DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from Duke University Libraries https://archive.org/details/forestfiresinnor01holm_1 NORTH CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC SURVEY JOSEPH HYDE PRATT, State Geologist ECONOMIC PAPER No. 48 FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1915, 1916 and 1917 AND PRESENT STATUS OF FOREST FIRE PREVENTION IN NORTH CAROLINA C— BY J. S. HOLMES, State Forester RALEIGH Edwards & Broughton Printing Co. State Printers 1918 STATE GEOLOGICAL BOARD Governor T. W. Bickett, ex officio Chairman Raleigh, N. C. Mr. John Sprunt Hill Durham, N. C. Mr. Frank R. Hewitt Asheville, N. C. Mr. C. C. Smoot, III North Wilkesboro, N. C. Mb. Robert G. Lassiter Oxford, X. C. Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Chapel Hill, FT. C., May 22, 1918. To his Excellency, Honorable Thomas ~W. Bickett, Governor of North Carolina. Sir : — The protection of our forests from fire is generally recognized and urged as a necessary war measure, as well as an essential step towards safeguarding our Hation’s future welfare. Owing to the lack of a State appropriation for carrying out the provisions of the forestry law of 1915, education and publicity are prac- tically the only weapons left to the Survey with which to fight this common menace. A report on the destruction to property in this State by forest fires during the past three years, as reported by correspondents in the various townships, together with a sketch of what has been done to combat this evil, should go far in convincing the people of iSTorth Carolina that stronger and more effective measures are a vital necessity. I, therefore, submit herewith, for publication as Economic Paper ISTo. 48 of the Keports of the Horth Carolina Geological and Economic Survey, a report on the Forest Fires in North Carolina During 1915 , 1916, and 1917, and the Present Status of Forest Fire Prevention in North Carolina. An Appendix containing a List of Voluntary Township Forest Fire Correspondents who reported for the year 1917 has been added for the information of the general public and as a slight recogni- tion of the free public service rendered by these men and women. Yours respectfully, Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist. CONTENTS Forest Fires in North Carolina During 1915, 1916, and 1917: - page Introduction 7 Forest Fire Regions 7 Fire Seasons 8 Relative Monthly and Seasonal Fire Risks. (Table 1) 8 Forest Fires During the Year 1915: Summary of Reports by Counties — Mountain Region. (Table 2) 9 Piedmont Region. (Table 3) 10 Coastal Plain Region. (Table 4) 11 Comparative Statement of Averages by Regions for 1915 and for Seven Years. (Table 5) 12 Forest Fires During the Year 1916: Summary of Reports by Counties — Mountain Region. (Table 6) 13 Piedmont Region. (Table 7) 14 Coastal Plain Region. (Table 8) 15 Comparative Statement of Averages by Regions for 1916 and for Eight Years. (Table 9) 16 Press Accounts of the Spring Fires 16 Forest Fires During the Year 1917: Summary of Reports by Counties — Mountain Region. (Table 10) 21 Piedmont Region. (Table 11) 22 Coastal Plain Region. (Table 12) 23 Comparative Statement of Averages by Regions for 1917 and for Nine Years. (Table 13) 24 Review of the Past Three Years 25 Summary of Reports by Regions for the Three Years 1915, 1916, and 1917. (Table 14) 26 Causes of Forest Fires: Classified Causes in Percentages for Past Three Years. (Table 15) 27 Classification of Forest Fires 28 Instructions for Reporting the Causes of Forest Fires 29 Present Status of Forest Fire Prevention in North Carolina : State Forest Fire Prevention 31 The State Forestry Law 31 Posters 31 State Forest Wardens: Letter of Appointment 34 Letter of Instructions 34 Badges 36 Cooperative State Wardens 37 Federal Fire Prevention in North Carolina: National Forests 39 Supervisors’ Annual Fire Report. (Table 16) 40 Weeks Law Cooperation 41 Policy and Methods of United States Forest Service < 41 Federal Patrolmen 44 Patrol Districts 45 Federal Regulations 45 Qualifications 46 Political Activity Prohibited 46 Compensation for Injuries to Federal Employees 47 6 Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina Federal Fire Prevention in North Carolina: page Appointment of Federal Patrolmen 48 Instructions for Federal Patrolmen 49 Forest Protective Associations 50 Tryon Forestry Club 50 Forest Fires in Tryon District Since Federal Patrol Began. (Table 17) . . 52 Report on Operations of Tryon Forestry Club for 1917 52 Financial Statement 52 Mount Mitchell Forest Protective Association 53 Financial Statement 54 Linville Forest Protective Association 55 List of Members 55 Articles of Association 56 Financial Statement 60 Proposed Smoky Mountains Protective Association 60 A Private Lookout Station Established 62 Proposed Eastern Carolina Forest Protective Association 64 Cooperation with Railroads 65 Southern Railway 65 Other Railroads: The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad 66 Linville River Railway 66 Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway 67 Norfolk-Southern Railway 67 Cooperation with Postal Employees: Mail Carriers to Report Forest Fires 67 Posting Notices in Postoffices 68- State Legislation Needed 68 A Suggested Law 69 Some Reasons for Demanding a Forestry Appropriation 69 Action Urged by Organizations 70 Constructive Legislation Demanded by the State Press 71 Appendix 75. FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1915, 1916, AND 1917 INTRODUCTION The publishing at this time of a somewhat full report on forest fires might be thought of by those who have given little attention to the subject as a matter not directly affecting the output of timber as a war measure. Ou the contrary, this subject has a vital relation to the war as well as to the peace which must follow it. Although the future value of the young growth annually killed by fires is greatly in excess of the value of the mature timber destroyed, yet the loss from both these sources as well as by other property injured greatly lessens our efficiency in pushing the war and our prospect of prosperity and progress during the ensuing peace. Information on the number, extent, and damage annually caused by forest fires in North Carolina has been collected through the cooperation of voluntary cor- respondents in the various townships of the State for the past nine years. At first, comparatively few townships were heard from, but each succeeding year the results of the inquiry have become more accurate and more complete. This is due to the increasing number of correspondents who report fires and to the better and more general understanding and appreciation of the damage done by them. While in 1909 only 158 replies were received to the list of questions sent out, inquiry for the past two years has elicited slightly over one thousand replies. Even now, however, reports are received from only 65 per cent of the townships of the State. Reports on forest fires during 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, and 1914 were pub- lished by the Survey as Economic Papers ISTos. 19, 22, 25, 33, 37, and 40, respec- tively. These reports, several of which are now out of print, have been distrib- uted widely through the State and to select lists of exchanges throughout the whole country. The interest in this question in North Carolina, however, is still much too restricted, although the influence of these inquiries and reports is clearly seen in the greatly improved attitude towards forest fires on the part of landowners and the general public. It was originally intended that the reports on forest fires for the years 1915 and 1916 should be published separately, as previous reports had been. However, the publication of these reports has been unavoidably delayed until now the figures for the three years 1915, 1916, and 1917 are brought together in one report. Much of the data for the different years has been given to the press from time to time, but its value to the people of the State amply justifies its compilation and publi- cation in this complete report. FOREST FIRE REGIONS Experience has shown that the belt of counties running along the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge, and including the many spurs of that range, have fire condi- tions much more like those in the Mountain region than in the rest of the Pied- mont region. In 1915, therefore, reports from this belt of counties, containing Surry, Wilkes, Caldwell, Burke, McDowell, Rutherford, and Polk counties, were added to the Mountain region. This made the Mountain and Piedmont regions more nearly of a size and show T ed much more accurately the difference in fire risks and fire occurrences in the two regions. This change, however, has neces- 8 Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina sarily shown a larger fire damage in the Mountain and a less fire damage in the Piedmont regions than formerly. It has, therefore, somewhat impaired the value of average figures for the whole period during which fire statistics have been col- lected. For this reason the inclusion of the data for the last three years in one report is most appropriate. Most of the average figures contained in the report, therefore, cover only these three years. An exception to this has been made in the comparative statement of averages. Tables 5, 9, and 13. At the present time the Mountain region comprises all of the counties west of the Blue Ridge, together with the seven counties enumerated above, including the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge. This includes practically all the rough moun- tain region of the State. The Piedmont region extends from these counties east through the hilly and rolling sections of the State to the “fall” line where the Coastal Plain region commences. Roughly speaking, this division line is marked by the -main line of the Seaboard Air Line Railway. The Coastal Plain region extends from here to the coast and includes everything between the sandhills in the southwest part of the region and the Banks on the east. This area is almost level and some of it quite swampy; most of the swamps, however, dry up in the summer or fall and are then almost as susceptible to fire as are the drier areas. Roughly speaking, 75 per cent of the Mountain region, 50 per cent of the Pied- mont region, and 65 per cent of the Coastal Plain region is forested. FIRE SEASONS In considering the subject of forest fires and their prevention it is important to know at what time of the year the most destructive and dangerous fires may be expected. In order to determine this, correspondents have each year been asked to state what are the worst months for fires in their townships. Replies to this question have formed the basis of tables on seasonal fire risks published in pre- vious reports. The following table, however, is based chiefly on reports of the actual occur- rence of individual fires, and so should be more accurate than earlier similar tables. It is significant, however, as confirming previous conclusions, that this table differs in no essential detail from those earlier tables based on local public opinion. Table 1.— RELATIVE MONTHLY AND SEASONAL FIRE RISKS FOR THREE YEARS, 1915, 1916, AND 1917, IN PERCENTAGES March. April May June July August September. October November. December. January February.. Mountain Months Seasons 63 Piedmont Months Seasons 14 Coastal Plain Months Seasons State Months 64 14 14 30 2S 16 5 n 3 3 6 9 3 2} 3J Seasons 74 Spring. 10 Summer. 18 Fall. Winter. Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina 9 FOEEST FIEES DURING THE TEAR 1915 The spring fire season of 1915 was about average. March was cold and rather dry, and but few fires occurred in this month. Early in April a change in weather occurred, and from the 6th to the end of the month warm and dry weather prevailed. It was during this period that the worst fires occurred. The counties on the east slope of the Blue Ridge suffered most, though all the moun- tain counties were seriously affected, while practically all those in the Coastal Plain region reported forest fires. May, according to the weather report, was the wettest May for ten years. The fall fire season was late in commencing, practically no fires being reported before October 1st. From that time until December 10th fires occurred through- out the State, hut in less number and with less severity than usual. From reports submitted, it appears that 58 per cent of the fires occurred during the spring season, more than one-fourth of the total fires being reported for the month of April. During the fall months about 21 per cent of the total number of fires for the year occurred, 10 per cent being reported for November and 8 per cent for October. Table 2— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1915 Summary of Reports from Correspondents by Counties Mountain Region County Total Number of Townships in County Number of Townships Reporting Number of Replies Re- ceived Number of Fires Total Number Acres Burned Over Merchantable Timber De- stroyed, M. Value of Tim- ber Destroyed Acrefe Young Growth De- stroyed Value Young Growth De- stroyed Value Products Destroyed Value Improve- ments De- stroyed GQ £ to *0-2 •43 3 “ Total Damage Reported Alleghany 7 6 10 ii 8 $ S $. s. s. Ashe 15 6 10 ii 540 110 293 220 600 450 2,125 140 3,468 8 6 8 12 Buncombe 18 7 10 30 2.317 201 1,293 1,905 755 10 5 1,200 2,062 Burke 13 8 10 12 37,000 1,800 5,100 9,500 18,600 16,000 5,000 925 44,700 Caldwell 12 6 9 29 24,351 1,200 5,600 21,550 3,500 2,012 15 1,260 11,127 Cherokee 6 4 5 27 8,000 150 600 2,000 3,500 1,200 400 175 5,700 Clay 5 5 7 38 19,000 860 3,800 12.800 3,440 6,200 900 275 14,340 Graham. 3 3 9 32 11,800 456 1,615 3,260 1,225 1,200 265 775 4,305 Haywood _ 13 9 13 27 3,930 595 1,700 2,600 7,100 1,000 675 2,670 10,475 Henderson 8 7 9 13 2,270 65 960 660 1,360 120 175 105 2,615 Jackson 15 8 11 21 12,700 72 228 500 50 383 240 327 901 McDowell _ 11 6 10 34 800 34 72 407 400 230 1,300 175 702 11 7 10 26 2,655 33 89 1,664 754 3 340 2,126 Madison 16 11 12 10 16,600 1,057 6,194 3,700 3,050 2,250 1,500 325 12,994 Mitchell. 10 6 10 31 200 10 20 100 250 25 1,490 100 1,795 Polk 6 6 11 18 5,960 190 335 7,100 5,700 1,800 2,085 325 9,910 Rutherford 14 9 13 33 3,204 796 1,915 2,140 3,915 1,405 1,205 840 8,440 Surry 14 14 27 10 1,050 215 690 285 135 620 120 225 1,565 Swain 4 2 3 20 10,725 90 250 20,500 5,200 1,000 1,000 150 7,450 Transylvania 8 6 10 44 3,000 200 800 700 640 500 300 200 2,240 13 9 14 1,200 275 1,900 30 100 350 95 2,350 Wilkes 21 17 35 35 8,504 2,305 4,275 7,750 6,125 6,995 6,700 1,290 24,095 Yancey 11 11 15 17 331 81 335 200 175 200 700 185 1,410 Totals 262 179 281 495 176,137 10,795 38,064 99,571 66,574 43,953 26,200 12,102 174,791 10 Forest Fires in jSTorth Carolina Table 3.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1915 Summary of Reports from Correspondents by Counties Piedmont Region County Total Number of Townships in County Number of Townships Reporting Number of Replies Re- ceived Number of Fires Total Number Acres Burned Over Merchantable Timber De- stroyed, M. Value of Tim- ber Destroyed Acres Young Growth De- stroyed Value Young Growth De- stroyed Value Products Destroyed Value Improve- ments De- stroyed © u fc£ C.:f to "3 o c © Alamance. 14 7 9 4 1,730 5 $ 17 1,430 ■SI, 700 .$ 80 $ $ 50 •5 1,797 Alexander 8 6 7 3 121 100 350 66 250 400 200 15 1,200 Anson 8 Cabarrus. 13 8 10 Caswell 9 6 7 Catawba 8 11 3 2 8 100 107 25 215 Chatham 13 5 6 2 10 10 10 5 10 Cleveland 11 8 10 3 125 30 125 125 50 205 Davidson 18 6 6 r 15 16 30 3 25 20 Davie 7 7 13 Durham 7 2 2 i Forsyth. 14 10 12 1 i Franklin 10 3 6 35 6,000 200 1,000 650 4,000 500 800 250 6,300 Gaston 6 4 8 9 1,019 33 152 240 362 2,279 Granville 9 7 9 7 1,050 10 30 520 25 555 1,500 5 2,115 Guilford___ 18 10 12 5 100 250 216 297 400 150 1,097 Iredell 16 6 10 7 69 10 50 30 155 270 50 28 525 Lee 7 3 3 Lincoln 5 1 1 Mecklenburg 10 15 3 15 Montgomery 11 9 9 13 2,854 61 279 300 500 190 40 969 Moore. 9 8 16 21 13,000 1 5 13,000 11,000 2,010 300 200 13,315 Orange 7 4 5 1 10 10 10 1 10 Person 9 3 4 350 300 300 25 1,400 Randolph. 20 7 10 9 1,425 135 Rockingham 11 4 6 i Rowan 14 8 11 17 282 25 150 102 510 160 1,400 50 2,220 Stanly. 