2t 4 



THE FORESTER. 



September, 



office to secure information, the loss to 

 the State by forest fires in 1896 only 

 sums up $53, 345. In other words, some- 

 thing has caused a gradual decrease in 

 forest fires during the ten years past from 

 $1, 000,000 worth of property destroyed 

 to $53, 345 that is a saving in one year 

 of $946,655. 



"The Spring of 1899 was remarkably 

 dry as the trees were coming into leaf. 

 An unusual number of forest fires were 

 started in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Pike 

 and Monroe counties, as well as in some 

 other counties. There always will be 

 such seasons, and we may expect that 

 they will show an increase in the usual 

 number of forest fires until we are 

 authorized by law to throw over the af- 

 fected districts such thorough protection 

 as is afforded by other civilized countries. 



" The fire laws passed in 1897 are two. 

 First, theiact of March 30, ' making eon- 

 stables of townships ex officio fire war- 

 dens for the extinction of forest fires, and 

 for reporting to the Court of Quarter 

 Sessions violations of the laws for the 

 protection of forests from fire, prescribing 

 the duties of such fire wardens and their 

 punishment for failure to perform the 

 same, and empowering them to require, 

 under penalty, the assistance of other 

 persons in the extinction of fires.' This 

 act has been upheld by the Supreme 

 Court. 



"The second act was approved the 

 15th day of July. This act makes it the 

 duty of the County Commissioners ' to 

 appoint persons under oath, whose duty 

 it shall be to ferret out and bring to pun- 

 ishment all persons or corporations who 

 either willfully or otherwise cause the 

 burning of timber lands within their re- 

 spective counties, and to take measures 

 to have such fires extinguished where it 

 can be done,' and it provides a penalty 

 for failure on part of the Couniy Com- 

 missioners to attend to this duty. 



" The obvious duty of the State is to 

 protect its citizens against those who ig- 

 norantly, carelessly, or with criminal in- 

 tent would waste or destroy property. 

 It is, therefore, the duty of Commission- 

 ers of counties where forest fires prevail 



to make an honest effort to apprehend 

 those who start them. 



" Unless a general rain occurs within 

 a reasonable time, we have cause to fear 

 that destructive forest conflagrations will 

 happen elsewhere than in Centre County, 

 and the officers named in the laws above 

 mentioned would do well to weigh very 

 carefully their responsibility under the 

 circumstances." 



An Enlightened Policy. 



During the present year the State has 

 come into possession by purchase of ad- 

 ditional large tracts of the Adirondack 

 forest. This acquisition has been made 

 under the special law and appropriation 

 passed at the instance of Governor 

 Black. 



The reclamation of these woods from 

 private ownership is an enlightened 

 policy. The entire "wilderness" should 

 have remained a heritage for all the peo- 

 ple of the State. Its benefits as a mag- 

 nificent park, a conservator of the water 

 supply and an unequaled sanitarium 

 could not be estimated. But while va- 

 rious clubs and individuals have secured 

 possession of some of the choicest por- 

 tions of the great tract, there is enough 

 left under State control to constitute the 

 finest State park in the world if it is 

 properly guarded and cared for. New 

 York World. 



The Dawn of Success. 



While most of the States have not 

 taken any notable steps in the direction 

 of scientific forestry, or of any adequate 

 care of the forests that remain to them, 

 yet in nearly all of them the subject is 

 now engaging the attention of earnest 

 and thoughtful men. The campaign of 

 education in favor of forest preservation 

 has begun to achieve successes in all 

 parts of the Union. The people are be- 

 ginning to understand more and more 

 clearly the importance of the issue and 

 the urgent necessity of applying a rem- 

 edy to the evil of the careless wasting of 

 our noble woods. San Francisco Call. 



