ir'- 



348 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



flame. Sometimes, an abandoned camp-fire which showed little signs of life will burrow 

 in the "duff" or thick layer of needles that fall from the pines and spruces, where it 

 will smoulder for days, burrowing a long distance until it breaks out at some favorable 

 point in flame. These smouldering fires in the duff are exceedingly difficult to 

 extinguish, and have been known to burn even after a long rain, or when covered with 

 a heavy fall of snow. In traveling through the Adirondack lakes the best watch- 

 points on which to stand and wait for a deer to enter the water can be distinguished 

 at a glance by the peculiar light green foliage of the poplars, which succeed the fire 

 that invariably occurs on these watchpoints by reason of the hunter hurriedly leaving 

 his place and jumping into his boat in order to follow some deer that is swimming in 

 the lake. In the meantime, the little fire which he had built to warm himself is left 

 burning, and, being left unwatched, spreads through the surrounding timber. The 

 whole story is told in after years by the grove of poplar trees which replaced the 

 original growth that was thus burned. 



Third : Locomotives. Railroads which run through wooded tracts are a frequent 

 cause of fire on account of the sparks and live coals thrown from the smokestacks 

 of the locomotives. The railroad officials endeavor to remedy this evil, because the 

 law makes the company liable for damages from this source. Various devices have 

 been used to prevent the escape of sparks and coals from the stack ; but complete suc- 

 cess in this respect has not been accomplished, because any screen that would 

 effectually prevent the escape of sparks would interfere more or less with the draught 

 and the capacity to make steam. The danger from this source, however, can be 

 minimized by watchfulness on the part of the trackmen, and by keeping the ground 

 by the side of the railroad entirely free from dry grass, weeds, old, rotten ties, and 

 combustible material. On some railroads the ground each side of the road-bed is 

 thoroughly plowed until nothing but fresh earth is exposed. But even then the right 

 of way is so narrow that the sparks are very liable to be blown into the woods. Forest 

 fires along railroads have also started from heaps of worn-out railroad ties which were 

 being burned in order to get rid of them. Fires have also been caused by dumping 

 the ashpan of the locomotive while going through the woods — a careless act for 

 which there is no excuse. If a railroad runs through a forest for a long distance, 

 as in the Adirondacks, the ashpan should be dumped while going through a 

 cut, so that the loose coals will remain in the ditch next the rails. If dumped 

 while on an embankment, the live coals roll down its side into the bushes and 

 become more dangerous. It is hoped in the interest of forest preservation, that 

 the time is not far distant when the railroads in our forests will be equipped 

 with electric motive power, which will thus eliminate one of the sources of danger 

 to our woodlands. 