10 1 1 2 175 12 60 25 50 40 150 Stokes 9 2 3 1 150 150 12 12 24 Union 9 7 9 Vance. 9 5 6 i 75 75 Wake ...I. 19 3 3 13 1,200 200 500 1,100 1,100 225 1,600 Warrem. 12 8 a 36 1,620 600 240 945 6,000 1.400 250 70 7,890 Yadkin. 9 7 14 3 60 1 5 45 70 110 1.250 10 1,435 Totals 374 190 265 200 31,500 1,500 3,500 19,400 28,100 7,400 5,900 1,180 44,900 Forest Fires in North Carolina 11 Table 4— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1915 Summary of Reports from Correspondents by Counties Coastal Plain Region County Total Number of Townships in County Number of Townships Reporting Number of Replies Re- ceived Number of Fires Total Number Acres Burned Over Merchantable Timber De- stroyed, M. Value of Tim- ber Destroyed Acres Young Growth De- stroyed Value Young Growth De- stroyed Value Products Destroyed Value Improve- ments De- stroyed Cost of Fighting Fires Total Damage Reported 6 1 1 % s $ $ s s Bertie „ 9 8 16 19 4,560 735 2,210 3,610 8,175 755 330 125 11,470 4 4 1 25 10 50 25 20 125 5 195 Brunswick 6 i i 7 11,000 150 525 7,000 24,000 7,000 2,500 35 34,025 3 i i 10 3 3 5,000 25 100 5,000 1,000 50 10 1,160 Chowan 4 4 4 2 20 20 20 20 Columbus 14 9 18 81 20,960 2,000 3,500 12,800 8,700 6,050 1,000 825 19,250 Craven 9 4 7 13 10,000 320 1,180 6,000 10,000 2,200 1,500 300 14,880 Cumberland 11 5 7 62 3,500 1,050 1,130 2,000 1,500 350 6,200 200 9,180 5 4 4 5 1 1 8 300 10 150 250 1,600 1,860 Duplin 13 4 4 4 120 30 35 10 100 230 500 75 865 14 7 9 5 950 510 1,565 830 2,430 55 10 4,060 7 4 4 13 590 590 1,095 1,095 Green 9 4 6 7 1.200 110 450 850 1,000 1,000 2,450 12 3 4 9 450 60 325 15,000 10 15,385 13 12 12 8 40,910 150 1,435 1,435 1,000 200 1 2,635 6 3 3 3 250 100 250 250 Hoke 8 3 3 11 2,000 100 200 315 Hyde 5 3 5 2 50 202 50 50 17 6 9 3 250 150 225 150 300 100 Jones 7 1 1 Lenoir 12 7 7 6 850 100 400 350 250 50 275 50 975 Martin. 10 2 2 5 500 55 200 375 500 180 25 75 905 Nash 15 10 10 34 3,110 202 707 2,212 3,650 3,220 1,000 270 8,577 New Hanover 5 1 1 2 200 4 20 100 100 50 10 170 Northampton 9 7 14 12 4,220 120 360 4,155 18,175 50 850 110 19,435 Onslow 5 2 3 9 22,000 1,900 9,400 22,000 9,000 2,800 1,900 200 23,100 Pamlico 5 2 4 Pasquotank 6 2 4 5 245 10 40 200 1,000 15 1,000 100 2,055 Pender 10 6 8 47 54,400 2,200 6,650 27,050 54,350 2,800 1,150 650 64,950 5 3 3 4 500 200 Pitt 12 8 10 16 4,900 276 699 4,150 17,260 2,150 5,500 300 -25,609 Richmond 7 5 4 1,000 10 10 700 500 400 100 1,010 Robeson 25 ii 18 36 9,100 322 739 4,205 4,310 830 765 388 6,644 16 12 12 720 290 800 500 100 800 4 1 1 5 1 1 3 400 100 500 100 500 Washington 4 2 3 Wayne 12 4 5 1 2 .. 2 Wilson 10 6 6 4 250 30 150 50 100 25 50 25 325 Totals 385 187 244 456 204,532 11,246 31,730 107,394 170,600 31,435 41,715 4,054 275,480 12 Forest Fires in North Carolina Table 5.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1915 Comparative Statement of Averages by Regions for 1915 and for Seven Years Mountain Piedmont Coastal Plain State 1915 Average for 7 Years 1915 Average for 7 Years 1915 Average for 7 Years 1915 Average for 7 Years Percentage of townships reporting. 70 45 51 44 51 36 56 42 Average area of each fire, in acres. _ 334 817 107 398 449 626 303 578 Average damage by each fire Average area burned over per $ 378.00 $1,264.00 $ 230.00 S 658.00 $ 613.00 SI, 015 .00 8 445.00 S 934.00 township reporting, in acres 984 *1,538 166 *625 1,094 *1,259 759 *947 Average damage per acre burnt ___ Average damage per township $ 1.06 S 1.44 S 1.46 S 1.62 $ 1.37 S 1.73 S 1.30 S 1.56 reporting 81,044.00 S2.979 .00 S 243 .00 S 773.00 S 611.00 81,429.00 8 922.00 51,552.00 * Average for six years; no township figures for 1909. From the foregoing tables it is seen that during 1915 both the area burned over and the total damage reported was only about one-third of the average for the past seven years; although the number of fires was up to the average. It is noticeable that the average damage per acre is less than usual. This is, un- doubtedly, due to the fact that in light fire seasons, only areas which have been in the habit of being burned are likely to catch fire; while those that have been protected are fairly free from fire. During a light fire season, the land is easily protected, if ordinary care and foresight are used; whereas, during a serious season, fires are liable to break out anywhere, even with more than the usual watchfulness. FOREST FIRES DURING THE TEAR 1916 The spring forest fire season of 1916 was the worst so far recorded during the eight years that fire statistics have been collected. It has been estimated that approximately three million dollars was lost through forest fires in North Caro- lina in the spring season alone. The dry weather commenced late in February and, with only occasional very light rains, continued until the end of May, the heavy general rains from May 22-24 and again from May 28-30 ending the dangerous season. Exceptionally high winds and hot drying weather prevailed at the end of March and throughout April; and it was during this time that the worst fires occurred. The fall fire season was the mildest so far experienced. The first killing frost came two weeks later than usual, and the summer weather continued up almost to the end of October. Heavy general rains, October 18-20, made the woods safe until the end of the month. There was less wind than usual, and few serious fires occurred. Approximately 17 per cent of the fires occurred during the spring; March being credited with 25 per cent, April 33 per cent, and May 19 per cent. No other month in the year claimed .more than 5 per cent of the fires. Forest Fires in North Carolina 13 Table 6.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1916 Summary of Reports from Correspondents by Counties Mountain Region County Total Number of Townships in County Number of Townships Reporting Number of Replies Re- ceived Number of Fires Total Number Acres Burned Over Merchantable Timber De- stroyed, M. Value of Tim- ber Destroyed Acres Young Growth De- stroyed Value Young Growtli De- stroyed Value Products Destroyed Value Improve- ments De- stroyed Cost of Fighting Fires Total Damage Reported 7 6 9 1 10 $_ 5 S1,000 s . 8 200 s S 1,200 Ashe 15 5 a ii 368 70 330 252 1,750 1,200 2,185 45 5,465 Avery 8 4 8 13 4,540 2,220 10,700 3,050 50,250 100 1,000 610 62,050 Buncombe. 18 10 14 29 1,075 770 2,415 615 1,515 1,090 250 910 5,270 Burke 13 11 20 51 26,105 5,960 26,260 8,305 15,900 19,400 2,250 2,170 63,810 Caldwell 12 12 29 50 16,100 6,235 25,690 4,750 6,935 18,750 3,125 1,110 54,500 Cherokee 6 4 5 43 15,500 775 2,350 250 300 400 875 225 3,925 Clay 5 4 11 25 9,000 760 3,540 1,920 3,100 5,000 125 110 11,765 Graham. 3 3 4 5 4,000 200 800 3,000 6,000 1,000 1,000 100 8,800 Haywood 13 9 16 45 16,975 10,031 50,129 95 3,100 1,200 3,250 385 57,679 Henderson 8 8 20 34 3,720 865 3,525 2,875 8,150 30,400 525 42,075 Jackson. 15 ■ 8 13 53 4,132 337 1,400 2,800 2,785 1,125 300 1,138 5,610 Macon 11 11 17 18 11,197 5 45 5,134 680 20,100 590 95 21,415 Madison... 16 12 17 34 10,300 147 734 1,070 1,410 1,800 850 170 4,794 McDowell 11 8 14 24 23,625 1,575 6,325 2,450 51,820 1,095 6,650 805 65,890 10 6 10 5 40 3 12 20 250 1,000 1,262 Polk. 6 5 14 43 3,910 1,148 3,592 2,175 9,525 12,400 725 125 26,242 Rutherford 14 a 16 52 5,324 566 3,894 1,849 5,160 5,963 2,275 735 17,292 Surry 14 12 27 32 3,570 552 588 1,320 2,010 9,050 1,750 275 13,398 Swain 4 2 3 6 7,050 620 1,300 2,000 3,500 15,100 2,000 1,050 21,900 Transylvania 8 6 10 45 3,650 600 1,200 1,625 6,500 6,000 540 13,700 Watauga 13 10 20 17 1,627 115 545 560 1,040 10.100 425 205 12,110 Wilkes 21 20 47 82 14,615 7,756 29,565 6,047 22,320 15,070 9,000 2,450 75,955 Yancey 11 10 17 17 2,916 155 610 1,831 9,150 5,700 1,300 2,175 16,760 Totals 262 197 372 735 189,349 41,450 175,549 53,998 214,150 182,043 41,125 15,953 612,867 14 Forest Fires in North Carolina Table 7.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1916 Summary of Reports from Correspondents by Counties Piedmont Region County Total Number of Townships in County Number of Townships Reporting Number of Replies Re- ceived Number of Fires Total Number Acres Burned Over Merchantable Timber De- stroyed, M. Value of Tim- ber Destroyed Acres Young Growth De- stroyed Value Young Growth De- stroyed Value Products Destroyed Value Improve- ments De- stroyed 01 a t L tc 14 6 11 11 110 31 $ 155 54 $ 220 $3,320 S s $ 3,695 8 7 9 4 5,535 100 18,120 5 100 1,430 19,650 8 Cabarrus 13 8 10 13 61 62 360 7 585 840 515 100 2,300 9 5 6 2 25 25 8 5 8 8 70 242 420 58 440 181 310 1,041 Chatham 13 6 4 6 2.125 2 5,010 100 500 20 5 200 5,535 Cleveland 11 9 21 45 2,084 188 1,240 780 9,495 12,075 310 515 23,120 Davidson,. _ __ 18 10 17 39 288 190 815 60 590 1,150 770 195 3,325 Davie 7 7 9 5 50 100 20 215 25 315 Durham. 7 4 6 9 40 13 4,196 5.100 9,336 14 7 7 2 35 300 5 25 500 $25 Franklin 10 6 7 20 11,100 20 2,580 10,104 5,550 5,000 1,000 400 14,130 Gaston 6 4 7 16 1,282 24 2,802 1,233 3,000 895 1,700 133 8,397 Granville 9 8 14 16 308 60 450 183 1,500 2,000 100 60 4,050 Guilford 18 8 10 5 200 2 20 52 150 300 40 25 510 Iredell .. .. . 16 9 10 21 496 105 220 110 5,500 4,000 3,350 75 13,070 Lee 7 5 13 11 6,300 85 325 6,250 18,750 9,250 1,650 150 29,975 5 5 11 6 95 80 320 35 320 Mecklenburg 15 10 12 3 8 10 3 Montgomery H 10 16 45 17,603 2,215 7,880 10,787 31,135 28,310 1,050 690 68,375 Moore 9 7 8 18 14,800 1,150 5,600 800 6,500 5,600 900 700 18,600 7 2 3 1 200 200 2,000 2,000 Person 9 3 4 1 5 Randolph 20 9 12 12 410 110 430 375 1,300 1,000 300 150 3,030 Rockingham 11 5 6 9 211 30 105 31 410 100 60 615 Rowan 14 8 12 8 204 5 1,050 97 165 250 100 30 1,565 10 6 6 17 153 5 25 87 650 25 60 700 Stokes. 9 4 4 6 1,400 300 1,225 5,000 4,000 500 9,300 Union 9 8 9 9 263 10 85 120 800 1,460 Vance 9 4 6 3 25 500 15 100 600 Wake 19 7 6 17 4,010 20,000 160 700 20,000 40,700 Warren 12 6 12 68 2,100 217 2,170 1,100 6,700 9,585 1,250 205 19,705 Yadkin 9 7 15 31 470 205 1,925 144 1,340 875 1,630 150 5,770 Totals 374 215 311 487 72,571 5,058 73,347 34,213 107,391 109,551 21,725 4.91S 312,014 Forest Fires in North Carolina 15 Table 8.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1916 Summary of Reports from Correspondents by Counties Coastal Plain Region County Total Number of Townships in County Number of Townships Reporting Number of Replies Re- ceived Number of . Fires Total Number Acres Burned Over Merchantable Timber De- stroyed, M. Value of Tim- ber Destroyed Acres Young Growth De- stroyed Value Young Growth De- stroyed Value Product! Destroyed Value Improve ments De- stroyed Cost of Fighting Fires Total Damage Reported 6 5 6 31 47,000 10,100 $31,300 6,500 §17,000 § 4,000 814,000 $ S 66,300 Bertie 9 8 12 25 22,125 1,195 5,440 20,550 43,500 140,030 55,125 315 244,095 Bladen 15 10 16 42 32,500 5,620 17,100 21,900 31,700 58.625 2,500 3,600 109,925 Brunswick 6 5 5 15 20,500 3,040 20,080 6,500 17,000 18,902 2,850 1,350 58,832 3 2 2 Carteret 10 5 6 7 51,000 15,250 76,000 250 13,000 50,000 5,300 1,000 144,300 Chowan 4 2 2 6 1,540 150 500 525 1,050 350 50 325 1,950 Columbus 14 10 16 152 89,614 5,810 15,830 18,880 80,525 20,840 20,425 6,275 137,620 Craven 9 6 12 16 82,700 50,100 252,500 15,000 15,000 30,000 1,500 2,000 299,000 Cumberland 11 6 7 30 27,020 21,000 53,000 10,600 6,000 46,000 23,200 1,000 128,200 Currituck 5 4 7 Dare 5 i 1 4 400 100 500 500 1,000 Duplin___ 13 6 6 37 6,640 1,150 4,800 1,440 3,500 8,000 200 325 16,500 Edgecombe 14 11 20 31 7,525 302 2,730 2,935 11,750 2,900 1,125 520 18,505 Gates 7 5 6 22 1,500 50 5,250 1,000 5,000 20,000 75,050 1,000 105,300 Greene 9 6 9 12 705 25 20 310 1,100 650 2,000 10 3,770 Halifax 12 9 10 92 28,150 910 7,740 16,050 31,550 35,500 12,350 400 8/, 140 Harnett 13 10 14 29 22,675 220 1,070 21,455 10,580 102,275 3,750 3,180 117,675 Hertford __ 6 3 3 1 50 40 200 50 150 350 10 700 Hoke... 8 2 2 7 13,000 525 2,100 1,300 2.000 500 1,200 200 5,800 Hyde 5 4 11 10 11,060 1,110 6,050 5,500 52,000 103,400 1,100 650 162,500 Johnston 17 9 11 15 1.925 210 4,040 1,025 600 1,000 5,100 250 10,740 Jones 7 5 7 17 20,500 2,900 11,800 10,300 12,400 8,500 1,800 700 34.500 Lenoir 12 7 10 27 2,350 250 3,100 1,075 2,050 2,950 910 450 9,010 Martin 10 2 1 10 13,000 5,000 25,000 13,000 38,000 Nash 15 10 10 26 1,935 66 270 675 1,180 1,925 750 860 4,125 New Hanover 5 3 4 10 3,000 3,500 1,000 10,150 2,000 100 15,650 Northampton 9 7 10 20 11.580 510 2.045 6,403 42,815 40 3,110 185 48,010 Onslow 5 1 2 8 20,000 3,000 6,000 12,000 3,000 300 18,000 Pamlico 5 3 3 11 1,150 10,600 900 700 200 4,400 15,900 Pasquotank 6 4 7 5 1,100 1,025 4,125 35 450 2,500 150 150 7,225 Pender 10 8 13 51 78,800 19,500 52,600 14,500 89,500 5,800 35,800 2,350 183,700 Perquimans 5 2 3 2 10 10 100 100 Pitt 12 10 13 35 3,750 300 15,850 3,100 29,000 512 1,760 2,600 47,122 Richmond 7 5 9 26 18,025 2 10 7,115 100 900 1,000 750 2,010 Robeson 25 ii 17 53 21,525 2,585 10,320 19,415 25,000 120,400 1,400 675 157,120 Sampson 16 12 13 26 18,800 8,850 44,100 5,200 9,000 8,400 20,200 2,470 81,700 Scotland 4 3 3 3 10,115 100 400 400 Tyrrell 5 5 8 6 2,460 150 1,100 200 5,500 50 6,600 Washington 4 2 6 53 14,500 300 1,300 12,500 5,000 4,500 1,000 1,300 11,800 Wayne 12 7 9 13 275 300 1,140 155 600 1,840 1,125 240 4,705 Wilson 10 4 3 4 175 25 2,100 25 200 1,350 600 100 4,250 Totals 385 240 335 990 715,304 201,735 698,110 389,983 589,250 803,639 318, S30 35,690 2409,829 16 Forest Fires in North Carolina Table 9.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1916 Comparative Statement of Averages? by Regions for 1916 and for Eight Years Mountain Piedmont Coastal Plain State 1916 Average for 8 Years 1916 Average for 8 Years 1916 Average for 8 Years 1916 Average for 8 Years Percentage of townships reporting. 75 49 58 46 62 39 64 45 Average area of each fire, in acres. 257 747 150 367 712 637 442 561 Average damage by each fire Average area burned over per $ 831.00 $1,153.00 8 598.00 S 651.00 $2,755.00 $1,233.00 $1,646.00 $1,023.00 township reporting, in acres 959 *1,273 340 *584 2,979 *1,505 1,482 *1,023 Average damage per acre burnt — Average damage per township $ 3.24 $ 1.67 $ 4.00 S 1.92 $ 3.83 S 1.99 $ 3.60 S 1 .82 reporting S3, 107. 00 $2,995.00 $1,353.00 $ 844.00 $11,405.00 82,676.00 1 $5,583.00 $2,056.00 •Average for seven years; no township figures for 1909. Tlie forest fire damage for 1916 broke all previous records. The total number of fires and the total area burned over were more than double that of any pre- vious year, not only for the whole State, but in each of the three regions of the State. The total reported damage amounted to over $3,640,000, or more than three times the damage before reported. Most of this loss occurred during April and May, as the fall fire season was less serious than usual. Numbers of the fires burned for many days, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage each. Because of this large destruction, extra expenditures were neces- sary for fighting fires and we have reported an expenditure of $56,000 by private individuals fighting fire. This, undoubtedly, is a very small estimate, as it is said that at one fire alone, in McDowell and Burke counties, five hundred men were employed and they were fighting fire for several days. PRESS ACCOUNTS OF THE SPRING FIRES Newspaper reports, although in some cases exaggerated, give a good idea of the conditions prevailing in all parts of the State during the latter half of April and early in May, 1916. For their historic as well as descriptive value, a number of quotations are here given. FOREST FIRE IS RAGING IN McDOWELL COUNTY Has Spread Twenty Miles and Destroyed Numerous Buildings Marion, N. C., April 23. — A forest fire, originating at or near Hankins, covering in width, several miles, has been raging for twenty-four hours in McDowell County, and already has extended twenty miles toward Burke County. A church, a school building, a large mill, and a dozen farmhouses have been burned. It would he impossible to estimate the timber loss. A call reached Marion last night for help to fight the fire, and many automobiles loaded down with fire fighters were rushed to the country, hut the fight was altogether in vain. Nothing but rain or some wide stream of water can stem the raging torrent of fire .- — Asheville Citizen, April 2J t , 1916. MORE FOREST FIRES IN McDOWELL COUNTY"— PROPERTY LOSS EXTENSIVE Marion, April 24.