NEWS AND NOTES. 



Louisiana The last session of the danger in the state. They also brought 

 Forest Law. Louisiana legislature to a successful culmination the first sea- 

 passed an act to estab- son's application of the plan of firepro- 

 lish a department of forestry to provide tection prepared by E. A. Sterling, of 

 for the preservation of the forests, to the Bureau of Forestry, for the Cali- 

 prevent and suppress forest fires, and fornia timber lands of the Diamond 

 see to the reforesting of denuded lands. Match Company. 



It provides that the register of the This plan, in addition to an annual 

 state land office shall be commissioner systematized burning of the slash, pro- 

 of forestry, with an addition of $500 vides for a system of trails and tele- 

 in salary. With him four other citizens, phones whereby all fires may be reached 

 serving without compensation, consti- and reported promptly, a lookout sta- 

 tute the state forest commission, which tion at a sightly point, a regular patrol 

 shall see to the administration of the during the dry season, the posting of 

 act. The act provides for fire wardens warning notices, the storing of fire- 

 in the various counties of the state and fighting tools at convenient points, and 

 a chief fire warden to personally super- the working up of an anti-fire senti- 

 intend forest-fire control, at a salary of ment among the local inhabitants. 

 $500 a year and his expenses. He is There has also been a picked crew kept 

 empowered to spend not to exceed in readiness during the season to drop 

 $5,000 per year for fire control, as he all other work and proceed immediately 

 sees fit, for fire patrol and prevention to the scene of the fire. The field work 

 in other ways. The parish fire war- during the summer has been under the 

 dens are to receive $2 a day for time charge of B. J. Teasdale, who entered 

 spent in this work two-thirds from the company's service from the Bureau 

 their parish and one-third from the to act as fire warden, 

 state. The fire wardens are empow- All of the proposed trail and tele- 

 ered to call upon all citizens to assist phone lines were not completed this 

 them in times of fire or danger of fire, season, but the more important ones 

 Willful, negligent, or careless setting of were finished, and the remainder will 

 forest fires that cause injury are pun- be put in next year. A regular patrol 

 ishable by a fine of not over $500 or was maintained and a close watch kept 

 imprisonment for not over ten years, or of campers and others within the tract, 

 both. The change in the sentiment of the 



The law further provides that leav- local inhabitants during the year was 



ing camp-fires unquenched, using com- very marked. From an attitude of in- 



bustible wads in firearms, or carrying difference to fires they have come to 



naked torches in forests shall be pun- look upon them as an evil, and not 



ished, whether injury result or not, by only exercise great personal care, but 



a fine of not more than $100 or impris- promptly report all fires seen or heard 



onmeut for three months. The same of. The season has ended without a 



penalties hold for defacing warning serious fire on the match company's 



placards. Railroads are required to land, although extensive fires occurred 



clear their right of way 50 feet on each on adjacent timber land, 

 side of their lines. Under this act Mr. In general, the fire season in Cali- 



A. W. Crandall becomes the commis- fornia has been a serious one, as will be 



sioner of forestry. seen from our notes on September fires 



^ printed elsewhere in this number. As 



is usual, many fires were burning in the 



Fire Control in The rains of last Sep- Sierra forests which were never re- 

 California. temfeerthroughoutCali- ported. In Tehama county two large 

 fornia practically closed fires burned for over a month prior to 

 at an early date the season of forest fire the rains, but mostly in the chaparral 



(438) 



