CALIFORNIA FOREST FIRE PROTECTION 



409 



The rainy days of June are at an end and standing 

 pools of water and even springs begin to go dry so that 

 water becomes scarce. The birds now begin to desert 

 the dry hillsides and even the gardens where no water 

 is available, and move down to the borders of streams 

 and moist woodlands. Now is the time to begin put- 

 ting out water for the birds if you have not already 

 commenced. A bird bath or fountain in the garden will 

 not only retain the birds already there but will draw 

 in manv others. If vou can have running water, so much 



the better, but if not, even a shallow pan in which the 

 water is replenished will be serviceable. It must be less 

 than an inch deep where the birds are to enter and the 

 bottom must not be slippery. The accompanying photo- 

 graph of the fountain in the garden of Professor and 

 Mrs. J. H. Comstock shows how the bird bath may be 

 made one of the most attractive parts of the grounds. 

 Many species of birds come here to drink and bathe 

 and they add much to the beauty of the garden. 



California Forest Fire Protection 



By George R. Rhodes 

 Secretary, the California Forest Protective Association 



WHILE the records for the last three years, as 

 shown by the reports from forest owners and 

 the Federal Forest Service, show that forest 

 fires in California have been steadily decreasing and the 

 damages to timber and cover growth has almost reached 

 the vanishing point, the California Forest Protective 

 Association is continuing its efforts to enlist the coopera- 

 tion of all interested for further prevention of forest 

 fires. 



The reports covering timberlands outside the areas 

 protected under cooperation with the government for 

 the past three years, show a constantly decreasing area 

 burned over with less damage each year, as follows : 



1913, 6,330 A. burned over, damage $1215.00 



1914, 1,650 A. burned over, damage 750.00 



1915, 1,145 A. burned over, damage 660.00 



The report of the Federal Forest Service for District 

 No, 5, covering California, on cooperative fire protection 

 for 1915, shows that 28 lumber companies, the Southern 

 Pacific Railroad and fire protective associations composed 

 of timber owners, cooperated with the Federal Forest 

 Service in protecting 2,601,138 acres of timberlands 

 from forest fire at a total cost of $8,832.49, or nearly 

 $.004 per acre. While inexpensive, this cooperation was 

 effective as is shown by the fact that only 8,016 acres 

 were burned over with a total loss of $899.75, or 11 cents 

 an acre on the area burned over. 



In addition to this cooperative protection the Califor- 

 nia Forest Protective Association reports show that 

 timber owners expended over $14,000 for further pro- 

 tection and had 14,036 men available to fight fires in 

 emergencies. 



Cooperation with the Federal Forest Service, both by 

 individual forest owners and associations of owners has 

 been so satisfactory in every way that it has been rapidly 

 extended during the past three years and will doubtless 

 be further extended in the future so that practically all 

 of the privately owned timberlands adjacent to the 

 National Forests will be under cooperative protection. 

 This will cover practically all of the pine forests of the 

 State. 



The remainder of the California forests are practically 

 all in the redwood belt along the coast where the moist, 

 foggy climate during the summer, the undergrowth of 

 low growing evergreens such as ferns, the thick bark and 

 peculiar qualities which render the redwood almost 

 immune from fire, contribute to conditions which make 

 destructive forest fires in the redwoods almost impossible. 



While a very small part of the redwood forests is 

 adjacent to National Forests, and for that reason there 

 is little opportunity for cooperation between the owners 

 and the Federal Forest Service, yet the owners indi- 

 vidually and in cooperation with one another, and also 

 through organized associations, carry on a thorough, 

 effective system of protection against forest fires. And 

 this protection extends also to the cut-over lands where 

 the danger from fire is greatest, and which promotes 

 reforestation. 



In carrying out encouragement of cooperation for pre- 

 vention of forest fires, which has been established as a 

 regular work of this Association, a letter was mailed to 

 each of the five members of the Board of Supervisors in 

 the twenty-eight timbered counties. That this was 

 effective in securing the attention and cooperation of the 

 Supervisors is shown by the following quotations from 

 letters received : 



"I have your letter of the 15th and note what you say 

 in regard to brush and grass fires, which at times do 

 great damage to the forests. Please be assured that 

 we will always be glad to cooperate with you with these 

 objects in view." 



"I wish to acknowledge receipt of your communica- 

 tion of April 15 relative to brush and grass fires. I 

 wish to say that this county will in the future, as it has 

 in the past, through its Board of Supervisors, do all it 

 consistently can in this matter and I will be pleased to 

 bring this matter before our board at its next meeting 

 to this end." 



"I have sent all through my district notices as sample 

 enclosed, which we hope will be satisfactory." 



The sample mentioned was a notice printed on cloth 

 10 by 18 inches and worded as follows: 