— Three more forest fires broke out in McDowell County Sunday afternoon, one on Armstrong Creek, one on Buck Creek, one on Hickorynut Mountain. The Buck Creek fire is threatening the Appalachian forest reserve. The forest depart- Forest Feres in Horth Carolina 17 ment secured every available man to figlit the fire. Every known plan of fire fighting has been tried with but little success. Today at noon there is every appearance of rain, the only thing that can conquer the fire. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in property value has been destroyed. The Han- kins fire that has been spreading towards Burke County, in the estimate of a well- known citizen, has already destroyed $200,000 worth of property. Marion was surrounded by fire last night. — Charlotte Observer, April 25, 1916. WESTERN FORESTS SWEPT BY FLAMES Millions of Feet of Lumber Have Been Destroyed in Caldwell and Alexander Lenoir, April 25. — Forest fires of a most terrific and destructive nature have been raging in the northern section of Caldwell and Alexander counties for the last several days. Lumber and timber, aggregating millions of feet, and a number of sawmills have been destroyed by the angry flames, which were driven at a furious speed by high winds. The two sections of Caldwell that seem to have suffered the greatest damages from the flames are the Globe and Edgemont communities. It was found to be impossible to check the flames on the mountain sides, so fierce was the speed at which they raced, a distance of some five miles having been covered in thirty-five minutes, it is asserted on good authority. — News and Observer, April 26, 1916. BAD FOREST FIRE HEAR ASHEVILLE United States Fire Wardens, Assisted by 1,000 Mountain Citizens, Fight Flames DAMAGE HALF-MILLION Fire Was Approaching Black Mountain and Natives Fighting for Homes and Timber Asheville, May 9. — Starting in the Murchison boundary in Yancey County Friday afternoon and sweeping thence across the Perley and Crockett boundaries along Mount Mitchell, the worst forest fire in the history of Western North Carolina leaped across the gap at North Fork this afternoon into the Asheville watershed and tonight is raging in that section with 1,000 men from Black Mountain, Marion, Old Fort, Asheville, Mon- treat, and other points fighting desperately under the direction of United States fire wardens employed on the various protected districts. — Charlotte Observer, May 10, 1916. BLACK MOUNTAIN FIRE NOW UNDER CONTROL Damage Loss Estimated at Half-Million — Shift of Wind the Danger Asheville, May 10.- — Unless there is a change in the direction of the wind the great forest fire, which has done upwards of a half-million dollars damage to the Asheville watershed and adjacent property beyond Black Mountain, has been checked. The fire was under control this morning, although the flame fighters remained on the grounds until this afternoon. Even yet there are several hundred men watching that no further outbreak occurs. The fire, which broke into the watershed property between Potato Top Mountain and Toe River Gap, burned fiercely in the spruce, with which most of the watershed is timbered, and made a difficult fire to fight. Back-firing was employed in most instances and by 10 o’clock this morning the flames were under control. Accurate estimates of the damage are impossible, but officials state that the loss will be at least a half-million dollars, perhaps more. Strict watch is being kept for fear of a shift in wind, which would in all probability start the flames again. — Charlotte Observer, May 11, 1916. 2 18 Forest Fires in North Carolina SUNBURST WAS THREATENED WITH A FOREST FIRE 1 I Asheville, May 8. — Sunburst, a lumber town situated in Haywood County, a few miles from Canton, was seriously threatened yesterday by a forest fire, which raged for three days over the cut-over lands of the Champion Lumber Company. — Charlotte Observer, May 9, 1916. FOREST FIRES ARE RAGING IN RONDA SECTION, WILKES Elkin, April 21. — Forest fires are raging in Wilkes County, not many miles from this place. The fires are doing the worst damage in the big woods of the Ronda section of Wilkes. Much valuable timber has already been destroyed and so far the fire fighters have not been successful in extinguishing the flames. Signs of rain give hope to those who are in the danger zone. — Winston-Salem Journal , April 22, 1916. FOREST FIRES RAGING IN IREDELL COUNTY Statesville, May 4. — Two forests in the southeastern section of this county were burned over Wednesday and a third fire was reported as doing great damage in Cham- bersburg Township yesterday. All the men and boys of the Shiloh Church community organized yesterday and began work some distance ahead of the fire, raking back leaves and clearing an area across one of the big tracts of timber with the hope of checking the flames when they reached that point. The extent of the damage of the fires is inestimable. Time only can tell the damage to the growing timber. Much cord- wood which was cut and corded has been burned and some lumber, but so far as known no buildings of consequence have been destroyed in this section. — Twin City Daily Sentinel, May 4, 1916. DESTRUCTIVE FOREST FIRES IN THE GARLAND SECTION Estimated Loss Between $25,000 and $50,000 — Large Areas Swept Garland, N. C., May 11.- — Loss estimated at between $25,000 and $50,000 in timber and turpentine resulted from forest fires which raged in this section of Sampson County Sunday afternoon, sweeping over a section of about ten miles long and five miles wide, destroying a negro church, some stables, and a barn, but no residences, though a num- ber of homes were threatened. It was the most destructive forest fire known in this section in many years. — Wilmington Star, May 12, 1916. CUMBERLAND MAN DEAD AS RESULT OF FOREST FIRES Disastrous Conflagration Raging in the Fayetteville Section of State. Fayetteville, April 15. — One man is dead and thousands of dollars worth of prop- erty destroyed by a forest fire which at last accounts was still raging in Beaver Dam and Cedar Creek townships, this county. Daniel B. Carter, a well-known farmer, was overtaken by the fire while he was walking on the public road and was burned to death. The home of Purdie Hall, with all its contents, w T as burned. The fire swept a wide area ten miles long through Cedar Creek and Beaver Darn townships, on either side of the highway through that section. — News and Observer, April 16, 1916. MUCH DAMAGE DONE BY FOREST FIRES CHURCH DESTROYED Considerable damage was done in the western part of the county yesterday by fires, starting from brush-piles and spread by the high gale which blew in that section during the day. Fire broke out in Rodman’s Swamp yesterday and destroyed the St. James Episcopal Church, between Pantego and Haslin, one of the oldest Episcopal churches in the county. It also burned to the ground a tenement house on the farm of D. Lesofsky — Washington News. April 15, 1916. Forest Fires in Korth Carolina 19 CHURCH WAS BURNED Southport, April 15. — Forest fires raged in several sections of Brunswick Friday, much damage being done to fences and timber. The New Hope Methodist Church, located near Seaside in the southern part of the county, was totally destroyed. — News and Observer, April 17, 1916. FOREST FIRES SWEEP SECTION HEAR WILMIWGTOW Oldest Citizens Sat They Have Hever Before Seen Anything Like It VALUABLE TIMBER HAS BEEN DESTROYED Sawmill, Church, Farm Buildings, and Small Residences Reduced to Ashes Great forest fires are raging in all sections of the country contiguous to Wilmington, according to passengers arriving today from the railroad lines leading out of the city. In Pender, Columbus, Bladen, Sampson, and Brunswick counties timber valued at untold thousands of dollars has been destroyed, and not a few buildings, including at least one sawmill, a church, many negro houses, and several barns and stables. — Wilmington Dispatch, April 24, 1916. FOREST FIRE NOW RAGES IN ONSLOW Flames Destroy Building and Tenement Houses New Bern, N. C., April 25. — One of the most disastrous forest fires in the history of that section is now raging in Onslow County, and reports from all parts of the county are to the effect that great damage is being done. Yesterday afternoon at Dixon, near Jacksonville, the flames destroyed the school- house and several tenement houses owned by Mr. W. J. Wilkins. Thousands of dollars worth of damage has been done to the timber growth and the fire is still burning fiercely. In the lower part of Craven County and in Carteret County the forest fires have gained fresh impetus and are doing great damage.— Wilmington Dispatch, April 25, 1916. FOREST FIRES IN PENDER Farmers East and West of Bl t rga’w Suffer Much Loss — Fires Swept by Wind Burgaw, N. C., April 13. — Great damage has been done and more is threatened by forest fires which have been raging all day east and west of Burgaw. Farmers have suffered great loss. A high wind has prevailed all day and, the woods as dry as they are, it has been impossible to stop the fires. — Wilmington Star, April 14, 1916. Speaking of the damage done by these same fires, Mr. B. F. Keith of Currie, Pender County, wrote the State Forester on January 24, 1918, in part as follows: “I had occasion to travel by private conveyance last summer (1917) from St. Pauls in Robeson County to my home in Pender County, a distance of nearly one hundred miles, and was not out of sight of the destruction caused by the fire an hour at a time from St. Pauls to my home, and could have gone fifty miles on to the ocean with the destructive course of the fire. The same thing would have been seen had I gone north through Cumberland, Sampson, Duplin, and Jones counties, or I would have seen the same destructive sight by going through Columbus and Brunswick to the ocean. 20 Forest Fires in North Carolina “It is true this vast territory was burned over in 1916; nevertheless, the forest, old and young, was almost completely destroyed, and it will take at least a generation for it to become reforested. Had it been protected as it should have been, by compulsory legislation, the State and its citizens would have been saved millions of dollars yearly." FOREST FIRES DURING THE YEAR 1917 Both, the spring and fall fire seasons of 1917 were considerably below the average, both in length and in seriousness of the fire risks. This was partly due to the large amount of land burned over in 1916, but also largely to the comparatively favorable season. Credit must be given, however, to the increased interest of landowners in forest protection and their desire to prevent a repetition of the losses of 1916. Probably the enormous damage suffered the previous year had an educa- tional value in enforcing the lessons which have been brought out in a number of ways by the Survey, the Forestry Association, the Women’s Clubs, and other organizations. The spring fire season started later than usual; the first Federal patrolman not being appointed until April 2. The chief danger season ended with the month of May, although some of the patrolmen remained on duty until the middle of June. Light rains occurred throughout the danger season ; the longest period without any rain being about ten days in the middle of May. Few days of high wind were reported. The fall fire season did not start until early in November and was over by December 8, lasting only about five weeks. During this time there were, in most places, a number of light rains or snows and little or no wind was experienced. The township correspondents reported that 58 per cent of the fires occurred dur- ing the spring months, distributed as follows: 19 per cent in March, 25 per cent in April and 14 per cent in May. The fall fire season was more serious than usual in the mountains, 12 per cent of the mountain fires occurring in October and 19 per cent in November. Taking the State as a whole, however, only 22 per cent of the fires occurred in the fall, one-half of those being in November. Forest Fires in North Carolina 21 Table 10.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1917 Summary of Reports from Correspondents by Counties Mountain Region County Number of Townships Reporting Number of Replies Re- ceived Number of Fires Total Number Acres Burned Over Merchantable Timber Destroyed, M. Value of Tim- ber Destroyed Acres Young Growth De- stroyed Value Young Growth De- stroyed Value Products Destroyed Value Im- provements Destroyed Cost of Fighting Fires Total Damage Reported Alleghany 6 a 5 95 81 S 400 30 $ 50 $1,200 S 150 S 235 $ 1,800 Ashe 11 16 17 565 51 395 135 550 500 2,125 30 3,570 Avery 5 6 8 350 220 200 200 600 200 1,110 115 2,110 Brunswick 9 16 23 1,050 512 2,060 615 2,325 5,700 775 650 10,860 Burke 9 15 43 1,277 578 1,375 570 2,700 2,702 2,200 320 8,977 Caldwell. 12 26 50 2,885 2,296 6,205 1,943 5,250 11,950 3,575 582 26,980 Cherokee 4 8 46 2,100 130 415 480 700 250 180 50 1,545 Clay 5 10 21 3,400 200 850 325 1,250 25 100 240 2,225 Graham 2 2 3 1,200 200 400 1,100 6,000 1,000 50 125 7,450 Haywood.. 9 20 59 10,099 290 1,150 628 2,190 5,500 800 1,140 9,640 Henderson 7 13 23 5,910 535 1,350 4,710 12,250 4,950 300 285 18,850 Jackson. 10 15 60 3,445 250 915 1,155 1,850 13,200 800 375 16,765 Macon 10 14 16 798 15 60 235 550 3,041 500 61 4,151 Madison 13 22 8 250 125 100 100 McDowell 9 15 30 3,177 45 145 1,389 2,795 2,000 ’ 77 4,950 Mitchell 10 15 ii 2,164 2,570 1,175 33 250 125 1,025 35 2,575 Polk 5 11 26 3,935 415 1,300 3,557 810 3,500 6,250 850 11,860 Rutherford 8 18 28 1,630 78 280 70 540 200 10 1,020 Surry 13 32 76 811 100 15,330 221 1,340 8,855 2,275 245 27,800 Swain 2 3 38 3,000 10 50 540 5,600 8,100 500 200 14,250 8 9 94 6,661 410 2,080 625 2,200 5,000 1,002 9,280 Watauga 10 15 17 189 185 830 135 50,450 510 300 105 52,090 Wilkes 22 38 43 10,151 44 195 5,112 10,260 325 255 830 11,025 Yancey 9 17 14 1,031 413 1,660 70 250 1,200 200 92 3,310 Totals 208 367 759 66,173 9,628 38,820 24,003 110,860 80,033 23,470 7,654 253,183 22 Forest Fires in North Carolina Table 11.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1917 Summary of Reports from Correspondents by Counties Piedmont Region County Number of To'wnships Reporting Number of Replies Re- ceived Number of Fires Total Number Acres Burned Over Merchantable Timber Destroyed, M. Value of Tim- ber Destroyed Acres Young Growth De- stroyed Value Young Growth De- stroyed Value Products Destroyed Value Im- provements Destroyed 01 _ -i gfjj Gli O tl ’c2 3 7 15 4 50 5 S 25 6 s 250 s_ S 300 S 100 3 4 1 8 10 2 9 9 208 107 723 5 6 6 47 30 250 250 7 1 11 Chatham 6 8 26 155 4 11 52 630 225 1,200 60 2,066 Cleveland 10 15 30 614 215 802 75 900 1,750 25 15 2,477 Davidson 12 22 31 200 52 285 101 870 850 1,400 252 2,405 7 12 6 53 10 50 40 630 820 3 4 9 12 6 80 250 400 20 200 6 8 4 125 95 1,100 300 1,400 5 7 11 40 4 200 40 150 350 700 Granville 6 8 14 556 26 650 25 650 Guilford 9 14 32 255 175 225 51 150 200 1,000 100 1,575 Iredell 6 9 8 26 6 40 3 50 160 25 5 275 4 7 13 5 10 13 18 7 13 20 100 8 60 200 Moore 8 13 38 1,925 110 1,140 1,765 7,210 500 250 170 9,100 8 17 40 2,515 35 150 1,625 4,837 600 Orange 4 5 8 4 4 60 60 6 9 2 6 2 Randolph 15 23 40 1,388 204 317 763 1,590 1,800 1,700 170 5,407 Rockingham 8 11 16 17 6 25 100 Rowan 10 23 36 165 20 550 52 1,240 815 300 175 2,905 Stanly 7 11 24 38 18 so 17 58 610 40 67 788 Stokes 5 7 57 110 25 100 105 5,025 500 2,500 500 8,125 Union 6 8 8 310 300 1,010 800 500 Vance 7 8 10 1 150 150 Wake 7 8 11 57 25 600 900 350 1,850 Warren 9 ii 84 1,052 1 45 474 3,400 2,000 500 200 5,945 Yadkin 8 12 30 21 150 100 10 250 Totals 239 366 605 9,819 960 4,445 5,739 30,673 13,215 11,945 2,521 56.918 Forest Fires in North Carolina 23 Table 12.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1917 Summary of Reports from Correspondents by Counties Coastal Plain Region County Number of Townships Reporting Number of Replies Re- ceived Number of Fires Total Number Acres Burned Over Merchantable Timber Destroyed, M. Value of Tim- ber Destroyed Acres Young Growth De- stroyed Value Young Growth De- stroyed Value Products Destroyed Value Im- provements Destroyed Cost of Fighting Fires Total Damage Reported Beaufort 2 4 2 30 $ S s S s $ Bertie 7 10 4 230 100 500 80 500 5,300 200 35 6,500 Bladen... 