Conservation Commission 85 



The so-called " top lopping " law reniained unchanged during 

 1914. Its enforcement has been carried out conscientiously by the 

 ranger force. Practically all lumbermen operating within the 

 areas to which this law applies, have done the lopping in a 

 satisfactory manner, only two violations having been reported. 

 These cases are both pending at the time when this report is 

 written. 



Mention should be made of the co-operation by the State De- 

 partment of Highways in the reporting of forest fires. In Sep- 

 tember a request was made by the Conservation Commission that 

 the Highway Department instruct its road patrolmen to extinguish 

 small fires when they could do so without serious interference with 

 their regular duties, and to report all fires to the nearest forest 

 ranger or fire warden. The Commissioner of Highways acceded 

 to this request and sent letters of instruction to each patrolman 

 employed in the area embraced within the fire towns. In this 

 way, an auxiliary force of seventy-two men has been added to our 

 ranger force. The reporting of fires by rural mail carriers has 

 been continued as in 1913. There can be no doubt that the 

 assistance of these persons is of considerable value. Many fires 

 are started each year by persons traveling along the highways, 

 and these fires should all be picked up by our new auxiliary 

 observers. 



The tables accompanying this report summarize the fires of 

 the year classified in two ways — by counties and by causes. The 

 preventive and protective measures have held down the acreage 

 covered by the 413 fires to 13,837, as against 54,796 acres 

 burned in 688 fires in 1913. The expense of fighting fires was 

 $13,978.18 in 1914, as against $42,979.04 in 1913; the damage 

 done by fires in 1914 was $14,905 as against $51,455 in 1913. 



These figures show a great reduction in both acreage and cost 

 in 1914. While it must be remembered that 1913 was the worst 

 fire year since 1908, still there were two or three periods of great 

 drought in 1914, namely in May and early June, in September, 

 and in late October and early November. The last period was 

 especiallv dry in the Catskill region. 



