FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 35 1 



a fire will occur while the trees are in leaf, destroying both deciduous and evergreen 

 species. Forest fires may be classified in two kinds — ground fires and top fires. The 

 former, which is the most common in New York, is seldom very destructive. It creeps 

 along the ground, flashing through the dry leaves on the surface, igniting old stumps 

 and logs, burning the small underbrush, and traveling slowly unless driven by a high 

 wind. Sometimes a ground fire will burn over an open field if the'grass is dry, making 

 a volume of smoke greatly disproportionate to the amount of flame or damage. 

 Ground fires are easily controlled and extinguished if attended to promptly, although 

 the smoke, at times, makes the work difficult. But it is necessary to watch the place 

 carefully for a long time after, on account of the smouldering embers in stumps and 

 logs or in the leaf mold, which are liable to be fanned into flame again by the wind ; 

 and this may occur at any time within a week or more. 



A top fire is one which sweeps through the tops of the trees, creating a mass of 

 furious flames that consume foliage, branches and tree trunks as well as the 

 inflammable material on the ground. This kind of a fire is very difficult to control. 

 If a strong wind is blowing, as is apt to be the case, little can be done to check its 

 progress when once fairly started. These sweeping top fires will often burn until 

 extinguished by rain. In New York, a forest fire is almost invariably followed by rain 

 within a few days. This phenomenon has been observed so often that many believe it 

 to be the result of the fire. Its almost sure occurrence is a providential arrangement, 

 even if it cannot be explained on meteorological principles. The fire fighters of the 

 Adirondacks have a saying that rain is the best firewarden of all. It may be safely 

 asserted that had it not been for this efficient and valuable agency, the forests of 

 Northern New York would have been destroyed long ago. 



The methods employed in fighting fire vary with the circumstances of the case. 

 If it is a ground fire of small area, and no wind is blowing, one or two men can soon 

 "whip it out" by using small bundles of brush or bunches of leafy twigs. If there 

 is water handy, it is well, even then, to drench the ground thoroughly before leaving 

 the place. 



If the ground fire has spread over a. large area, and is traveling fast, it then 

 becomes necessary to rake or sweep up the dead leaves and litter until a wide strip 

 of bare ground is thus made at some place towards which the flames are traveling, 

 so that when the fire reaches this bare strip it will cease for lack of fuel. Where 

 it is practical to do so, several furrows are plowed in making this safety strip or 

 barrier; or, where there are enough men in the fire posse, the ground is dug up 

 with shovels and the loose earth thrown in the direction of the fire. At the same 

 time, other men follow in the rear of the fire and along its sides, whipping out or 

 extinguishing the flames by whatever means they have at hand, so as to narrow in the 



