98 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 
that in beating out the flames no burning leaves, etc., are 
thrown ahead of the fire to start a new blaze. Where the 
soil is sandy as on Long Island, New York, and on Cape 
Cod in Massachusetts, shovels and rakes are excellent 
fire-fighting tools, and the fire is controlled by throwing 
sand upon it. Certain towns in Massachusetts have 
regular fire wagons with portable fire extinguishers. 
These, of course, can be used only on level country 
and where more water can be obtained to recharge 
the extinguishers. It is claimed that one of these 
portable extinguishers will put out two hundred feet of 
blazing scrub oak. 
Whatever type of fire is fought, men should always 
be left to guard it until it is known to be out positively. 
Some of the most disastrous fires known have resulted 
from blazes that were thought to be under control and 
afterward started up again. Even though entirely 
surrounded by a fire line or trench a smoldering stub 
or log may be fanned into flame by the next morning’s 
breeze. The breeze increases, the flames roar up some 
tinder-dry old snag, and finally, a brand is carried over 
the fire line and a new fire starts. In some cases where 
the soil and duff are extremely dry, it may be necessary 
to keep several men patrolling the fire line for weeks, 
but this is far cheaper and better than bringing out a 
hundred men to fight the fire all over again. 
As stated in the early part of this chapter a large 
portion of this enormous fire damage could be avoided, 
for a majority of the fires are set through carelessness. 
The most frequent causes are the following: sportsmen, 
by carelessly throwing down a match or lighted cigar, 
or by failing to put out their camp fires; settlers, 
by clearing fields and permitting the brush fires to get 
away from them, and railroad engines, by throwing out 
