yers, Va., it occurred to me that aeroplanes were certain to 

 ind a field of usefulness in forest patrol. In what other way 

 mid a large tract of forest be so quickly seen and fires de- 

 ;ted? Since the winning of that prize at Fort Meyers, the* 

 r right Brothers and many others interested in aeronautics 

 tve been steadily and rapidly perfecting the different types 

 >f flying machines. Today they are almost as practical as 

 le automobile. 



To appreciate what the advent of the aeroplane means in 

 patrol work, it is necessary to know what constitutes ade- 

 quate forest patrol and what it costs. Let us figure a little. 

 Ninety-nine forest fires out of every hundred can be extin- 

 guished in a few hours by one or two men if the fire is 

 reached within half a day after it starts. That is why the 

 rangers and their patrolmen are effective. But it costs 

 money to maintain the right kind of a patrol force. There 

 should be at least one man to every seventy-two square miles 

 of forest, twenty-two to every million acres, 110 men for five 



