EXHAUSTION OF THE FOREST. 



257 



back fires are built on the side 

 of the paths or roads or trenches 

 toward the fire, in the expecta- 

 tion that the two fires will meet. 

 In such cases great care has to 

 be taken that the back fire itself 

 does not escape. Small fires, 

 however, can sometimes be beaten 

 out or smothered with dirt and 

 sand, since water is usually un- 

 available. 



But "an ounce of prevention 

 is worth a pound of cure." One 

 of the best of these preventions 

 is a system of fire lanes. Even 

 narrow paths of dirt will stop 

 an ordinary fire. Roads, of 

 course, are still better. Systems 

 of fire lanes, Fig. 109, are made 

 India. Belts of hardwood trees 



Fig-.llO. Look out for Fire. Rules and Laws 



Fig-. 109. Fire Lane. Worcester Co., Mass. 

 U. S. Forest Service. 



great use of in Europe and British 

 are also cultivated along railways, 

 and to break up large bodies 

 of conifers. 



If in lumbering^ the slash 

 were destroyed or even cut up 

 so as to lie near the ground 

 and rot quickly, many fires 

 would be prevented. 



Some states, as New York, 

 have a fairly well organ- 

 ized system of fire wardens, 

 who have the authority to 

 draft as much male help as 

 they need at $2.00 a clay to 

 fight forest fires. Unfortu- 

 nately "ne'er-do-wells" some- 

 times set fire to the woods, in 

 order to "make work" for 

 themselves. Much preventive 



