Zb FOREST FIRES IX XORTH CAROLIXA. 



Sec. 10. All persons, firms, or corporations who shall burn any tar kiln or 

 pit of charcoal or set fire to or burn any brush, grass, or other material, 

 whereby any proix?rty may be endangered or destroyed shall keep and main- 

 tjain a careful and competent watchman in charge of said kiln, pit, brush, or 

 other material while burning. Any person, firm, or corporation violating the 

 provisions of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $10 nor 

 more than $50, or imprisoned not exceeding thirty days. Fire escaping from 

 such kiln, pit, brush, or other material while burning shall be prhna facie evi- 

 dence of neglect of these provisions. 



Sec 11. For the purposes of this act woodland is taken to include all forest 

 areas, both timber and cut-over land, and all second-growth stands on areas 

 that have at one time been cultivated. 



Sec. 12. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act are hereby 

 repealed. 



Sec 13. This act shall be in force from and after its ratification. 



Ratified this the 9th day of March, A. D. 1915. 



Administration. 



By placing the administration of the forest fire law with an already 

 existing office of the State Government the tedious and often difficult 

 task of bringing together a new organization has been obviated. In view 

 of the fact that no appropriation accompanies the new law^, this pro- 

 vision is shown to be a wise and statesman-like action. The State Geo- 

 logical and Economic Survey, which unfortunately yet has only a small 

 appropriation for its support, is enabled to spend as much as can be 

 spared of its appropriation for the carrying out of the provisions of the 

 IsLW. In the actual w-ork of fire prevention and extinguishment very 

 little can be done without an appropriation, but along other lines the 

 Survey has already taken active steps, chiefly toward informing the pub- 

 lic as to what the law is and in what ways it should be observed. 



Cooperation. 



• The latter half of section 1 contemplates a cooperative agreement with 

 the United States Department of Agriculture under the Weeks la"\v, 

 ■whereby the State can receive very material assistance in the prevention 

 of fires. Section 2 of the Weeks law* reads as follows : 



Sec. 2. That the sum of $200,000 is hereby appropriated and made available 

 until expended, out of any moneys in the National Treasury not otherwise 

 appropriated, to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to cooperate with any 

 State or group of States, when requested to do so, in the protection from fire 

 of the forested watersheds of navigable streams ; and the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture is herelty authorized, and on such conditions as he deems wise, to 

 stipulate and agree with any State or group of States to cooperate iu the 



*3G Stat., 961. See Press Bui. 147, Appendix. 



