20 CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



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adopted in the State of Maine and other states. Telephone connection 

 between well chosen lookout stations will make destruction by fire almost 

 impossible. These watch towers are to be placed on the highest available 

 land or mountains in the several districts and will bring under the supervi- 

 sion of the watchman, whose duty it should be to keep a sharp lookout and 

 report to the nearest Chief Warden all indications of fires. In this way I 

 believe many large and damaging fires can be prevented. We find, too, 

 that each year the Railway Companies are taking better precautions to pre- 

 vent fires on both private and public lands; principally by clearing up from 

 the right of way, burning the bushes and cutting the grass. Where the sparks 

 from engines might ignite the grass they compel their section men to burn 

 it in early spring. This practice has greatly lessened the number of fires 

 set by locomotives. We are also considering the advisability of having the 

 sides of our roads and highways cleared of all bushes which have been cut 

 and left lying along the road. 



The telegraph and telephone companies have been great offenders in this 

 respect and I feel that they should be compelled by 'law to move this brush 

 and burn it. In case of refusal to do so they should be subject to a fine of 

 not less than flOO.OO for each and every offence, because as matters now 

 stand a match, or lighted cigar carelessly thrown on the side of the road 

 during a dry season will readily start a serious fire. 



In the Province of New Brunswick we classify forest fires as of two 

 kinds : Forest fires which start in the month of May are known as "leaf fires" 

 and fires which start in the latter part of June and July (occasionally in 

 August and even as late as September) and are known as "soil fires." The 

 leaf fires are caused by the carelessness of fishermen leaving fires in the 

 woods, matches or cigar stubs carelessly thrown aside, and the sparks from 

 locomotives. These leaf fires kill the woods but do not destroy the soil. A 

 nurse crop of grey birch generally springs up the following year; in a few 

 years there is a good growth and in 30 years a good forest from nature's 

 seeding. On the other hand, soil fires, not only destroy the forest by burn- 

 ing the soil (in some cases to a depth of two feet), and leave the trees with- 

 out any support so that they are soon blown down or fall over of themselves. 

 After such a fire as this any scheme of reforest ration is entirely impractical 

 for hundreds of years, or until such time as the small bushes known as 

 "hardtack" can collect sufficient leaves to form a forest mulch in which 

 seedlings can get a start. 



Practical ideas for reforestation in this Province are based principally 

 upon the protection of our forests from the fires spoken of and confining 

 our operators to the cut of nothing but merchantable logs, (that is logs not 

 exceeding 16 feet in length and 9 inches in diameter) and the protection of 

 seedling and sapling trees amongst the forest growth. The importance of 

 this protection has in many cases been absolutely and needlessly overlooked 



