200 YALE FOREST SCHOOL 

try at nearly every phase of forestry work that one could 
imagine. 
“Fire protection was of course the first work. At the outset 
we assumed that the majority of fires could be prevented simply 
by having the right kind of men distributed throughout the 
forest district, to remind people of the dangers of fire and also 
point out situations where dangerous fires are liable to occur. 
This naturally led us to the question of handling fires which 
originate from railroad rights-of-way and to the disposal of 
slash following logging operations. 
“The railroads are now working in complete harmony with 
this department, not only to prevent fires being started from 
their locomotives, but also to extinguish any which may start 
near the rights-of-way. They now realize that it is money well 
spent to prevent fires on their rights-of-way, and also—what 
is of more importance to us—that the care of railroad fires rests 
with the companies themselves. 
“Our district rangers have been selected with the greatest 
care, and it is on them we depend for working out the details 
of slash disposal on practically every logging job or woods 
operation in the state. We have of course made it clear to the 
rangers what are the objects of slash disposal, but it is up to 
them to decide on the methods which will fulfill these objects. 
Under certain conditions the slash must be disposed of as log- 
ging proceeds; under others it must be burned in the early 
spring; or it may be sufficient simply to dispose of the slashings 
for a specified distance on either side of all logging roads and 
on the boundaries of the logged-over tract. 
“We have divided the forested area of the state into fourteen 
large districts, with a ranger in charge of each. Under each 
ranger there are patrolmen, the number of whom varies with 
the necessity of patroling against the spread of fires. Aside 
from this force, each railroad company provides patrolmen 
sufficient to protect their rights-of-way. The lumber and mining 
companies provide patrolmen of their own accord or when 
requested to do so. A number of the townships have also levied 
a special tax, to pay for a township patrolman and provide a 
fire fighting fund. Telephones, trails, cabins and lookout towers 
have been constructed to aid in the fire protection work. 
