38 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



(6) Should the ploughing for fire-guards in the open prairie be in a solid strip, 

 or in two narrow strips with an open space between ? 



(c) , Does a 16-foot ploughed strip 300 feet from the track constitute an efficient 

 fire-guard without burning off between the right-of-way and the track 7 



(d) How practicable is it to burn off a 300-foot strip each side of the track in 

 open prairie, assuming strips will be ploughed at the outside limits ? 



(e) If a 300-foot strip is to be burned off on each side of the track, is it necessary 

 to plough as wide a strip as 16 feet at the outer edge on each side, from which to back- 

 fire andto stop later fires within fire-guard on portions imperfectly burned ? 



(J) What width of ploughing is recommended ? 



{g) WiU two 8-foot strips of ploughing^ with an open space between of 30 feet 

 width, this space to be burned over, constitute a satisfactory fire-guard, without 

 burning over the ground between the ploughing and the right-of-way 7 



Qi) Will discing and harrowing make an efficient fire-guard the second or 



suceessive years after ploughing, or is reploughing necessary each year 7 



(■i) What system of fire-guarding is recommended for open prairie 7 



5. What is the best way to prevent the spread of weeds from fire-guards 7 

 Discuss for open prairie and for pasture lands 



6. Does a graded wagon road paralleling the track constitute an efficient sub- 

 stitute for the construction of a ploughed fire-guard 7 



If so, state the greatest and least distances from the track when the presence of such 

 a road should relieve the railway company of the necessity for ploughing guards. 



Answer for (a) Open prairie, from to feet ; (b) 



Fenced pasture, from to feet ; (c) Cultivated 



land, from to feet. 



7. In your opinion, to what extent would farmers or other landowners be will- 

 ing to contract with the railway companies for ploughing fire-guards across their own 

 lands in return for old ties from the track, to be used as fuel assuming that fire 

 guards across cultivated lands should be ploughed immediately following the harvest, 

 and that width of ploughing and distance from track wiU conform to needs of local 

 conditions 7 Discuss as to cultivated lands, fenced pasture and open prairie and 

 fully as to what you think would be a fair arrangement in cases where the necessary 

 work on the farmer's land is done by the farmer 



8. Where the above arrangement can not be made, to what extent are farmers 

 likely to object to the ploughing of fire-guards by agents of the railway companies 7 



9. In what way can the above objections be reasonably met 7 



10. Where the land owner refuses to allow the railway company access to his 

 lands for the construction of fire-guards, should not the company be reUeved of re- 

 sponsibility for damage to the property of such owner through fires occurring be- 

 cause of the absence of fire-guards across his lands 7 



11. To what extent is it practicsible for the farmer to grow some non-com- 

 bustible crop on a strip along the right of way, such as alfalfa, beets, potatoes, etc., 

 thus forming a perfect fire-guard 7 