10 12 16 9,875 5,435 12,175 2,075 2,125 14,700 1,000 580 29,990 Brunswick 2 3 9. 275 25 10 100 200 325 Camden 2 3 Carteret 1 2 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 i i Columbus 10 14 83 8,490 857 1,923 3,775 10,450 20,465 8,400 1,475 41,238 Craven 2 Cumberland 4 6 Currituck 5 9 6 600 2,000 210 50 2,050 Dare 3 4 Duplin.. 4 4 4 350 2,100 150 550 250 100 2,900 Edgecombe 9 12 13 336 202 610 312 3,200 75,000 10 5 78,820 Gates 2 2 1 10 30 5 50 30 10 110 Greene 5 6 4 20 5 20 10 300 400 100 100 820 Halifax 5 7 15 2,705 25 125 70 4,100 500 800 6,525 Harnett 8 ii 23 1,852 5 15 347 725 350 150 12 1,240 Hertford 5 1 2 Hoke... 2 2 6 3,950 520 1,060 6,000 9 150 7,062 Hyde 3 7 8 100 Johnston 10 14 41 650 60 300 515 2,705 2,800 5,200 500 11,005 Jones. 4 4 Lenoir. 7 7 41 504 265 2,100 320 3,740 2,300 500 260 8,640 Martin 5 7 8 2,515 20 40 2,520 2,500 2,500 500 100 5,540 Nash 12 13 29 1,235 20 100 1,145 6,380 1,350 180 7,130 1 3 60 30 300 300 4 5 1 Onslow 4 5 26 1,700 150 600 1,100 2,300 200 100 250 3,200 3 4 5 6 1 2 2 50 50 Pender 7 9 11 10,005 10,005 60,025 50,000 10,000 2,025 125,025 Perquimans 2 2 Pitt 9 11 1 1 Richmond 7 10 58 3,210 235 450 400 2,295 2,050 3,000 175 7,795 Robeson. 13 18 65 2,070 210 900 1,310 4,540 1,800 525 525 7,765 Sampson 8 10 4 710 75 117 700 5,525 1,600 50 no 7,292 Scotland 1 1 1 300 1,000 1,000 Tyrrell 3 4 1 3 6 2 1 Wayne 7 ii i 500 250 1,000 150 500 1,500 100 50 3,100 Wilson 3 4 • Totals 212 283 489 52,281 8,999 26.195 25,291 114,010 189,095 30,837 6,527 365,622 24 Forest Fires in North Carolina Table 13.— FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING 1917 Comparative Statement of Averages by Regions for 1917 and for Nine Years Mountain Piedmont Coastal Plain State 1917 Average for 9 Years 1917 Average for 9 Years 1917 Average for 9 Years 1917 Average for 9 Years Percentage of townships reporting. 79 52 64 48 55 41 65 47 Average area of each fire, in acres- 87 674 17 328 102 577 69 506 Average damage by each fire Average area burned over per S 457.00 81,076.00 S 103.00 .$ 590.00 S 736.00 $1,178.00 $ 367.00 $ 950.00 township reporting, in acres 317 *1,153 i l 42 *516 245 *1,348 194 *919 Average damage per acre burnt Average damage per township 8 3.85 $ 1.91 $ 6.00 $ 2.37 $ 6.92 S 2.54 $ 5.18 % 2.19 reporting $1,211.00 $2,797.00 $ 251.80 $ 778.00 $1,227.00 §2,515 .00 $1,021.00 $1,941.00 'Average for eight years; no township figures for 1909. Even the fires of 1917 were not without their toll of life. The following is clipped from the Charlotte Observer: YOUNG BOY KILLED BY FALLING TREE “Salisbury, May 29. — Everett Carrigan, 14-year-old son of Sam A. Carrigan, of Mill Bridge, Rowan County, is dead as a result of injuries received when a tree fell on him. The boy with other people was in a piece of woods where a fire had been burning, and when he went to push down a tree that had been partially burned it fell on him, badly mashing his back and otherwise injuring him so that he died.” The most notable thing in the forest fire figures for 1917 is the large increase in the number of fires, without, at the same time, increasing the total area burned over. As a matter of fact, a smaller area was burned over than in any previous year during which figures have been secured. This large increase in the number of fires is chiefly due to the reporting of small fires as well as large ones, in response to a change in the question blank. Nearly 30 per cent of the fires re- ported were Class A fires or those which covered less than one-fourth of an acre. Heretofore, most correspondents have considered such fires too imimportant to mention, so that the reporting of them is a new departure. Unless, therefore, allowance is made for this change- the total number of fires is liable to appear out of all proportion to the seriousness of the fire season. The gradual increase in the total damage per acre is very noticeable. This is due to the rapidly increasing value of the stumpage and of the products of the forest, as well as to the growing realization throughout the State that fire does a large amount of damage. Not only the township correspondents who send in the reports, but the landowners who suffer from fire, place an increasing value on the material destroyed. The landowner is recognizing his fire losses, and all over the State those who own land are anxious to prevent fires. There is, however, still a large element who are indifferent to fires, because they are not directly affected by them. The average annual damage for each township reporting amounts to nearly $2,000. This average applies to a steadily increasing proportion of the townships, with an average of one-half of them; though at the present time two-thirds of the townships have reported either fires or no fires. It is strange, when one comes to think of it, that an annual loss of $2,000 per township passes unnoticed and no Forest Fires in North Carolina 25 complaint is made about it; whereas if that amount were added to the taxes of each township there would be nothing short of a revolution in North Carolina. REVIEW OF THE PAST THREE TEARS The figures published in Economic Paper No. 40, “Forest Fires in North Caro- lina During 1914,” included the average figures extending over the previous six years. Comparison with those earlier estimates would now be, in many cases, misleading, because the basis upon which the data is compiled has been changed. With the transfer of the seven counties lying on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge from the Piedmont to the Mountain region, a modification of the old classification has become necessary. Table 14 has, therefore, been prepared show- ing the total and average figures for the three-year period covered by this report. In future reports this summary will probably be used as the basis from which to work. In this table all figures relating to area and damage, which are in most cases of necessity only estimates of the individual local correspondents, are ex- pressed for the sake of convenience in round numbers. 26 Forest Fires in jSTorth Carolina CO Ph H ... m w g z « o O p< CO i a t£ t- S o s > r* CO Ol Tf CO o o co Ci t~- o o o o o o o CO — fco u c3 u ci t- o <3 CO o co o oo o o c o o c c O d co o O CO O CO H- CO CS CM CO o X N O c o o © to IM CO Cl O CO »— < OO CO o CO N d Tj. o O O c o o to O to o o — O Cl o o o o o o c; rn ci n ci co co — co co to i— i co t"- rf O O -h to o N Tt< O o o coo w «— I 3 a* ^ ci co h O £3 o'*-* o > ►>, < Sr ^ ci co fH to - 2 - ^ 3 ^ >» o « r3 -a 2 C 2 2 O ° ° O ~ C O pfi ^ h ^ -Q 3 ,n £*0*0*0 ce c 5 P a 2 £ « g C3 » • pQ -Q .O _ e 3 2 £ £ c 3 c 3 Eh £ £ £ £h O C •- ci S .£ g -g ! 3 0 ° w Q- c 3 o O O > c — -£ ■*» 5 , . ci ci ci C C 1 : > > > H o Forest Fires in jSTorth Carolina 27 The General Assembly of 1915 enacted a Forestry Lair, said by the United States Forest Service to be one of the best State forest fire laws in the United States. At the same time, however, the appropriation designed to put this law into effect was cut out of the bill. The Legislature of 1917 likewise failed to make any provision for forest fire fighting, defeating a bill to provide an appro- priation for this purpose, even after the total amount had been cut down to a meagre $5,000 annually. If the State had been enabled to put the forest fire law into force there is no douht that much of the $3,640,000 loss of 1916 could have been prevented. It is, however, in average fire seasons that the quickest effect of fire protective measures may be seen. The seasons of 1915 and 1917 were, if anything, below the average in fire risks, and yet the average damage by fires for these two years was practically the same as the average for the previous six years. If the appro- priation of $20,000 asked for had been made, it can hardly be doubted that the fire damage would have been reduced 25 to 50 per cent. It is estimated that $17,000 was spent each of these years by private parties in fighting fires; if a similar amount had been spent by the State in trying to prevent them, much greater immediate as well as permanent results would have been obtained. CAUSES OF FOREST FIRES In order to simplify the reporting of the causes of forest fires, and at the same time to harmonize our reports with those made by the Federal Government relat- ing to fires on the National Forests in this State, a new and somewhat shorter arrangement of causes has been made. This has necessitated the making of averages to cover only the past three years, or the period included in this report. As the results correspond almost exactly with the averages for the previous six years, practically no weight of evidence is lost. As a matter of fact, these figures are more accurate than those in previous reports, because in nearly all cases they refer to fires which actually occurred instead of embodying the opinion of the township correspondents as to what were the chief causes of forest fires in their townships. Table 15— CAUSES OF FOREST FIRES IN NORTH CAROLINA Averages for the Three Years 1915, 1916 and 1917 in Percentages Causes Mountain Piedmont Coastal Plain State 2S.0 38.0 21.0 28.0 14.0 6.0 9.0 10.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 13.0 22.0 18.0 17.0 11.0 11.0 16.0 13.0 6.0 2.0 6.0 5.0 5 1.0 1 .5 1.0 2.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 22.5 13.0 21.5 20.0 The most startling fact brought out by this table is the very large proportion of fires set by carelessly burning brush. These are nearly all set by farmers who own the land or by renters for whom the landowners are responsible. Thirty-eight per cent of the fires in the Piedmont region of the State are attributed to this cause alone, while taking the State as a whole, 28 per cent of the fires result from this 28 Fobest Fibes in Hobth Carolina cause. The State law expressly says that all persons “who set fire to or burn any brush, grass, or other material whereby any property may be endangered or de- stroyed. shall keep and maintain a careful and competent watchman in charge of said . . . brush or other material while burning. Fire escaping from such . brush or other material while burning shall be 'priwu facie evidence of neglect of these provisions.” This law is about as strong as it can be made, and yet practically no prosecutions have been made under it. This is because the State has been unable to appoint wardens to secure evidence and to bring such actions. To show that it can be done, however, the following account of a recent case is here given : On the morning of April 6th a negro employee or renter on a farm not far from Black Mountain was preparing land to cultivate that had not been used for several years. He set fire to a pile of brush on the edge of some brushland, not more than 20 yards from the woods proper, when only he and his father were present. The fire escaped to the woods almost immediately, and the two men were unable to stop it, although they fought it until it was discovered by a Federal patrolman who had been appointed by the State Forester to cooperate with the Mount Mitchell Forest Protective Association in that region. The patrolman at once secured an automo- bile and reached the fire with four men by 10 o’clock. The fire was well under control by 2 o’clock, but owing to the very high wind and dry conditions, the men were kept on the job until late that night in order to be sure that everything was extinguished. One of the two negroes helped fight the fire throughout the day. About 20 acres of merchantable timberland and 30 acres of second-growth land was burned over, none of this having previously been burned. The damage was esti- mated at $10 per acre, or a total of $500. The men had not left the fire, because it got out almost immediately. The negro was prosecuted, however, because he had set fire on land without first notifying the adjoining property owners, and because he had not used proper precautions to prevent the spread of the fire. He submit- ted and confessed to setting the fire, and was convicted under section 8 of the Forestry Law. As this was his first offense, he was given the minimum fine of $10 and costs, which was a sufficient warning to be more careful another time. A law which can be enforced against a negro should be equally effective against a white man or any one else who commits a similar offense. Perhaps the second most striking feature of the above table is the small and de- creasing percentage of incendiary fires. There were 6 per cent of such fires reported in 1915, 4.5 per cent in 1916, and 4 per cent in 1917. This, in one way, is a fine record, showing that the criminal desire to injure people by burning their woods is only present in isolated instances. On the other hand, however, it is an indictment of our people on their almost criminal carelessness. Hinety-five per cent of our fires are the result of carelessness, and could with proper precautions be prevented. Is it not time for the people, through their representatives in the Legislature, to take some definite and effective steps to prevent this overwhelming proportion of careless fires ? CLASSIFICATION OF FOBEST FIRES The question of control is one of the chief factors in determining whether the fire is a forest fire or not. The size of the fire does not enter into the question. A fire set in the leaves by the spark from a passing locomotive is a forest fire even though it only burns over a few square yards. On the other hand, a fire set pur- Forest Fires in Xorth Carolina 29 posely to burn off a new-ground is not a forest fire even if it covers many acres, pro- vided those who set it have taken adequate steps to keep it from going beyond tbe area wbicb it was intended to burn and have succeeded in doing so. Tbe fire purposely set by tbe owner or agent of a tract of woodland, either to improve tbe range or to protect tbe larger timber, should not be reported as a forest fire, provided tbe land so burned is what was intended to be burned and no more, and provided the fire was at all times under tbe control of those who set it. On tbe other band, a fire set on some one else’s land without tbe consent of the owner, whether for tbe purpose of improving tbe range or with tbe object of injuring the owner, is a forest fire, and should be so reported. A camp-fire in tbe woods is not a forest fire, but if fire escapes from it and is at any time beyond tbe control of those who are present and allowing it to escape, it becomes a forest fire. To assist forest officers and others in reporting on tbe causes of forest fires, tbe United States Forest Service has drawn up tbe following standard of classification, wbicb is now used in all of its reports on forest fires. As this same classification is used, with only slight modifications, in this report, and will likewise be used in future reports, it is here printed in full. All voluntary correspondents, fire ward- ens, and patrolmen should study this classification carefully so that future reports may be as uniform as possible. instructions for reporting the causes of forest fires The standard classification used by the Forest Service for reporting the causes of forest fires is as follows: Lightning. — Fires the origin of which is directly traceable to lightning. Railroads. — Fires incidental to the construction, operation, or maintenance of com- mon carrier railroads. (This includes fires from sparks or cinders from all locomo- tive or construction engines, from lighted cigars, etc., thrown from car windows, from the clearing of rights of way, or from the individual carelessness of any employee or passenger.) Lumbering. — Fires incidental to all lumbering operations. (This includes fires caused by sawmill or donkey engines and logging railroad locomotives, except on such logging railroads as are common carriers; and by the carelessness of all lumbering employees.) Brush Burning.