582 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



form of administration. For fire protection the means of communication and 

 transportation are i)robably of the jjreatest importance under present condi- 

 tions. For communication the telephone is most important and the time it 

 saves is easier to com])rehend when it is realized tiiat in some cases mail 

 service from New York to San Francisco is as quick as from a supervisor to a 

 rancjer, and in many cases it is several days hard riding from the headquarters 

 to the more inaccessible j^arts of the forest. Up to June 30, 1910, something 

 over 0,600 miles of telephone lines had been constructed for the Forest Service, 

 at the rate of approximately 2,000 miles per year during the last three years. 

 During the year ending June 30, 1911, the amount of telephone construction 

 was considerably in excess of 2,000 miles. In the more accessible forests 

 there are available many miles of privately owned lines. In addition the 

 Forest Service has cooperated in the building of the new lines, exchanging 

 telephone j)oles and a free right of way for the free use of the line for official 

 business. The benefits of telephone lines in ordinary administration, and 

 particularly in protection from fire, are incalculable, and have already saved 

 many times over to the people of the United States the money expended in 

 their construction. As a temporary expedient other means of communication, 

 of which the heliograph is probably the most important, have been tried to 

 some extent. There are, however, grave objections to the heliograph. It 

 cannot be used at night or when the atmosphere is too smoky and the need 

 for it may be the greatest. It is often difficult to obtain men who are 

 familiar with the Morse code. It is reasonable to suppose, therefore, that it 

 will gradually be replaced by the telephone, except under unusual circum- 

 stances. 



Since the mileage of railroad within the national forests is small, trans- 

 portation must be almost entirely over roads and trails. Thousands of miles 

 of roads constructed by individuals, counties, and corporations existed before 

 the forests. The Forest Service has cooperated with counties in road building 

 by allo^\ing the free use of timber necessary for road construction and by 

 actual work. Many miles of roads have been constructed to market timber 

 purchased and in connection with other uses of the forests. In addition the 

 Service had before July 30, 1910, constructed in excess of 1,200 miles of roads 

 and 13,600 miles of trails. Trails were constructed during the three years 

 preceding June 30, 1910, at an annual rate of about 2,300 miles. 



It has sometimes been found advisable in order to secure maximum present 

 benefits from comparatively small sums of money merely to locate, blaze and 

 post the trails, clear sufficiently for travel, and plan for their improvement 

 and completion at a later date. Large areas have thus without delay been 

 made comparatively accessible to i)atrolmen and fire fighting crews. 



The rather diversified objects of trail making, and the same conditions 

 hold more or less true of roads also, are to allow forest officers to get from 

 one place to another by the easiest route and that which is shortest in time; 

 to make possible effective patrol, for which trails necessarily follow the high 

 ridges, extend to prominent peaks suitable for lookouts, and to openings from 

 which good views can be obtained; to so locate and construct trails that in 

 strategic places they may be valuable for fire lines ; and to provide for ready 

 access to large bodies of valuable timber in remote and comparatively in- 

 accessible regions. A fire on the Lolo National Forest during the year 1910, 

 in which, for a successful attack, it was absolutely necessary to build 32 miles 

 of trail, illustrates the importance of trails for fire protection. 



lief ore June 30, 1910, more than 1,000 headquarters for forest officers 

 had been built and 247 jurchased thereby placing a large number of men in 



