RAILWAY FOREST FIRES 35 



"Wherever satisfactory arrangements can be made with the 

 owners of cultivated lands who object to the construction of fire- 

 guards through fields of grain, flax, hay, etc., while the crop is 

 on the ground, fire-guards as above specified shall be constructed 

 at the earliest possible date after the removal of the crop, and the 

 stubble shall be then burned over between the fire-guard and the 

 track. 



"Where owners of cultivated lands object to the construction 

 of fire-guards through fields of grain, flax, hay, etc., arrangements 

 should be made, wherever possible, for the utilization, during the 

 ensuing year of strips not less than sixteen feet in width, at a dis- 

 tance of not less than three himdred feet from the track, for the 

 growing of root crops, such as potatoes, turnips, beets, etc., since 

 such strips will serve as efficient fire-guards and will not prevent 

 the utilization of the land, as would be the case were fire-guards 

 plowed through fields of grain, flax, hay, etc!. Where efficient 

 protection can be secured in this way, such procedure will be 

 construed as a compliance with the requirements of the Board. 



"In all cases where the owner objects to the construction of 

 fire-guards across lands tmder cultivation at the time when fire- 

 guards are being constructed on adjacent lands, the fire-guard 

 on each side of such cultivated land shall be turned in to the right- 

 of-way and especial care shall be taken to connect the two such 

 ends, either by plowing along the outer edge of the right-of-way, 

 in such a manner that a fire occurring between the track and the fire- 

 guard on either side of such cultivated land, may not spread around 

 the ends of the fire-guard and endanger the land under cultivation, 

 either before or after the removal of the crop. 



"The provisions of this Order shall apply to the portions of the 

 line under construction, or to be constructed, in the three Provinces 

 named, the same as to portions under operation. In other words, 

 fire-guards are to be constructed at the time when the grading is 

 done on each new portion of the road." 



FiRE-GuARD Inspection 



As previously noted, the field Inspectors of the Operating and 

 Engineering Departments of the Board of Railway Commissioners 

 assisted in the fire-guard inspection. Assistance w^ also rendered 

 by Mr. E. H. Finlayson, Inspector of Fire Ranging, Forestry Branch, 

 who was appointed Fire Inspector in the Fire Inspection Department, 

 in accordance with the plan of co-operation previously described. Mr. 

 Finlayson 's duties were more specifically in connection with the in- 

 spection of patrols and the clearing of rights-of-way, but the assistance 

 rendered in connection with the fire-guard work was very valuable. 



For the inspection of fire-guards in Alberta, a co-operative arrange- 

 ment was made with the Department of Agriculture of that Province 

 whereby Mr. Benjamin Lawton, Chief Fire Guardian, was appointed 

 Fire-Guard Inspector for the Board. A similar plan has been approved 



