Conservation Commission. 89 



supplied with a copy of the order of the Public Service Commis- 

 sion, and our force was instructed to inspect engines and secure a 

 compliance with the law. 



The repairs and changes necessary to be made to engines in 

 order to have them comply with the law falls under two heads: 

 First, minor defects, that is, those imperfections due principally 

 to failure to maintain existing equipment, and second, defective 

 design, which includes defects of design or type, such as spark- 

 arrester netting with too large a mesh, or large openings around 

 the ash pans not guarded in proper manner. The minor defects 

 can, as a rule, be repaired in the roundhouses, while defective 

 design must be corrected in the shops when heavy repairs 

 are made. 



The inspection of thousands of miles of right of way and many 

 thousands of engines of various designs and types at numerous 

 places has kept our force very busy. 



Conferences have been held between our chief inspectors and 

 the superintendents of motive power or other officials of several 

 railroads. As a result a better understanding has been reached 

 and the railroad officials have submitted drawings illustrating pro- 

 posed changes in designs for the approval of the Public Service 

 Commission. This enables the companies to go ahead with their 

 work with a feeling of security. The improvement in regard to 

 making repairs, rapid advances in change of design where neces- 

 sary, and the hearty co-operation of nearly all the railroads in the 

 State, have brought about a most satisfactory showing for the first 

 year of operation. 



TOP LOPPING. 



The codified Forestry Law contained the original provision re- 

 quiring the lopping of tops of all coniferous trees, unless trees 

 were cut for use with the branches on, in any of the fire towns. 

 The only difference between the present law and the former one 

 is. First : That the application is restricted to the fire towns and 

 not to the entire forest preserve counties. Second: That the 

 penalty of $25 for each offense and a fine of $2 for each tree not 

 properly lopped was omitted. There arose a difference of opinion 

 as to whether or not it would be necessary, under the law, to lop 

 the tops. This question was carefully investigated by the counsel 



