NORTH CAROLINA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 33 



The fall of 1911 was unusually wet, so that the efficiency of the patrol work 

 was not fully tested. Only eight fires were reported during the season. 

 These were all small fires, discovered by the patrolmen soon after they started 

 and promptly extinguished before any serious damage was done. The fact 

 that these small fires were discovered and extinguished before they assumed 

 serious proportions demonstrates fully the value of the patrol service. Under 

 our forest warden system, the Forest Warden is not authorized to incur any 

 expense in patrol work, or to do anything until after the fire has been reported 

 to him, and, generally, the fire has done considerable damage and is difficult to 

 control by the time it comes to the attention of the Forest Warden. Under 

 the patrol system this trouble is largely overcome, and certainly for the 

 mountain district, where there is a large percentage of woodland in continu- 

 ous bodies, the patrol system is the practical method of dealing with the forest 

 fire question. The State Forester outlined for the forest patrolmen and the 

 regular State forest wardens, a plan of cooperation by which each was to 

 work in harmony, and it is gratifying to report that this plan, so far as it 

 could be observed under the limited opportunities for action this fall, worked 

 out very satisfactorily. 



EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF THE WORK. 



Considerable stress was laid upon the educational feature of the work 

 during the past season. The patrolmen were provided with printed matter 

 relating to our forest fire laws and fire protection, and they were instructed 

 to avail themselves of every opportunity to place this literature in the hands 

 of landowners in their district and to talk with them on the subject of fire 

 protection. While it is difficult to measure the effect of this work, it is 

 believed that it has been instrumental in securing a more thorough coopera- 

 tion on the part of the landowners of the mountains in suppressing forest 

 fires. The landowners have, in every case, shown their willingness to co- 

 operate, and now that their attention has been called to the forest laws, and 

 the determination on the part of the State and Federal governments to aid 

 them in securing fire protection, they have been encouraged to hold an en- 

 tirely different view toward the forest fire question. It was just such work 

 as this which was required to crystallize the sentiment and make it effective. 

 The forest patrolmen not only visited the landowners in their districts, posted 

 warning notices, and warned the careless, but also visited the schoolhouses 

 and got the teachers interested. Our forest laws are sufficiently compre- 

 hensive to cover the situation and to meet any emergency that may arise, 

 but it is just such an agency as this patrol which creates a public sentiment 

 that will make their enforcement certain. The fact that the Federal Gov- 

 ernment is paying men to patrol the woodlands and enforce the forest fire 

 laws carries with it a dignity and force which can not fail to arouse the 

 admiration and good will of the people generally. I feel reasonably certain 

 that these results have been secured in the Maryland work. 



VALUE OF FEDERAL COOPERATION IN FIRE PROTECTION. 



Under present conditions in Maryland, the State can not fail to appreciate 

 fully the cooperation of the Federal Government. As has been stated, our 

 forest laws are excellent in many respects. The Forest Warden Service has 

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