- — Fires caused by clearing lands for any purpose (other than for rights of way for common carrier railroads, and brush burning in lumbering opera- tions), or by rubbish, garbage, range, stubble, or meadow burning, and by burning out animals, insects, or reptiles. Campers. — Fires resulting in any manner from carelessness of campers, stockmen, prospectors, picnickers, surveyors, berry pickers, hunters, fishermen, automobilists, tramps, and other travelers through the forest. (In North Carolina we might add wagoners, and galax gatherers.) Incendiary. — All fires maliciously set, regardless of whether or not they can be classi- fied under one of the above heads. Miscellaneous. — A ll fires the origin of which is known, but which cannot be properly classified under any of the above heads. Unknown. — All fires the origin of which cannot be determined with such degree of certainty as would justify their inclusion under any other head. According to the above classification, all fires caused by tbe carelessness of Hunt- ers are classed under “Campers,” but those set by Hunters to drive game either from a hollow tree or a thicket are classed under “Brush Burning.” In Table 15 the fires caused by hunters must, therefore, be added to those attributed to campers to make the classification exactly tally with the Forest Service standard. Regarding the causes of forest fires and the gratifying reduction in the number of fires in certain townships, the following comments and remarks will be of inter- 30 Forest Fires in North Carolina est. A correspondent in Wilkes County says: “More fires are caused by burning plant-beds and by night hunters than any other. We should have a law prohibiting careless night hunters carrying pine torches.” The free ranging of live stock as an indirect cause of forest fires is referred to in two reports. A fire in Robeson County was attributed to “neighbor burning to graze a cow on the young grass” ; while from Polk County, on the other hand, a correspondent writes that “Since we have had stock law, forest fires are a thing of the past. Before that, people would fire the woods, thinking that would make the grass grow for the stock.” Another corre- spondent in Polk County says : “As a rule, the blockade distillers kept the woods burning in the spring to keep the smoke of their furnace from being discovered. Corn was so scarce, however, last year and prices so high that there was but small moonshine in operation.” A correspondent from Madison County also mentions this cause of fire when he reports one : “Supposed to be started by illicit distillers.” A small fire in Macon County was said to be started by “a match from the pipe of the mail man” ; while one in Richmond County escaped from a burning tar-kiln. That the citizens themselves are taking some interest in the matter is shown from reports from Wilkes County. “The damage by fire was small, owing to tbe wet or damp season and to the extra cautioning of sawmill men by some of tbe citizens. At one time last April we stopped the sawmills for a week or more. It got so dry we served notice on men who had new-grounds not to burn until it rained. It bad a good effect. We are trying to get- people educated to the danger of fire and how to handle it.” A correspondent in another township of Wilkes County writes : “The citizens of our township are getting more careful with fire, and when fire breaks out they gather quickly to fight and subdue it before it gets great headway. If the winds do not fan the flames they can get it under control before great damage is done, but if very dry and windy there is very little chance to control it in this moun- tainous section without great damage. The laws should be more severe regarding careless burnings.” Reports from three other Blue Ridge counties show a decided improvement in opinion and conditions. From Rutherford we hear : “Quite a num- ber of our good citizens are awake on forest fires, and their influence is decidedly beneficial to our country” ; from Polk County : “It seems that people have been more careful about fires during the last year” ; while a Caldwell correspondent in- dorses the new Forestry Law as follows: “We had fewer fires last year than have ever been known in our township, due to the recent law against burning brush. That’s a great law !” PRESENT STATUS OF FOREST FIRE PREVENTION IN NORTH CAROLINA STATE FOREST FIRE PREVENTION Until the passage of the Forestry Law in 1915, little or no actual protection could he carried out, because there was no law that specially empowered the State Forester or any other official to do this work. Propaganda had been carried on by the State Geological and Economic Survey by means of publications, addresses, and corre- spondence, and this, of course, has been continued and enlarged. THE STATE FOREST LAW Since the passage of the Forest Fire Law (chapter 243, Public Laws of 1915) a new era has begun in spite of the fact that no money has been appropriated for carrying out its provisions. This law, in brief, provides : 1. That the State Geological and Economic Survey shall be charged with the duty of the prevention and control of forest fires in the State. 2. That the State Forester shall be State Forest Warden and shall administer the law, with the approval of the Geological Board. 3. That he shall appoint and have supervision of township and district forest wardens in such townships as he may deem necessary. 4. That these forest wardens shall, in their various districts, have charge of measures controlling forest fires, etc. That they shall he empowered to arrest offenders and to require outside assistance in fighting fires. They are to put up posters warning against forest fires, to be provided by the State Forester, and are to be supplied with suitable badges. The law also strengthens the old Forest Fire Law, thus making it much more effective. According to this new law, it is unlawful to “set fire to any grass-land, brush-land, or woodland, except it be his own property, or, in that case, without first giving notice” to neighbors ; and it is required that such fires must be watched while burning and “effectual care” taken to extinguish such fires before they reach the land of others. Wagoners, hunters, and campers are required to clear a space of ten feet surrounding their fire and to “fully extinguish” the fire before leaving it. Every one who burns brush, grass, or other material, or charcoal or tar-kilns, must watch such fire and absolutely prevent its escape. Although no money has been made available for the enforcement of this law, the Survey, with the help of its own very limited funds, has done all it possibly could to carry out the letter and spirit of the law. The principal features of the work at the present time are the printing and distribution of posters, the appointment of State Forest Wardens, and the cooperation with the Federal Government and with local fire protective associations, in the appointment and direction of Federal patrolmen, and oversight of such associations. POSTERS Since the passage of the law and up to the present time (Way, 1918) the Survey has had printed and distributed a thousand or more copies of each of the following posters warning against forest fires. The titles only of the placards are given here; 32 Forest Fires in Horth Carolina the rest of the reading matter usually consists of brief warnings and directions or passages from the forest law. i ~ \ > n 1. HELP! HELP! THE COOPERATION OF ALL GOOD CITIZENS IS ASKED IN THE PREVENTION OF FOEEST FIEES 2. BEAD THE HEW LAW FOR THE PREVENTION OF FOEEST FIEES 3. HUFTTEBS AID FISHEEMEI LOVE THE WOODS THEREFORE THEY WILL WANT TO ASSIST IN PBOTECTIHG THE WOODS FEOM FI EE 4. A E E Y O H FAEMII G WITH FIEE? 5. CAMPEES AHD WAGOHEBS ARE REQUESTED TO TAKE EYEEY PBECAUTIOH TO PREVENT FIRE ESCAPING FROM THEIR CAMP-FIEES 6. HELP PEOTECT OUB FOEESTS ! 7. SAFETY FIEST 8. THESTATELAW MAKES YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FOEEST FIEES WHICH START THROUGH YOUE CABELESSHESS All the above posters are now out of print, but they are given in full in the Biennial Beport of the State Geologist for 1915-1916, pages 52-58. 9. TO THE TBAVELIHG PUBLIC BE PUBLIC SPIEITED HELP PROTECT THE TREES, SHRUBS, AND FLOWERS ON MOUHT MITCHELL STATE PAEK 10. CUT WOOD CUT WOOD CUT MOEE WOOD the TIME to cut it is EIGHT HOW Forest Fires in North Carolina 33 Posters 9 and 10 were issued for special purposes, but warnings against setting fire to the woods form an essential part of both, of them. 11 . FOREST FIRES ARE ALIEN ENEMIES INTERN THEM! 12. OUR PATRIOTIC DUTY IS TO ELIMINATE ALL WASTE FIRE IS THE GREATEST OF ALL WASTERS THEREFORE PREVENT FOREST FIRES 13. DO YOUR BIT! HELP KEEP FIRES OUT OF THE WOODS These last three posters have recently been distributed to forest wardens, patrol- men, and others who are interested in forest fires. They are available for distribu- tion to any citizen of the State who will post them in conspicuous places, not only on his own land, but for the protection of all the land of the neighborhood. As soon as these are used up, others will be printed and distributed as required. The following instructions for posting them are sent out with the posters : “The new forestry law requires that the State Forester, as State Forest Warden, shall have posted ‘along highways and in other conspicuous places copies of the forest-fire laws and warnings against fires.’ The accompanying forest-fire notice may he posted in some conspicuous place, where the general public can see and read it. “The most suitable places for such notices are along roads, especially at cross-roads, or on well-traveled trails in or near woodlands, in the country postoffice, and on the country-store door. The clerks of the court will he asked to post one on the bulletin board of each county courthouse. “The forestry law also provides that ‘Any person who shall maliciously or willfully destroy, deface, remove, or disfigure any sign, poster, or warning notice, posted by order of the State Forester, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.’ Any flagrant violation of this law should therefore be reported. “The State Geological and Economic Survey will supply additional copies of this notice to those whose woodlands are in danger of being burnt, provided they can be posted effectively.” STATE FOREST WARDENS Owing to the absence of funds, no township or district forest wardens to be paid and to act in accordance with tbe law can be appointed. However, through cooper- ation with the United States Forest Service and with associated landowners, patrol- men and wardens who are paid by the cooperators have in some cases been appointed State Forest Wardens. In every case special pains are taken to impress upon them the fact that no remuneration can be expected from the State. 3 34 Forest Fires in Forth Carolina Letter of Appointment : Tlie letters of appointment usually read somewhat as follows : Date Mr Address Dear Sir: Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the General Assembly of North Carolina, as set forth in Chapter 243, Public Laws of 1915, I hereby appoint you a Township Forest Warden in the Township of County of State of North Carolina. You will please notify me by mail of your acceptance of this position, and at the earliest opportunity you will appear before a notary public, or other official competent to witness an oath, and swear before him to fulfill your duty as a Township Forest Warden according to the best of your ability. The officer taking your oath will then sign a statement to that effect, which statement should be immediately forwarded to me. The law under which you are appointed carries no appropriation. It must, therefore, be distinctly understood on your part that you are to receive no salary from the State and that your duties must be performed without cost to the State. A copy of the State Forestry Laws, No badge, and a letter of instructions are being sent you herewith. Very truly yours, J. S. Holmes, Approved by the State Geological Board: State Forester. Signed: Joseph Hyde Pratt, Director. Oath of Office: As soon as the Forest Warden receives liis appointment he is required to swear to perform faithfully the duties of his office. The following form is filled out by the notary or other State official in question and returned at once to the State Forester: State of North Carolina County of • Affidavit. Personally appeared before me, of County, North Carolina, who being by me duly sworn, deposes and says: That he has been appointed Township Forest Warden, for Township, County, North Carolina, by J. S. Holmes, State Forester, and that he will, to the best of his ability, discharge the duties devolving upon him while filling this office, in accordance with the laws of North Carolina, known as the Forestry Law, as set out in Chapter 243, Public Laws 1915. (Signed) Subscribed and sworn to before me, this day of 191. . . . Justice of the Peace. Notary Public. My commission expires 191. . . . Letter of Instructions : A letter of instructions is usually sent along with the appointment. These in- structions vary to some extent according to the region in which the man is appointed and the special duties he is required to perform either as association patrolman. Federal patrolman, or other position which carries the salary upon which he lives. Besides these special instructions, general instructions are given him covering his special duties as a State Forest officer. These instructions are as follows: Forest Fires in J^orth Carolina 35 Bead Carefully! Your duties as State Forest Warden must be carried out in strict accordance with the law (Chapter 243, Public Laws of 1915) under which you are appointed. You should immediately become familiar with this law, and especially with those parts of it (sections 4 and 6) dealing with your office and duties. Whatever work you undertake, however, it must be borne in mind that the State has provided no money with which to pay you or to fulfill any obligations incurred by you. Concerning your duties as outlined in the Forestry Law, you will please observe the following directions: (1) You are to take charge of measures controlling forest fires only in so far as this is compatible with the other duties which you are required to perform. Where the men are not paid by the State for fire fighting, but perform this service either free of charge or paid by other parties, the State cannot have the same complete control over them as if the State employed and paid them. You could, therefore, only take charge of such operations when it is the expressed wish of the fire fighters or their employers. (2) You are allowed and required to make arrests without a warrant only when offenders are caught by you in the act of violating the Forestry Laws. Such an arrest should only be made when there is a big chance of the offender escaping if he is not arrested at once. In such case, for instance, as when the man is unknown to you or is a stranger in the neighborhood. In all other cases a warrant should be sworn out by you before a justice of the peace and served in the usual manner. It is much better for the law to take its usual course if the desired result can thus be obtained, namely, the ultimate arrest and conviction of offenders in order to deter them and others from similar offenses in the future. In other words, the power of arrest should only be exercised in cases of emergency; your duty is to prevent and extinguish forest fires. Let the magistrate and constables enforce the law in all cases where it is possible for them to do so; but where the offender would escape unless arrested at once, you should then use your power of arrest. When you make such arrest, you must “bring such person or persons forthwith before a justice of the peace or other officer having jurisdiction.” Do not hesitate to sw'ear out a warrant against offenders, especially those who set fires purposely. You should, however, feel fairly sure that sufficient evidence can be secured to convict them of the offense. You should acquaint the State Forester with the result of all prosecutions in your district. In dealing with first offenders against the Forestry Laws, it is, in nearly all cases, best to treat such with courtesy, explaining to them the points against which they have offended and warning them to be especially careful in the future. In most cases such a warning is sufficient to prevent a repetition of the offense; it is only in excep- tional cases that it