370 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



the Boston & Maine Railroad, is certainly deserving of a great deal of 

 credit for his excellent record in reducing the fire claims of that road in 

 the past two years. From a loss of $200,000 in 1911 to one of less than 

 $50,000 this year is certainly very commendable, especially so when we 

 take into consideration the continuous drought that was experienced in 

 this State this year, producing a condition for fires almost unprecedented. 

 In order that still better results may be obtained, this road is equipping 

 all locomotives running over the Central Massachusetts division with the 

 Mudge-Slater spark arrester, a device which has been used with great 

 success on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in the west and on the 

 Maine Central Railroad in the east. They are also to maintain a patrol 

 service along dangerous sections, patrolmen being provided with gasoline 

 speeder cars which will accommodate two men and the necessary equip- 

 ment for their use. 



The results accomplished by the New York, New Haven & Hartford 

 Railroad have not been as satisfactory as was desired. Little attention 

 was paid to defective spark arresters until the matter was called to the 

 attention of the vice-president of the road, showing the vast amount of 

 money expended by the road for settling fire claims and extinguishing 

 fires, and that little or nothing was being done to remedy the cause of 

 these fires. Orders were at once issued requiring that special attention 

 be paid to all spark arresters and ash pans, and inspections made late in 

 the season showed a very decided improvement. 



Our railroad fire reports show that we have had 913 railroad fires, as 

 follows: Central Vermont, 65; Boston & Albany, 151; Boston & Maine, 

 232; New York, New Haven & Hartford, 465; burning over an area of 

 16,620 acres, with a cost to extinguish of $8,930 and a damage of $64,222. 



Owing to the large number of fires throughout the Cape country, the 

 greater per cent of which were caused by locomotives, the Public Service 

 Commission was petitioned, under date of August 19, as follows: — 



To the Public Service Commission: 



Respectfully represents F. William Rane, as he is State Forester, that in that 

 part of the Commonwealth comprising Barnstable County there have been for 

 many years past a very large number of fires set in the grass lands and woodlands 

 by sparks from locomotives operated by the New York, New Haven & Hartford 

 Railroad Company; that many of these fires have burned over large areas of wood- 

 lands and destroyed large quantities of wood, both cut wood and standing wood, 

 and fires spreading from these fires in the woodlands have burned and destroyed 

 dwellings and other buildings; that many complaints from private citizens residing 

 in the different villages and towns in said county have been made to him, as State 

 Forester, all calling attention to the large number of fires that have been set by 

 sparks from locomotives; that your petitioner has repeatedly called the attention 

 of the officials of said railroad to the above conditions, and said officials have, by 

 the installation of spark arresters on the locomotives, and by clearing up and burn- 

 ing the grass within the locations, sought to prevent the escape of sparks from the 

 locomotives and the starting of fires, but the number of fires has increased rather 

 than decreased; that a careful investigation has been made and the following appear 

 to be the conditions throughout the entire county, from Buzzards Bay to Prov- 



