Canadian Forestry Journal, March, 1917 



997 



THE MOTOR CAR IN THE FOREST 



Manager Sorgius of the St. Maurice Forest 

 Protective Association uses a Ford on any path 

 where the stumps are six feet apart. 



The actual saving of patrol by 

 auto over horse vehicle, employing 

 a man with each to patrol the same 

 district is thus rather hard to measure 

 directly in dollars and cents. 



So far we have figured only on 

 the basis of using an auto patrolman, 

 instead of a horse patrolman, in 

 the same district. Using these fig- 

 ures, it needs little imagination to 

 see the revolution motor cars will 

 make in Forest Protection work when 

 protection districts are apportioned 

 according to the efficiency of the 

 motor patrol force. If motor patrol 

 alone is used, where roads are good 

 and plentiful enough to allow of 

 such action the ordinary staff of 

 guards can be cut in two, allowing 

 of greater concentration at the times 

 of greater danger. This is one of 

 the very important points in favor 

 of the use of motors. 



Taking Care of Permits 



The ideal method of using cars for 

 patrol would seem to be to place a 

 small force of patrolmen or guards 

 on duty early in the spring and supply 

 them with light cars. They could 

 take care of all permit issuing and 



other protection work up till the 

 first dangerous period. More patrol- 

 men could then be added, and at the 

 top of the danger season, the field 

 force, owing to the saving effected 

 in the early part by the smaller staff 

 would be greater than ordinary. This 

 would cut down to a very great ex- 

 tent, the area of each patrol district 

 and reduce the chance of fires getting 

 out of control. 



At the start of the 1916 fire season 

 we decided that the best way to 

 figure the saving effected by the 

 motors used by the District Forester 

 and Rangers would be to compare 

 the cost and time taken of each trip 

 made with the motor with the cost 

 and time that would have been taken 

 using the existing means of travel. 

 This system shows clearly-, I think, 

 and most conclusively, the trem- 

 endous saving in efficiency and actual 

 cash effected b^' the use of cars by 

 the supervisory staff. 



The amounts saved are as follows: 



District Forester 45 dys. $447.78 



Ranger (auto) 12 dys. 365.00 



Ranger (Motor- 

 cycle) 14 dys. 136.71 



Considering the short period of 

 seven months from April 1st to Oc- 

 tober 31st, during which this saving 

 was effected, the figures cjuoted above 

 are conclusive evidence in themselves 

 of the superiority of cars for super- 

 visory work. 



In 1917 we hope to have at least 

 five cars in use and maybe more. 

 We shall then, in case of a bad fire 

 season occuring, have a control of 

 the situation that under the old con- 

 ditions would be entirely impossible. 



At the direction of the King, Spain 

 has passed a law providing for 

 National Parks. The measure also 

 provides for the better protection of 

 the fauna and the flora, according to 

 an announcement of Consul General 

 Hurst at Barcelona, and for a pub- 

 licity department to better acquaint 

 the traveling public with the scenery 

 of Spain. 