would be wise to arrest for the first offense. You must, however, use your own judgment as to which would have the best effect both upon the offender and upon the community in which you are working. (3) Forest Wardens are required to “post along highways and in other conspicuous places copies of the Forest Fire Laws and warnings against fires.” I hope you will be able to post some of these notices all over your district. I can send you those already printed by the State the supply of which is not exhausted and other notices that will be printed from time to time. (4) The patrol work mentioned in section 4 cannot be undertaken as yet by the State on account of the lack of appropriation. Federal patrolmen and patrolmen em- ployed by associations and landowners will, of course, carry on patrol work, but not immediately under the State requirements. (5) Forest Wardens are required to make a report of each fire to the State Forester within ten days of such fire. You will be provided with printed forms upon which you can make such reports. To others than Federal patrolmen stamped envelopes will be sent for the purpose of mailing these fire reports; the Federal patrolmen can mail them in the franked envelopes in which they mail their ten-day time and weather report. Fires which are reported to you by District Forest Wardens or by Forest Fire Foremen appointed by the different associations should be reported by you to the State Forester on the same blanks. Each fire, however, must be reported on a separate sheet. (6) The clause in section 6 providing for the summoning of “any male resident of the township between the ages of 18 and 45 years to assist in extinguishing fires” must 36 Forest Fires in North Carolina for the present be a dead letter on account of the lack of appropriation, unless a special fund for the payment of fire fighters can he made available in certain cases. (7) The last clause in section 6 provides that “No action for trespass shall lie against any Forest Warden for crossing or working upon the lands of another in connection with his duties as Forest Warden.” In view of this provision, you should be exceed- ingly careful not to injure property on which you work or travel. In the work of fire fighting which you will occasionally have to direct and take charge of, back-firing will occasionally be necessary. While back-firing is a legitimate and often the only way of fighting a serious fire, it should be done with care and judgment. A back fire carelessly or thoughtlessly set frequently does more damage than the original fire would do. In view of this fact, you should constantly bear in mind that fires injure the property upon which they burn and that, if you in back-firing needlessly burn over forest property, you are thereby needlessly destroying property. Nevertheless, this fact should not pre- vent you resorting to back-firing when in your judgment it is necessary. (8) Section 7, providing for the compensation of Forest Wardens, is, of course, at the present inoperative. (9) In enforcing the three sections of the law dealing with setting forest fires, namely, sections 8, 9, and 10, you should bear in mind that a warning given in time may perhaps save a serious offense against the law. Should you see a fire burning and one or more men in charge of it, a warning to them to see that the fire is entirely out before they leave it might save an offense and secure their future cooperation. It should be one of your first and most important duties to visit any legitimate burnings and let the people who are burning know exactly what the law requires. Hunters and other users of the forest should also be warned; they also should be watched as closely as possible until they leave the woods in your district. Several of the provisions included in these three sections of the law are new or have been set forth in new terms. While ignorance of the law is no excuse for an offense under the law, it should be your care to see that every one who uses the forest, or who might become a menace to it in your district, is made acquainted with the provisions of the law. (10) You are being provided with a badge of office. This badge should be worn at all times while on duty, in a position where it can be seen. It may be pinned on one side of the coat or shirt front, or at or near the belt. The badge should be carefully kept by you because, if lost, it might be found and misused by some one who has no right to it. The first badge will be sent you without cost, but, in case of loss, badges will have to be paid for by the Wardens. To repeat the warning emphasized in my letter of appointment: the law under which you are appointed carries no appropriation. It must, therefore, be distinctly understood on your part that you are to receive no salary from the State and that your duties must be performed without cost to the State. (Signed) J. S. Holmes, State Forester. Badges: Patrolmen and wardens are not appointed State wardens until they liave proved their ability and reliability. Tbe object is to have wardens who will, as far as possible, carry out tbe duties of their office without a show of force. "When the case demands it, however, they must be ready to uphold the majesty of the law, though most of their work will be done through instruction and persuasion. In order to increase their effectiveness, the Survey has had badges made which the State Forest Wardens are required to wear while ou duty. These badges remain the property of the State, and if lost must be paid for by the warden. They are neat metal, shield-shaped badges, inscribed “North Carolina Forest Warden. Geological and Economic Survey,” and are numbered from one up. The center of the badge shows a young skortleaf or rosemary pine tree designed from several photographs of young trees taken in the middle part of the State. The special significance of this design is : (a) Pine trees supply the greater part of our timber. ( b ) The rosemary piue is distributed throughout the whole State and is our most important timber tree in Forest Fires in FIorth Carolina 37 the Piedmont region, (c) The young tree represents the young forest which it is the special duty of the forest warden to protect. The cut of this badge is here given. The following State Forest Wardens have been appointed : J. E. Daugherty, New Bern James F. Berry, Tryon E. B. Greene, Blowing Rock Fred Moser, Black Mountain D. L. Moser, Black Mountain George W. Stepp, Black Mountain Ed. T. Shearer, Hayesville IT. A. Miller, North Wilkesboro These wardens have done excellent work in preventing forest fires. The very fact that a man wearing a badge is living in the neighborhood and may be in any part of the district at any time tends to make careful even the most careless. If a fund could be made available to pay men, even only for the time they actually expend in posting notices and patrolling during the driest and most dangerous weather, a vast amount of good would be accomplished. It is to be hoped that the next Legislature will make available a sufficient amount to secure the services of such men in all of the most important forest counties of the State. COOPERATIVE STATE WARDENS Following the Sixth Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Forestry Association, held in New Bern, January 25 and 26, 1916, at which Mr. W. W. Ashe, of the United States Forest Service, strongly urged Eastern Carolina landowners to adopt some form of protection, the J. B. Blades Lumber Company of New Bern applied to the Survey for State assistance in protecting their lands from fire. In accord- ance with this request, the following proposition was made : (1) That this company, together with two or more contiguous landowners in -the same township or district, raise a fund for the payment of a forest warden and to meet the necessary expenses which he might incur in preventing and extinguishing forest fires. (2) That this fund should not be less to start with than thirty dollars ($30), and that the fund should be added to from time to time as previous payments became •exhausted. 38 Forest Fires in FTorth Carolina (3) That the money subscribed be paid direct to the North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey, to be drawn upon by the State Forester for the payment of the Forest Warden and others employed by him for services in connection with forest fire prevention and the extinguishment of forest fires. (4) That the Forest Warden be nominated by the subscribing parties and approved by the State Forester. (5) That his duties be, in general terms, those outlined in the Forest Fire Law (Chapter 243, Public Laws of 1915), he being under the control and direction of the State Forester. (6) That it be distinctly understood that the Warden must do a certain amount of preventive work, such as posting notices, interviewing landowners, and, if possible, holding meetings in different parts of the township. (7) That the Forest Warden cannot receive compensation for services or expenses in excess of the amount previously deposited with the Survey by the cooperators, and that the State accepts no responsibility for debts incurred by the Forest Warden or others in the performance of their duty beyond the amount subscribed and already paid in by the cooperators. Appointment of a Forest Warden . — Tlie above conditions were met by tbe four following landowners in Township LTo. 9, Craven County: tbe J. B. Blades Lumber Company, tbe Broaddus and Ives Lumber Company, tbe Pine Lumber Company, and Manager & Bennett; and on May 16, 1916, Mr. J. E. Daugherty of Hew Bern, 1ST. C., was appointed Township Forest Warden. In making the appointment, tbe State Forester called tbe attention of the warden to tbe following points: (a) Your duties are specified in the law (Chapter 243, Public Laws of 1915) under which you are appointed. (b) You are to be paid, in accordance with the law, not to exceed 20 cents per hour or $2 per day for the actual time given to the work. The sum of forty dollars ($40) has been deposited with the State Forester by the cooperators for the payment of necessary expenses incurred by you. Assurances have been made by the cooperators that further money will be available for your use when it shall be required. Signed statements of expenditures must be forwarded to the State Forester by you or by the cooperators for the payment of necessary expenses incurred by you. Assurances have been made by the cooperators that further money will be available for your use when it shall be required. Signed statements of expenditures must be forwarded to the State Forester at the end of each month, as the law requires. (c) You should make arrangements with suitable parties in different parts of your district to notify you, by telephone or otherwise, of the occurrence of any fires as soon as they are discovered, and, if you think advisable, give directions to certain parties to start fighting the fires, pending your arrival upon the scene. (d) All rural mail carriers are required to report fires to the proper authorities. You will, therefore, arrange with such carriers in your district to report fires to you upon discovery. (e) The watching of burning logs, stumps, etc., after a fire has been controlled, is an important part of fire protection; therefore, the employment of assistants to watch such danger spots is a legitimate expense. (/) You should immediately become familiar with the Forest Fire Law, and especially with sections 4 and 6, which deal especially with the duties of your office. The State Forester is prepared to enter into a similar arrangement with, other parties anxious to make more effective their fire protective work, or with township or county officials who wish to secure the assistance of the State in fire prevention. As soon as a State appropriation is secured it is hoped that counties or townships will see their way to cooperate on equal terms with the State in the employment of forest wardens. Forest Fires in North Carolina 39 FEDERAL EIRE PREVENTION IN NORTH CAROLINA The Federal Government is doing its full part in helping to protect the forests of this State from fire. This work is being done through two different agencies, the National Forests Administration and Federal cooperation with the State. NATIONAL FORESTS Through the operation of the Weeks Law, which was enacted by Congress in 1-911, the Government has purchased mountain forest land in a number of the western counties of North Carolina with the avowed object of protecting the head- waters of streams. At the present time the Government has approved for purchase and is administering some 319,000 acres, distributed as follows : Location and Area of National Forests in North Carolina Name of National Counties in Total Area Forest Area Which Located March 30, 1918 Pisgah Buncombe \ Henderson l 88,194 Transylvania Haywood J Mount Mitchell Yancey 'I Buncombe [ 75,130 McDowell J Nantahala Macon 'j Swain l 72,672 Boone. Averv Caldwell [ 45,830 Burke Savannah Macon | 37,272 Jackson Total 319,098 One of the chief duties of the forest officers who look after and patrol those forests is the prevention and extinguishment of fires, and although much of the area is quite remote and some is subject to extreme fire risks from railroad and logging operations, the fire damage has been kept down to a most encouraging extent. This was referred to in Economic Paper No. 40, pages 14 to 17. The loss from forest fires on and near the National Forests was greater in 1917 than in any pre- vious year since their purchase, yet the percentage of area burned over was only about one-half that for the entire mountain region as reported to the State Forester. A summary of the annual fire reports for 1917 of the two forest supervisors in charge of the National Forests located in North Carolina is given below, with the idea of showing the care and accuracy with which these forest fires are reported. As soon as the State is enabled to organize its Forest Warden force, it is planned to adopt methods of reporting fires as close as possible to that already being practiced by the Federal Government in this State. 40 Forest Fires in North Carolina Table 16.— SUPERVISOR’S ANNUAL FIRE REPORT FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR 1917 Pisgah, Boone, Mount Mitchell, Nantahala, and Portion of Savannah National Fobest C. Over 10 Acres A. Under Acre B. ' Under 10 Acres 1 . Damage Under S100 2. Damage $100- $1,000 3. Damage Over $1,000 Total 10 20 18 2 1 2.