374 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



checking or stopping forest or brush fires, I am glad to send you herewnth the very- 

 meager information given me. This is accurate for Greater Boston alone, as our 

 office has supervision only over scouts in the towns of Greater Boston, that is, 

 those in towns within a 10-mile radius of the State House. 



Scouts in this territory have discovered and reported many small brush fires in 

 sections of our State reserve and in large wooded estates in the vicinity of Boston, 

 especially in Milton, Quincy and Braintree districts and the Waltham, Medford, 

 Lexington and Wakefield districts. Through your State officials and fire wardens 

 in the various outlying districts you have doubtless already heard of the work 

 done near Falmouth, Gardner and Fitchburg, and that done out in the Berkshire 

 Hills. Of these I have only the general newspaper reports. 



Special groups of scouts in smaller towns have patrolled dangerous sections 

 near railroad tracks during the extra dry season of the summer. They were prob- 

 ably instrumental in locating several small fires that might have been seriously 

 damaging, but it is difficult to say accurately just how much value their services 

 were. Numerous instances have come to my attention in which boys have stopped 

 grass fires, but in most cases these were considered by them so unimportant that 

 no special reports were made. 



It is my belief that much more has been done during the year in the way of 

 prevention than by actual work in stopping fires already started. The bulletins 

 furnished by you to our scout officials have done more than any other one thing to 

 instruct them as to what the law in Massachusetts, regarding the lighting of fires, 

 is, and to indicate to them what they should do whenever they observe a fire. The 

 information contained in the pamphlet has been freely disseminated so that scouts 

 also are now fairly well informed as to what they should and should not do when 

 traveling afield. Perhaps it is safe to assume that their knowledge and caution 

 has had a good influence on others who might have committed offences and upon 

 those who, because of lassitude or indifference, were slow to inform the State 

 authorities that offences were being committed. 



In the interests of further safety and instruction I should like very much to 

 have a new supply of pamphlets to distribute to those who have become scout 

 masters since your first distribution of the information bulletins. 



Appreciating your kindly interest in the work of the scouts and your desire to 

 educate them in their duties as future citizens of the Commonwealth, I am 



Sincerely yours, 



Ormond E. Loomis, 

 Scout Commissioner. 



