243 



country ; but the officers of the commission were unable to obtain any clue what 

 ever to the perpetrator of the crime. 



" Another incendiary fire was started in Franklin County, near Loon Lake, 

 May 2nd, a full report of which, made by tirewarden Chase, will be found on a 

 subsequent page. 



" The miscreants who start these fire.*, have every opportunity for accomplish- 

 ing their work without fear of detection. They enter the forest alone and 

 unobserved, start a fire, and then, aided by their knowledge of the wilderness, 

 emerge at some point many miles distant. These incendiary fires are the 

 cowardly means resorted to in revenge for fancied wrongs ; and it is an unpleasant 

 fact to contemplate that in certain localities the forest is at the mercy of any 

 lawless man, who, brooding over imaginary grievances, or imflamed by ignorant 

 passion or drink, seeks to gratify a revengeful spirit by this dire resort. One 

 need not travel far in the Adirondacks before the ear will catch the discontented 

 muttering and significant threats which leave no doubts as to the danger from 

 this source. 



"From the table given it appears that of eighty-nine fires reported, the 

 causes were : 



From clearing land 22 



From railroad locomotives , 10 



From railroad track hands 3 



From hunters and fishermen 9 



From mischievous boys 5 



From incendiaries 4 



From camp fires 3 



From mosquito smudge 1 



From tobacco smoking 3 



From sparks from saw-mill 1 



From causes not stated 14 



From causes unknown 14 



Total 89" 



SANITARY BENEFITS OF THE ADIRONDACKS. 



The advantages of the Adirondack Park as a health resort are becoming 

 recognized. On this point the Commissioners in their report for 1891 have the 

 following : 



" Information regarding the sanitary benefits of the great forest is so largely 

 sought after that, at the risk of repetition, we quote from one of our previous 

 reports : 



" The sanitary value of our forests cannot be over-estimated. In addition to 

 their furnishing a summer resort for the over-crowded population of our towns 

 and cities, a place where rest, recuperation and. vigour may be gained by our 

 highly nervous and over-worked people, the healthful and purifying influence of 

 coniferous forests has been thoroughly established. 



" The testimony, based on personal, careful and scientific investigation of such 

 men as Dr. E. L. Trudeau, of Saranac, cannot be set aside. Himself an invalid 

 restored to health by forest life, he has devoted himself to the question of 

 environment, in its relation to tuberculosis, and by experiment on living 

 animals, has demonstrated the value of the terebinthine forests of the Adirondack 

 region as a factor in warding off pulmonary diseases. He says : 