* Fires originating on private lands inside National 1 7 2 10 3. Fires originating outside of National forest bound- 1 1 i 1 4 4. Fires originating outside of National forest bound- 1 3 4 11 23 29 5 1 69 Railroad Light- ning Incen- diary Brush Burning Campers Lum- bering Un- known Miscel- laneous Total 5. Causes of all fires re- ported 4 4 4 35 17 5 69 6. Damage from Fires Within National Forest Boundaries Area Burned Over Damage to Timber, Reproduction, and Forage* Location of Fires Tim- bered, Open Acres Total Acres Timber Destroyed or Damaged Repro- duction Forage Total Value Value Acres M B. F. Value Value 2,316 2,316 25 M $ 100 $ 1,130 $ 75 $ 1,385 On private lands inside National 2,211 2,211 20 M 80 me amount and value ot damaged cordwood may be included with the timber on 4,527 4,527 45 M 180 the ratio of 1 cord=500 B. F. 7. Cost of Fighting All Fires Division of Cost * Temporary Labor Guard and Ranger Labor Tools, Supplies, Trans- portation, Etc. Total Cost Value of Co- operation $ 350.96 143.64 52.28 S 105.87 25.69 9.44 S 48.47 7.71 15.65 $ 505.30 177.04 77.37 $ 139.65 37.80 10.00 On private lands inside National forest boundaries Totals 546.88 141.00 71.83 759.71 187.45 Forest Fires in Worth Carolina 41 "WEEKS LAW COOPERATION Under the second section of the Weeks Law the United States Department of Agriculture is empowered to cooperate with States in organizing and carrying out fire prevention on other than Federal lands. (See Economic Paper Wo. 33, pages 31 to 48.) This section reads as follows: Section 2. That the sum of two hundred thousand dollars is hereby appropriated and made available until expended, out of any moneys in the Xational Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to cooperate with any state or group of states, when requested to do so, in the protection from fire of the forested watersheds of navigable streams; and the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized, and on such conditions as he deems wise, to stipulate and agree with any state or group of states to cooperate in the organization and maintenance of a system of fire protection on any private or state forest lands within such state or states and situated upon the watershed of a navigable river: Provided, that no such stipulation or agreement shall be made with any state which has not provided by law for a system of forest fire protection: Provided further, that in no case shall the amount expended in any state exceed in any fiscal year the amount appropriated by that state for the same purpose during the same fiscal year. (Act of March 1, 1911.) Policy and Methods of the United States Forest Service: General Service Policy. — The most important objects of expenditures under sec- tion 2 of the Weeks Law are (1) to promote forest fire protection by states, counties, and associations of owners, and (2) to develop closer cooperation among various agencies engaged in protective work and weld more or less scattered efforts into an efficient, organized system. The accomplishment of these objects must govern primarily the use of Weeks Law funds, particularly while the amount avail- able is so small. This policy will be applied particularly in providing, first, for the needs of States whose resources are limited or in which general and efficient fire protection has not yet been developed. It will be applied also through Federal participation in fire protective work where such participation, even on a limited scale, will aid in cementing the activities of existing public and private agencies and bringing about a better organized and more efficient protective system. While the foregoing features of the work must receive the greatest emphasis, par- ticularly in the allotment of funds, the Government recognizes an obligation to participate permanently in the protection of the watersheds of navigable streams. The passage of the Weeks Law recognizes the duty of the Federal Government to aid in preserving the navigability of important streams through the protection of their watersheds ; and hence that the Government is justified in assuming a definite part of the cost. It is the position of the Service that the solution of the national problem of protection from forest fires requires the continued participation of the Federal Government; and that the enormous public interests involved in the pro- tection of forest and water resources will not permit the Government to with- draw from this work after a brief period of educational effort. While, therefore, greatly enlarged appropriations are unnecessary and not anticipated, it is the policy of the Government to continue this work permanently, if on a small scale, as an active associate of the states and private owners. As far as the funds are available after providing for work in states where its purpose is primarily educational, the Service will thus continue to cooperate with other states, even if the other agencies 42 Forest Fires in North Carolina in such states would be able if left to themselves to provide sufficient funds for fire protection under ordinary conditions. The value of Federal cooperation as a means of cementing and improving the protective work in such states is an ample justifi- cation for these expenditures, aside from the obligation resting upon the Govern- ment to aid in the protection of navigation. Lands Protected. — The first requirement of the Weeks Law is that the protection shall be confined to the forested watersheds of navigable streams. At first coopera- tion was restricted to the headwaters of streams which are navigable for interstate trade. More recently the Solicitor of the Department gave it as his opinion that “all streams which are adaptable in the particular locality to the floating or trans- portation of the products of that locality” are navigable, which definition is the present basis for determining the limits of the cooperative areas. State Protective System. — The second requirement of the law is that the State must have “provided by law for a system of fire protection.” This proviso, at first very strictly construed, has, under more recent opinions from the Solicitor’s office, been interpreted as meaning any system of protection, including the employment of men for patrol, lookout or fire-fighting purposes, or the adoption of other protective measures under the authority of any State law, whether or not the law actually specified the protective system which should be employed. A scheme of fire protec- tion initiated by a state forester under the general authority of forestry laws of the state is thus regarded as sufficient to satisfy the requirement. State Appropriation. — The third proviso is that the state must appropriate for fire protective purposes during the same Federal fiscal year an amount at least equal to that expended by the Federal Government. At first this was construed strictly to require a definite appropriation for fire protection work or an allotment for the purpose from a lump-sum forestry appropriation. Subsequently any ex- penditure made by any authorized state agency which has for its object the encour- agement and furtherance of fire protection work has been accepted as fulfilling this requirement. Thus, in both Virginia and North Carolina no appropriation is made for the maintenance of a forest fire protective system. But the portion of the salary and expenses of the State Forester or clerk which is devoted to forest fire propa- ganda and the organization of a voluntary field force is considered an appropriation within the meaning of the Weeks Law. Any State funds used for the broad pur- pose of fire protection, including overhead expenses for administration, fire-fighting funds, expenditures for publicity work, etc., may be included in the amount required to offset the Federal allotment. Federal Allotments and Expenditures.— Allotments are made by the calendar year for the full fire season or seasons. This makes it possible for the states to know before the beginning of the season the amounts they are to receive for the full dan- ger period, and they can then plan accordingly, which would not be the case if the allotments were made by the Federal fiscal year. Federal expenditures cannot exceed the amount appropriated by the State. This has been construed simply as stipulating a maximum limit for Federal expendi- tures, not as providing for an equal division of forest fire expenditures with any state with which we may cooperate. This is obviously the only possible construc- tion, for some of the states expend each year as much as the entire Federal appro- priation. In cooperating with a state whose total funds available for fire protec- tion amount to $5,000 or less, however, in most instances an equal allotment from Weeks Law funds has been made. Forest Fires ix Xorth Carolixa 43 III making allotments to states appropriating more tlian $5,000, the aim is to make the Federal allotment such that with the state and private funds available the cooperative area may receive as nearly as possible adequate protection under ordinary conditions of hazard and risk. State s Responsibility. — The State is held to be responsible for organizing, administering, and maintaining the efficiency of the fire protection system, includ- ing the work of the Federal men hired under the Weeks Law. The State’s interest in the protection of its forests as a property, whether in State or private ownership, is tangible and direct, while that of the Federal Government is more or less indirect through their influence on watershed protection. The Service is desirous of doing everything in its power to encourage the states to recognize and assume their re- sponsibility for this protection. Federal Responsibility. — That the Federal Government has a definite responsi- bility in the protection of watersheds of navigable streams, however, is clear, although it was deemed by Congress insufficient to justify the Government in assuming a share of the cost greater than that borne by any particular state. Use of Federal Allotment. — The expenditure of Weeks Law funds is restricted as closely as practicable to the salaries of lookout watchmen and patrolmen. It is to be understood, of course, that in periods when the discharge of their regu- lar duties is unnecessary, men employed for patrol or lookouts may and should be used for the construction of improvements, disposal of slash, or any other fire pro- tective work which the State organization has in mind. If, however, the regular patrol season closes with a portion of the allotment unexpended, it may be desirable to authorize the State to use such balance for slash disposal, permanent improve- ments, and like protective work, these expenditures bearing the same proportion to those of the State as the expenditures for patrols and lookouts. Arrangements of this character may be authorized by the Forester. Fire Plans. — Every reasonable effort has been made to get the states to prepare fire plans, with maps showing improvements, equipment, and the disposition of the forest fire personnel, supplemented by written descriptions of the control organiza- tion and control measures to be taken. Private Efforts. — One of the cardinal features of Weeks Law cooperation is to secure the participation of private owners. One of the conditions required of the states is that they shall secure a reasonable amount of assistance from the private owners in cooperative areas. The State is called upon to indicate in its yearly budget the funds which will be furnished from private sources; and the extent of such aid will be one of the factors considered in determining the allotment to the State. Weeks Law agreements are not three-cornered, however. The Service deals only with the State, and the latter is responsible to the Service for securing adequate private help. The Service will, of course, aid the State in any ways found prac- ticable in enlisting the interest and support of private owners, forming protective associations, etc. State Reports. — A report from the State is required at the end of each calendar year. It has been our aim to reduce this report to the briefest form possible. A tabular statement giving number of fires by areas ; damage and cause ; loss by fires ; and summary of State appropriation and expenditures for fire protection forms Part I of the report. Part II comprises a discussion in such detail as seems neces- sary of the following subjects : 44 Forest Fires in Forth Carolina 1. Character of the fire season. 2. Character and amount (funds, labor and material) of assistance rendered by a. Private landowners (individuals or through associations) ; b. Railroads; c. Rural mail carriers. Federal Patrolmen: After the passage of the State Forestry Law in 1915, the State Geologist entered into an agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture whereby the Survey was enabled to appoint a few Federal patrolmen to cooperate with the pri- vate landowners in the various parts of the State. A copy of the agreement is given in the Biennial Report of the State Geologist for 1915-16, pages 34 to 37. This agreement provides that a sum not to exceed $2,000 will be apportioned to Forth Carolina for the purpose of employing patrolmen or lookouts, provided the expendi- tures of the State for fire prevention equals or exceeds the amount spent by the Government. All expenditures of the Survey made for preventing forest fires, including such part of the salary and office and field expenses of the State Forester as was made for that purpose, may he counted as the State’s proportion. The first Federal patrolman to receive an appointment in Forth Carolina under the Weeks Law agreement was John Riis. He was appointed in Tryon Township, Polk County, October 1, 1915. The following statement shows the men employed up to January 1, 1918, and the duration of their employment for each fire season: Fall Season , 1915: 'Name. District. John Riis Tryon Anderson McFalls Mount Mitchell G. W. Stepp Black Mountain Spring Season, 1916: John Riis Tryon G. W. Stepp Black Mountain Anderson McFalls Mount Mitchell C. D. Cannon Blowing Rock . Fall Season, 1916: J. Hilliard Metcalf Tryon Frank Icenhour Blowing Rock . Spring Season, 1917 : Frank Icenhour Blowing Rock . . James F. Berry Tryon G. W. Stepp Black Mountain Fall Season, 1917 : D. L. Moser Mount Mitchell G. W. Stepp Black Mountain James F. Berry. ........ .Tryon E. R. Greene Blowing Rock . Duration of Appointment . October 1 to December 18 October 1 to December 15 November 1 to December 15 March 10 to May 31 .March 10 to May 27 March 22 to May 27 .March 29 to May 27 November 2 to December 15 November 21 to December 15 April 2 to June 15 April 2 to June 12 April 12 to May 27 October 4 to December 7 November 5 to December 7 November 7 to December 7 November 1 to December 7 These men were appointed to cooperate with associations and landowners who were organized for the purpose of forest protection. Other appointments would have been made but for the difficulty of securing the cooperation of landowners, many of whom were willing to cooperate themselves, but could not secure the active cooperation of adjoining landowners. It was this difficulty which has caused the Forest Fires in North Carolina 45 discrepancy in tie apparent expenditures of tie State and of tie Government. Tiese expenditures are summarized for tie tiree years as follows : State Expenditures Federal Expenditures 1915 $1,707.35 $379.33 1916 1,068.49 699.67 1917 1,137.00 657.66 It must le iere explained tiat tie large predominance of State expenditures over Federal ones is in no way tie fault of tie Federal Government, but is entirely due to tie indifference and lack of response on tie part of tie landowners of North Carolina. Many efforts were made by tie State Forester to organize cooperative fire prevention in order to be enabled to appoint Federal patrolmen, but little active interest could be secured outside of tie tiree associations elsewiere alluded to in this report. Starting witi 1918, iowever, a new offer ias been made to tie people of tie State, and two additional patrolmen iave been appointed under tiis new arrangement. Tie idea is to appoint Federal patrolmen to muci larger districts to travel over tiese large areas, posting notices, interviewing landowners and otiers, and endeav- oring to so interest tie people in forest protection as to gradually work up more active and effective cooperation. Patrolmen will be appointed only for tie spring and fall danger seasons. Tie former usually begins in Marci or April and lasts from six to ten weeks, wiile tie latter commences tie latter part of October or tie beginning of November and continues up to tie first or second week in December. Patrol Districts: Tie districts are selected witi tie view of doing tie greatest amount of good. Counties wiere tie people are tiorougily interested are more likely to be selected tian wiere tie landowners are indifferent or antagonistic, because better results can be secured. A county wiere forest fires are actually being prevented will serve as an incentive and example to all surrounding counties. Eaci man is assigned a definite district to cover, either on horseback, in a buggy or a Ford, or on foot, tie size of eaci district varying according to local conditions. Districts are selected according to tie importance of fire protection, and tie bound- aries are established witi reference to topographic rather than political features. Tiese districts are more or less arbitrary and are changed from one period to an- other, as is found to be necessary. Tie patrolman’s headquarters are preferably as near tie center of iis district as possible. Federal Regulations : Federal patrolmen are appointed by tie State Forester in iis capacity as collab- orator in tie United States Department of Agriculture; they are, therefore, Govern- ment employees and subject to Federal regulation and discipline. Tie following regulations will be of interest