154 Third Annual Report of the 



of railroads passing through the forest, and in telephone direc- 

 tories has proved effective in New York State. Pamphlets con- 

 taining these warnings have been distributed amongst sportsmen 

 and others who go into the woods. 



" Fire Notices " posted in the woods convey the information in 

 perhaps the most effective manner. These notices caution campers, 

 hunters, fishermen and all other users of the woods about the 

 use of fire; they quote portions of the forest laws of the State in 

 which the forest is situated ; and they may bear the name and ad- 

 dress of the nearest forest officer, to whom all fires should be re- 

 ported. Notices should be posted at points where they are most 

 likely to be seen, such as along roads, trails, and streams which are 

 frequented by campers, in railroad stations, in hotels, etc. They 

 should be printed in large type so that they will attract attention 

 and be easily read. 



Railroads 



The number of forest fires set by railroads under ordinary con- 

 ditions can be greatly reduced by the application of suitable spark 

 arresting devices to the locomotives. The only way to render loco- 

 motives absolutely safe in this regard is to equip thein with oil 

 burning apparatus. If proper precautions are taken, however, 

 coal-burning locomotives will cause many less fires. The points of 

 danger are the ash pans and the smoke stacks, or, in railroad par- 

 lance, the " front ends." If the openings in and around the ash 

 pans are protected by screens or other devices, so that live coals can- 

 not fall out of them on the right-of-way ; if a spark arrester of fine 

 enough mesh is placed in the front end of the locomotive, and if 

 these devices are maintained at all times in good condition, the dan- 

 ger of fires being started by that locomotive is greatly reduced. 



The question of locomotive equipment will be discussed further 

 when the matter of the laws applying to railroads is taken up. 



Restriction of Fires to Clear Land or Burn Brush 

 It has been recognized for several years that the indiscriminate 

 setting of fires to clear land or to burn brush, especially in the 

 more densely forested regions, has been the cause of many large 

 and disastrous forest fires. Even the fact that these fires might 

 damage the property of the man who set the fire does not seem to 



