IIIC, 



Canadian Forestry Journal, May, 1917 



I Six-Sevenths of U. S. Fires Preventable \ 



In most of the forest regions the 

 weather conditions^ in 1915 were 

 favorable for the prevention and sup- 

 pression of forest fires, the Lake 

 States being especially favored. There 

 were no protracted droughts, though 

 a few States experienced short periods 

 of intense dryness and of high winds 

 in the spring months. For in about 

 6,000,000 acres, or 1.1 per cent, of 

 the 544,000,- nd Connecticut occurr- 

 ed in March and April, and 67 per 

 cent, of the 1,101 hres in Pennsylvania 

 in April. 



The returns from the States having 

 forest-fire protective systems show 

 that most of the fires were controlled 

 before gaining much headway, and 

 that extensive and -destructive fires 

 were few in number, as compared 

 with those in the States not so organ- 

 ized. These facts argue strongly for 

 appropriations for the establishment 

 of adequate systems of protection by 

 all States. The suppression by a 

 forest officer of a single fire in its 

 incipiency may avoid a loss much 

 greater than the annual appropria- 

 tion for forest fire protection. 



It is estimated that some 40,000 

 hres burned over about 6,000,000 

 acres, or 1,1 per cent, of the 544,400,- 

 000 acres of forest area in the United 

 States. Of course, not all the tim- 

 ber on the land burned over was 

 destroyed or -damaged; in many fires 

 the damage to standing timber is 

 relatively small. Nevertheless, the 

 money loss in timber and improve- 

 ments alone was not less than S7,- 

 000,000 which does not include the 

 loss in young tree-growth on large 

 areas outside of the National Forests, 

 and the very great damage from soil 

 deterioration and floods. 



Sevcnty-fouT per cent, of the fires 



_„ — . . , — ._. — . . ..—.^ 



wTre of known origin, and of these 

 lightning — the only nonpreventable 

 cause — started approximately one- 

 seventh. Therefore the remaining 

 six-sevenths were started by careless- 

 ness in some form or another, which 

 is preventable. Of these the largest 

 number was caused by brush burning 

 and railroads. The proportion of 

 fires due to these two largely pre- 

 ventable c'ases indicates strikingly 

 the need for greater care on the part 

 of both farmers and railroads. In the 

 west the principal preventable cause 

 was camp fires. Six out of every 

 seven forest fires which occur can 

 be prevented. — U.S. Dept. Agricul- 

 ture. 



450 PER CENT. TUMP IN PAPER 



London, May 2. — The Express 

 says that there is an acute crisis in the 

 paper trade in Great Britain owing to 

 submarine activities, and that im- 

 ports of raw material have almost 

 stopped. Several paper mills have 

 been obliged to close, and imports in 

 the last few weeks were only ten per 

 cent, of the restricted amount allow- 

 ed by the Government. There is no 

 prospect of improvement, as every ton 

 of shipping will be needed henceforth 

 for food. A further reduction in the 

 size of the newspapers is considered 

 inevitable. Paper, which before the 

 war cost the newspaper publishers two 

 cents a pound, is now nine cents. 



A Correction 



By an error in the last issue of the 

 Journal the name of Mr. A. Clarence 

 Lyman of Montreal was omitted 

 from the list of Life Members joining 

 in 1917. 



Bad conditions in the principal forest-using industry, lumbering, are of 

 no permanent benefit to anyone. Suspicion and hostility toward this in- 

 dustry will not help the public and get nowhere in meeting practical needs. 

 It should be the concern of the public not only to keep the industry com- 

 petitive but to cooperate with the lumberman in. making his business more 

 efficient.— VV/77. B. Greely, U.S. Forest Seruice. 



