2.'^8 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



deputy wardens the sum of $31,131.79, 

 making more than one-half of the entire 

 amount expended in 1909 going directly 

 for patrol work and supervision of the 

 same. In 1910 for the same class of service 

 there has been expended up to November 1, 

 $38,708.97. Included in the work of patrol 

 and constant watch for fires there has been 

 posted by these men over 20,000 danger-fire 

 notices, printed largely in Hnglish, al- 

 though when it seemed wise notices printed 

 in French and Italian have been put up. 



"Close touch with the men employed has 

 been made possible by weekly reports re- 

 turned to the department by the regular 

 patrolmen. 



"In case of fire of any proportion and 

 causing the hiring of extra men the chief 

 or deputy wardens in charge file reports 

 containing the following facts: County and 

 township in which fire occurred; time dis- 

 covered and number of hours before it was 

 entirely extinguished; direction of wind at 

 the time; method employed in extinguish- 

 ing same; cause of fire; area burned; esti- 

 mated damage; names of men and hours 

 employed and the total expense of extin- 

 guishing the fire; the report to be signed 

 and sworn by the warden in charge and 

 approved by the chief warden of the section 

 in which the fire occurred." 



According to the report fire losses in in- 

 corporated towns in 1909 amounted to $32,- 

 965. in unincorporated townships, $63,734. 

 The loss from forest fires in incorporated 

 towns in 1910 was $1,906 and in unincor- 

 porated townships $935. The year 1909, the 

 first season under the Forestry District, the 

 appropriation for prevention and extin- 

 guishment was about $64,000 and the select- 

 men of towns also worked under the new 

 law making their municipalities liable for 

 their negligence. 



The forestry department has equipped its 

 wardens with tools for fighting fires, which 

 are distributed in convenient localities and 

 are branded with the stamp of the district. 

 The amount invested in this manner is 

 $5,000. There are twenty-four lookout sta- 

 tions on the high elevations. The con- 

 struction and equipment of these stations 

 has cost $14,664.49 the past two years. In 

 connection with these stations many lines 

 of telephone have been constructed, bring- 

 ing the most remote sections into quick 

 communication with the chief warden and 

 localities from which help can be easily 

 secured. 



By arrangement with E. C. Hirst, state 

 forester of New Hampshire, a system of 

 co-operation was entered into in 1910 

 whereby Maine gets the benefit of the Kear- 

 sarge Mountain station in Chatham, N. H. 

 Other stations overlooking Maine forests 

 are contemplated by New Hampshire. In 

 return Maine wardens watch for fires in 



New Hampshire from the Aziscooe Moun- 

 tain station in Lincoln plantation, Oxford 

 county. A system of reversing telephone 

 tolls distributes the expense equitably. 



A Gift to Vermont 



Vermont has just received a gift of 106 

 acres including the summit of Bromley 

 Mountain in the township of Peru, eleva- 

 tion 3,260 feet, from Hon. M. J. Hapgood. 

 Mr. Hapgood has long been interested In 

 forestry, and in addition to this gift has 

 placed his own holdings under the direc- 

 tion of the state forester. 



Commissioner Conklin's Report in Pennsyl- 

 vania 



In his annual report Commissioner of 

 Forestry Conklin of Pennsylvania says: 



"It is the duty of a government to per- 

 petuate itself, and in perpetuating itself 

 there is a further duty to provide for the 

 common welfare of its citizens. With these 

 objects in view, it is wise for a state to 

 see "to it that every square foot of soil, 

 the source of wealth, be made to produce 

 its highest revenue. Whenever elements 

 of production are allowed to be wasted, 

 the whole moral fiber of those in connec- 

 tion with the waste is lowered and gen- 

 eral dissatisfaction follows. The state in 

 turn suffers from undesirable citizens, loss 

 of industry, income, and at the same time, 

 outlay for remedial measures and a host 

 of economic conditions which can hardly 

 be followed. 



"There must be more co-operation on the 

 part of the departments concerned, prin- 

 cipally those of education, agriculture and 

 forestry. School gardens, elementary agri- 

 culture, agricultural clubs. Arbor day and 

 so on must be gotten into the schools. The 

 school building should be the social centers 

 of the communities and, if necessary, the 

 government must send out social settle- 

 ment workers. Agriculture and forestry 

 must no longer be left out of county and 

 local teachers' institutes, nor should a 

 consideration of the schools and forestry 

 be left out of farmers' institutes. There 

 are no forestry institutes, but lectures, 

 bulletins, sample plantings and all man- 

 ner of assistance must be provided for. It 

 behooves every member of our departments 

 to make each appropriation reach as far 

 as possible, but it is more important that 

 results are obtained from what is done, 

 and then the results themselves must and 

 will speak for increased assistance from the 

 legislature. 



There have been added to the reserve 

 area 17,000 acres, during the past year, 

 making the total area of reserves now 

 owned by the state 933,582 acres. There 

 are thirty-nine trained foresters and eighty- 



