EXAMPLE OF FIRE PROTECTION 345 



hazard to the minimum and immediately The field work is in charge of a chief 



fighting any fires that start. warden and during the past season 



In 11)12 the membership included 41 about twenty-five deputy wardens were 



big timber owners. Now the member- ] <c p t j n t h e field while extra men were 



ship numbers 209 timber owners repre- j n readiness to fight fires should they 



senting 383,392 acres of timber land. be nee( i e d. Slashing is done by the 



making up the richest natural resource association aml (ire 'traps burned out 



in the county. Those owning small SQ that when thc (la season comes 



tracts of timber have found it to their ^ there js n()l ' much chance for 



advantage to join the association as fires ' 



well as the owners of the big tracts. ^ 



The State law now provides that owners , The association has done much to 



of timber must maintain a patrol during educate the farmers as to fire danger. 



the danger season. If they do not, the The farmers in the timoer districts are 



State patrols the timber and charges Allowed to use the association telephones 



five cents an acre, which is collected for their own purposes and in consid- 



like any other tax. When a timber eration of this favor are asked to report 



owner joins the association he meets promptly any forest fires they may see. 



the requirements of the law and the Secretary Conrad has conducted edu- 



cost is much less than where he at- cational work in the country schools 



tempts a patrol himself, and the work an( } has otherwise taught the people of 



is much more thorough when done by t he rural districts that it is to their 



the association. Last season an assess- interest to help the timber owners to 



ment of one cent an acre was made and protect against fire, 



most of this money was used in pre- The county organization works in 



ventive steps. conjunction with the State Forestry 



The association has built and mam- Board m tection work . The cost 



tains about 90 miles of telephone lines protection through membership 



which connect with the farmers com- . 



panics and with the regular lines. Sec- ' n the coun ^ association has been at a 



retary Conrad has his headquarters in lower cost than any of the timber own- 



Marshfield and can keep in constant ers could have individually done the 



touch with the wardens located in dif- same work, and, moreover, it has been 



ferent parts of the county. Trails have more effective. Hundreds of thousands 



been built to the isolated localities and of dollars' worth of timber has been 



make it easier to reach danger points saved from destruction by fire during 



when fires start. The telephones have the four years that the organization has 



done much to send warnings to head- existed. The work planned for the 



quarters and allow prompt work in coming season will make the 1 danger of 



sending assistance to wardens when it loss of timber by fire in Coos County 



is needed. still less. 



Large Sale of Alaskan Timber 



Arrangements have just been made for the sale of 40 million feet of timber on thc 

 Tongass national forest in Alaska. This forest is cut up bv bays and inlets, some of which 

 give an opportunity for taking the timber from the mill to the decks of ocean-going 

 steamers. The Tongass forest is now self-supporting, its lumber product being used largel] 

 in local industries, much going into boxes for canned salmon. 



Chestnut Trees Again Affected 



California State inspectors at San Francisco have found a new canker disease on 

 chestnut trees recently imported from Japan. According to Dr. Haven Metcalf. the Govern- 

 ment's expert on such diseases, this appears to be of the same type as the chestnut blight 

 which is ravaging the forests of the eastern United States, and it is possible that the ne\\ 

 disease would be equally as destructive if it became established in this country. 



