HOW THE FOREST IS GUARDED 101 
ranger in charge of that district and tells him as well 
as he can just where the fire is. The ranger collects 
a man or two and immediately starts to the fire to put 
it out before it has obtained any headway. The old 
adage, ‘‘A stitch in time saves nine,’’ is doubly true 
regarding fire fighting for several men can extinguish 
a fire within an hour or two of its beginning that a 
regiment could not hold after a day or two. 
The most up-to-date fire-fighting organizations have 
regular war maps. The district in charge of a super- 
intendent is divided into sub-districts each in charge 
of a district ranger. Every square mile of territory is 
mapped to show where the danger spots are, the char- 
acter of the country, the best way to get in, where 
men can be collected and other points of value. Thus 
when a fire is located a glance at the map shows all 
necessary details. 
While such organization is necessary under present 
conditions, with increasing knowledge our forests should 
be as safe as those upon the continent. A story is told 
of an American who was visiting a German forest who 
asked his guide if they ever had any forest fires. “Oh 
no,’’ said the forester. Then after a moment’s thought 
he said, ‘‘I’ll take that back; we did have one here two 
hundred years ago.” The future of American forests 
and their safety from fires is largely in the hands of 
the boys who are now growing to manhood. 
Other Enemies of the Forest.—Other kinds of injury 
to which a forest is subject are those due to insects, 
fungus disease, and wind and ice storms. These, how- 
ever, are not so noticeable nor is there prevention or 
suppression in which the help of the general public is 
possible. In certain parts of the country, however, the 
Boy Scouts have been of great service in destroying the 
