248 



Canadian Forestry Journal, November, 1^13. 



Dividing the Country. 



At the directors meeting on April 

 6th, a working plan was presented. 

 The territory was divided into three 

 divisions.. Each division was sub- 

 divided into districts. Each divi- 

 sion was under the supervision of an 

 inspector whose duties were to see 

 that the rangers in his charge cover 

 their respective districts during the 

 dry weather and cut out and clean 

 trails, erect look-out stations and 

 string telephone line during the wet 

 season. 



In 1913, more limits were added to 

 the Association and another inspec- 

 tor was employed to help with the 

 work. In 1914, two more inspectors 

 were added to the force to help over- 

 see the ranging in our ever-increas- 

 ing territory. In one division this 

 past season, the inspector did his in- 

 specting in a Ford automobile where 

 ever there was a road leading into 

 the ranger's district. The auto has 

 proven that it was a good invest- 

 ment as it has cost less to keep up 

 than a horse. 



Method of Patrol. 



Each district was patrolled either 

 by two men in a canoe, a man on 

 horse-back or a man on foot. The 

 very best of results were obtained by 

 this method. The sizes of districts 

 that rangers have to patrol are de- 

 terrnined according to the fire haz- 

 ard in that particular centre. 



The total number of acres patrol- 

 led by the Association to date is 

 7,892,766 or 12,332 square miles. 



This last season, the rangers pa- 

 trolling the settled districts, were 

 furnished with dodgers in the early 

 spring which asked the settler to co- 

 operate with us in the burning of his 

 slash, thereby lessening the fire dan- 

 ger. 



Colored dodgers were also printed 

 and, as in the case of the plain ones, 

 a house-to-house canvas was made 

 and each and every man in the vari- 

 ous parishes under our supervision, 

 received one of them. Circular let- 

 ters were written to the Cures of 



A look-out tower at Lac Legault, 



these parishes asking them to kindly 

 explain to their people just exactly 

 what we wished them to do and the 

 penalty for disobedience. Splendid 

 results were obtained by this method 

 and by the use of burning permits 

 as the following record speaks for 

 itself: 1914, 80 fires; 1915, 41 fires. 

 This shows a clear decrease of about 

 fifty per cent, in the fires. Two 

 more years of this sj'stem, and the 

 settlers will be accustomed to our 

 method of controlling the burning 

 of slashings. We firmly believe that 

 at the end of this time, very few set- 

 tlers will trouble us with fires. 



Railway Guarding. 



The section that is traversed by 

 the National Transcontinental Rail- 

 way is also patrolled by us. A dis- 

 tance of one hundred and sixty- 

 seven miles is under our control. 

 Five motor speeders, two men to a 

 car, follow up all trains in their res- 

 pective districts, twenty minutes af- 

 ter their departure. 



This past season, all fires caused 

 by engines, were thirty-five in num- 



