258 FORESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND 



The cooperative system of lookout stations and patrolmen 

 is already established over the greater part of the region and is 

 each year becoming more thoroughly organized and efhcient. 

 The details of the organization differ for each of the three states 

 involved, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and are de- 

 scribed in Chapter XVII. 



Supplementing this system the use of oil or electricity for fuel 

 on railroads running through timberlands is advisable; and the 

 lopping of coniferous tops so that they lie in contact with the 

 ground is often best. 



The object of the lopping-ofT of branches from the tops of felled 

 conifers, so that the top lies in close contact with the ground, is 

 not only to prevent the danger of fires starting, but to lessen their 

 severity when once started. A spruce or balsam top with the 

 branches left on decays very slowly and is Kable to burn readily 

 for many years after cutting. If lopped it decays with compara- 

 tive rapidity, due to its contact with the moist ground. In ten 

 years after cutting all but the largest tops should have entirely 

 disappeared. The danger of their burning is over in three or 

 four years after the cutting. 



Lopping is advised wherever the danger from fire is great, 

 near railroads for example, where the cutting has been heavy and 

 there are many tops on the ground, and where an owner is wilhng 

 to spend something to secure the fullest protection. 



The operators in the New York portion of the region are 

 now required by a law passed in 1909 to lop tops. The law is 

 enforced through the fire rangers, who are under the control of 

 the Forest, Fish and Game Commission.^ That the lopping 

 has so far proved successful can be seen from the following quo- 

 tation.'-^ 



" More recent operations also show results favorable to lopping. 

 The brush is more closely packed upon the ground. This is true, 

 even when it is found in piles as the result of many tops lying 



^ This is now placed under the New York State Conservation Commission. 

 2 See article by John W. Stephen, State Forester, and published in the Fifteenth 

 Annual Report of the Forest, Fish and Game Commission. 



