148 Third Annual Report of the 



guard, warden, or whatever the patrolman may be called, require 

 certain qualities in the man who would perform these duties effi- 

 ciently. Such a man should be honest, energetic, reliable; and, 

 above all, he must be a " woodsman," with an accurate knowledge 

 of his district and able to take care of himself in the woods. The 

 work requires men capable of going out into the woods day or 

 night and remaining on the fire line for hours at a time, capable 

 of directing large bodies of men fighting fire, and of providing for 

 those men while they are in the field. 



If the area of the forest to be protected exceeds a million acres, 

 it is well to subdivide the force and provide at least one officer to 

 take charge of each area of 1,000,000 acres or less. When good 

 men can be secured for these positions, the central office can be 

 relieved of a large amount of routine work, thus gaining the leisure 

 to devise new methods by which to perfect the system. 



The ranger must be provided with suitable camp outfits and an 

 adequate supply of tools for fighting fire. Camp outfits and tools 

 should be located at points where they will be readily available in 

 case of fire. It is not sufficient to furnish supplies of tools at the 

 ranger headquarters. As far as funds permit, tool boxes should be 

 located at various points within the forests — at lumber camps, 

 private camps, etc. The tools best adapted for this use will be 

 described later. 



Observation Stations 



The efficiency of the patrol force can be greatly increased by 

 lookouts or observation stations located on vantage points com- 

 manding views of large areas of the forest. The U. S. Forest 

 Service, the forestry departments of various States, and private 

 forest fire protective associations the country over have by their 

 experience of the past few years determined the value of lookouts 

 beyond a doubt. This feature of the system was evolved from the 

 patrol. In making his rounds the ranger will naturally seek the 

 best viewpoints in order that he may see the maximum amount of 

 country with the minimum travel. Where lack of funds prevents 

 the establishment of regular observation stations, with men to de- 

 vote their entire time to them, this idea is excellent. Trails should 

 be constructed to render commanding peaks accessible, and the 



