208 FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



The Catskill park alone contains 576,120 acres, and this is but a small 

 part of the territory covered by the fire service. One patrolman for each 

 county is not enough. There should be at least two for each county during 

 the fire season, and one from each county remaining during the winter to 

 look after toplopping and trespassing on State lands. 



One fire line is being built in the Catskills and when completed will 

 cost about $500. This starts from the Big Indian valley on the property 

 of James Cruickshank, and runs southwesterly over Eagle mountain to 

 the head waters of the Dry brook. It consists of a bridle path of from four 

 to six feet wide, with the dead timber and brush removed a distance of 

 about fourteen feet. This, in my judgment, will be a great help in breaking 

 a fire, also in getting men and supplies into the mountains where there are 

 no nearby roads which will serve for this purpose. 



I find there exists in the Shawangunk mountains a peculiar situation 

 in regard to forest fires, owing to the huckleberry industry. Thousands of 

 dollars' worth of these berries are taken from the mountains each year by 

 poor people who live at the base of the mountains. If the ground is not 

 burned over once in every two or three years the berries become small 

 and are not worth picking, and hence it is almost impossible to keep these 

 people from setting fires. I would suggest the appointment of two regular 

 patrolmen during the dry season for that locality, and think perhaps the 

 people owning large hotels around these mountains would co-operate with 

 the State in bearing part of the extra expense. 



The appointment of special patrolmen should be considered very 

 carefully. The right man in the right locality might be advisable, but in 

 a general way it seems to me a step backward toward the old system. 



Supervisors are very valuable adjuncts to the fire patrol system. 

 While it was shown in many instances that they were not familiar with 

 the law, yet, taken as a whole, they did excellent work in the prevention 

 of fires and aiding the patrolmen. 



The way in which the fire notices were posted last year could, I think, 

 be greatly improved. The supervisors were asked to post the notices in 

 the town as a patriotic duty, at as small an expense as possible. For this 

 reason they held the notices and waited for people to drive in from the back 

 districts to distribute them. This took a long while, and in many cases 



