FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 1 53, 



August nth, 1900. Number of acres burned over, thirty, of which all but ten acres 

 was waste or brush land. Value of standing timber destroyed, ^50. About twenty acres 

 of woods were also burned. This fire started about two p. m., by sparks that came from a 

 freight engine on the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad. I notified the railroad 

 employees to take care of it, and so did not order out any men. Nearly fifty acres of 

 meadow land have been burned over this summer in Sidney by the railroad company. 

 They are continually violating the law, and pay no attention to me when cautioned. I 

 shall soon bring several actions to recover damages. 



Mr. Newcomb Mapes, firewarden for the town of Bethel, Sullivan county, N. Y., 

 reports : 



May 7th, 1900. Number of acres burned, 400 ; value of standing timber destroyed, 

 I200. This fire was started by John Robb to burn a fallow, without notifying the fire- 

 warden or any one else. He wanted to burn some clumps of brush, and the fire continued 

 to burn through the night, keeping within bounds and control until the afternoon of the 

 8th, when it escaped and run through the woods, driven at great speed by a high wind, 

 for about two miles. I had been attending to another fire in another part of the town, 

 and on my return I got word that a fire was coming very fast directly toward White Lake. 

 As we were in great danger, I immediately ordered out all the men in the neighborhood ; 

 but before we got to the place we had a heavy shower of rain, which extinguished the 

 fire, so there was no expense to the town for fighting it. 



May 8th, 1900. Between 300 and 400 acres of land burned over, on Brodhead Tract,, 

 Great Lot 16, Hardenburgh Patent. All waste land ; damage very trifling : -ailed out 

 nine men ; total number of days labor, twelve. This fire was evidently started by some 

 evil disposed person. 



May 30th, 1900. Number of acres burned over, about 1,000 ; value of standing timber 

 destroyed, estimated at $500. Number of men called out, fifteen. Total number of 

 days' labor, one day each for fifteen men and one-half a day for ten. This fire started on 

 a new telephone line which is being put through from Poughkeepsie to Carbondale, Pa.,^ 

 and it spread very rapidly. A number of valuable buildings Avere in great danger. I 

 called out what men I could get, and, taking charge of them, we had the fire under control 

 on the pecond day. On the third day we extinguished it altogether. The land was 

 covered very thickly with a growth of young oaks, some hickory, pitch pine, etc. It had 

 not been burned over in fifteen years. 



Mr. Plymouth Davis, firewarden for the town of Rockland, Sullivan county, 

 N. Y., reports : 



April 4th, 1900. About three acres of brush land were burned over. Ordered out five 

 men. Fire caught somehow from stumps in a field, and would have been a bad one if I 

 had not seen it in time. There were some big woods with 300 cords of wood and bark 

 very near. I put the fire out in a patch of half-burned bushes just before it reached the 

 Avoods. 