to tie general public, as affecting tiese public servants : Qualifications. — Certain qualifications are essential iu selecting a patrolman. To begin witi, tie Federal Government insists tiat he must be selected on merit, without regard to any personal or political considerations whatever. He must be a man of intelligence, dependability, and sobriety. He must further be tiorougily 46 Forest Fires in Forth Carolina familiar with, the territory in his district, as he is required to traverse all sections of it at regular and repeated intervals. Since his is an arduous duty, demanding almost continuous horseback travel, he must he physically able to perform it. He must be tactful in his dealings with people in his district ; and, finally, he must be the type of man who is well regarded in his own community. The Government some time since sent out the following order : Qualifications for Federal Men Employed Under the Weeks Law. — Candidates for ap- pointment as temporary employees during the season of serious danger from fire must be able-bodied and capable of enduring hardships and of performing severe labor under trying canditions; must be able to build trails and cabins and to pack-in provisions with- out assistance; must be thoroughly familiar with the region in which they seek employ- ment (or other similar regions), including its geography, its forests, and industrial conditions. Invalids and consumptives seeking light out-of-door employment are not qualified for the work, and should not be employed. Employing officers will require sobriety, industry, physical ability, and effectiveness; will give preference to local residents of whose fitness he is fully satisfied, and will employ no person for personal or political consideration. Political Activity Prohibited. — The orders prohibiting political activity, which follow, will be strictly enforced. Political Activity. — Rule 1, section 1, of the Civil Service Rules reads as follows: No person in the executive civil service shall use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the result thereof. Persons who by the provisions of these rules are in the competitive classified service, while retaining the right to vote as they please and to express privately their opinions on all political subjects, shall take no active part, in political management or in political campaigns. The first sentence of the rule applies to every person in the executive civil service, irrespective of the method of his appointment. The second sentence of the rule applies to all persons holding positions in the competitive classified service, whether the ap- pointment be permanent or temporary in character, and by departmental action has also generally been made applicable to unclassified laborers (lookout watchmen and patrol- men under the Weeks Law). The following forms of activity have been held to be forbidden by this provision: Service on political committees; service as delegates to state, county, or district con- ventions of a political party, although it was understood that the employees were not “to take or use any political activity in going to these conventions or otherwise vio- late the civil service rules;” service as officer of a political club, as chairman of a political meeting, or a secretary of an anti-saloon league; continued political activity and leadership, activity at the polls on election day; the publication or editing of a newspaper in the interests of a political party; the publication of political articles hearing on qualfications of different candidates; the distribution of political literature; holding office in a club which takes an active part in political campaigns or manage- ment; making speeches before political meetings or clubs; activity in local option cam- paigns; circulation of petitions having a political object, of petitions proposing amend- ments to municipal charter, of petitions favoring candidates for municipal offices, and of local option petitions; candidacy for or holding of elective office; accepting nomination for political office with the intention of resigning from the competitive service if elected; recommendation by clerks and carriers of a person to be postmaster; service as a commissioner of election in a community where it was notorious that a commis- sioner of election must be an active politician; service as inspector of election, ballot clerk, ballot inspector, judge of election, or member of election board; or generally any form of activity in political management or political campaigns, though not specifically mentioned above. Forest Fires in FTorth Carolina 47 In as much as the issuance of a certificate for reinstatement is discretionary with the Civil Service Commission, no certificate will be issued in any case where the party applying for reinstatement has previously resigned with a view of running for office, or with a view of indulging in a degree of political activity which would be pro- hibited if he had remained in the service, and who afterwards, having failed in his candidacy or having indulged in the contemplated activity, seeks reinstatement. Political Assessments or Contributions. — The civil service act (22 Stat., 404) pro- vides that “No person in the public service is for that reason under any obligations to contribute to any political fund, or to render any political service, and ... he will not be removed or otherwise prejudiced for refusing to do so.” Section 118 of the Criminal Code provides that no Federal officer or employee shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or receive, or be in any manner concerned in soliciting or receiving any political assessment, subscription, or contribution from any other Federal officer or employee. Section 120 of the Criminal Code prohibits the discharge, promotion, or degrading of any officer or employee for giving or failing to make any political contribution. Sec- tion 121 of the Criminal Code prohibits any Federal officer or employee from making any such political contribution to another Federal officer or employee, and section 119 prohibits the solicitation or receipt of any political contribution in any room or build- ing occupied in the discharge of official duties by any officer or employee of the United States, or on other Federal premises by any person whatsoever, whether in the public service or not. In connection with this latter provision, the United States Supreme Court has held that a solicitation by letter or circular addressed and delivered by mail or otherwise to an officer or employee of the United States at the office or building in which he is employed in the discharge of his official duties is a solicitation within the meaning of the law, the solicitation taking place where the letter was received. Sec- tion 122 of the Criminal Code provides that whoever shall violate any provision of the four sections above mentioned shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. It is the duty of the Civil Service Commission to see that the civil service act and rules and the above-mentioned sections of the Criminal Code, which were originally enacted as a part of the civil service act, are strictly enforced, and it will employ every legitimate and available means to secure the prosecution -and punishment of per- sons who may violate them. The Commission requests any persons having knowledge of any such violation to lay the facts before it, that it may at once take action thereon. — From “'National Forest Manual ,” pages 17A-1SA. In regard to tlie above, the United States Forester writes : “I confidently expect that all members of the Service will perform their duties unin- fluenced by any political consideration, and will not knowingly violate the law or regu- lations, or the proprieties.” Compensation for Injuries to Federal Employees. — The following - paragraphs are quoted from circular-letters sent out by the United States Forester, September, 1917. These circulars describe the necessary procedure in securing treatment un- der the Federal Compensation Act of September 7, 1916, for injuries received by employees of the United States while in the performance of their duties : “When civil employees of the United States are injured while in the performance of their duties they are, by the terms of the Federal Compensation Act of September 7, 1916, entitled to ‘reasonable medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies for the injury, whether or not disability has arisen. “In addition to necessary medical, surgical, and hospital expenses, if the injury results in disability for more than three days, compensation is payable at the rate of two-thirds of the monthly pay, beginning with the fourth day from the cessation of the regular compensation, but cannot exceed $66.67 a month. Any annual or sick leave due may be used in preference to compensation under the Compensation Act. No compensation is payable if the injury is caused by willful misconduct of the in- jured employee, his intention to bring about the injury, or his intoxication. 48 Forest Fires in Forth Carolina “Every employee sustaining an injury should immediately seek first-aid treatment, no matter how slight the injury, many slight injuries having serious consequences through failure to receive prompt attention. “The following forms are used in the administration of this act: Form C. A. 1, Notice of Injury (to be made by the injured employee or his personal representative to his official superior) ; Forms C. A. 2, Report of Injury (to be made by the official superior) ; Form C. A. 3, Report of Termination of Disability (to be made by the official superior) ; Form C. A. 4, Claim for Complete or Partial Disability , and Form C. A. 5, Death Claim. The Compensation Commission is unable to supply these forms in sufficient quantities for advance distribution to all field stations. Any employee injured in the course of his employment should at once notify his official superior and call for a blank form upon which to make the written report required by the law. If he is unable to attend to this himself, it should be done by some one else in his behalf. This report should be made for every injury, however slight. The various re- port forms will be furnished from the office of the Collaborator (The State Forester, Chapel Hill, N. C.) as required. “The benefits of the Federal Compensation Act extend only to persons on the pay rolls of the United States and do not apply to State employees even if engaged in similar employment under the direction of this office.’’ Appointment of Federal Patrolmen: The letter from the State Forester appointing a Federal patrolman endeavors to specify clearly what is expected of him as a Federal officer. It usually follows the form here given : Dear Mr : (1) Under the authority delegated to me in the Agreement for the Protection from Fire of the Forested Watersheds of Navigable Streams between the North Carolina Geological Board and the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, signed March 11, 1916, I hereby appoint you a Federal patrolman, to act in that capacity in North Carolina as long as this appointment shall last. (2) You will be paid at the rate of per by the Federal Govern- ment from the time your appointment commences until it terminates. Upon submis- sion of your last time report for each calendar month, the pay roll, with your name upon it, will be forwarded by me to the Washington office, and you will receive your salary check direct. (3) Your appointment will begin and will continue without interruption until, in my opinion, the forest fire season is over. (4) Your headquarters will, until further notice, be at (5) Your district comprises (describing district). (6) Your patrol routes must be arranged by you in order to best cover the district under your charge. While having some definite patrol routes, it will be best to vary them from day to day. You are expected to keep a horse and ride him regularly. (7) When you discover a small fire burning, it is your duty to extinguish it; try to get neighboring residents to extinguish larger fires. Your own judgment will determine whether or not it is practicable to extinguish the fires found burning. It is important, however, to build up in different communities a spirit which in the future will lead to the extinguishing of all fires by local residents. Once there is a sentiment against fires, fewer fires will occur and persons will more readily extinguish those which do occur. (8) Lumbering operations and portable sawmills within your district must be visited frequently and the owners and operatives warned to be careful. A copy of the State law should be in the hands of every sawmill man. Farmers clearing land and likely to be burning brush should be visited and warned to burn only in strict accordance with the law. Fishermen, hunters, and campers must be interviewed and made to understand why it is to their advantage to prevent fires. (This paragraph usually enumerates the different important fire risks in the district. These usually include railroads, logging operations, and other activities in the woods, such as tie-cutting, tar-making, or charcoal burning.) Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina 49 (9) During the time when patrol is not necessary, that is, immediately after rains or during wet spells, you should either (a) busy yourself with the construction of im- provements which will make protection more complete, such as extending or repairing telephone lines or making or improving trails, or constructing fire lines, (&) take the opportunity of visiting remote or outlying districts and posting notices and inter- viewing residents there. (10) You may later be appointed a State Township Forest Warden, under the State law, with authority to enforce the State laws. Special instructions would then be sent you with your appointment, and you would be furnished with a badge which you would be expected to wear when on duty. (11) (This paragraph usually enumerates the different persons, corporations or associations with which cooperation should be carried on or encouraged, such, for in- stance, as the forest protective associations, railroad companies, city waterworks, lum- ber companies, farmers and other landowners.) (12) You are being supplied with fire notices printed by the State, which you can post in conspicuous places, wherever you think they will do good. A number of copies of the State Forestry Law are also being sent you; these are to be distributed to those who are interested, while the law should be explained to all. (13) Arrangements should be made with telephone companies for the immediate reporting of fires at special rates or free of charge. Private lines should be utilized and extended as much as possible. (14) In accordance with the instructions of the Postmaster General, all the rural mail carriers in your district are required to cooperate with you in reporting forest fires. You should at once get in touch with them, learn their routes, and arrange with them adequate methods for notifying you or the Forest Fire Foreman of your district of the occurrence of fires. (15) You will be expected to make the following reports to the State Forester: a. A time report, showing the amount of time each day you have wmrked, the kind of work done and the number of people interviewed, such as is called for on the form which is being furnished you. It is required that, in addition to this form, you keep a diary, showing, in more detail than is possible on the form, the work done, the places visited, the miles patrolled, the fire fighting done, the names and addresses of people interviewed, and any information about ownership of land in your district which will be of benefit to you in your work. Brief daily weather notes should also be included. From this diary the time report can be made out. &. As soon as possible after the occurrence of each fire in your district, certainly within ten days, an account of it must be sent to the State Forester on the form which is being supplied you for that purpose. Franked return envelopes will be supplied you for mailing the above reports. Please notify me at once that you have accepted this appointment. Very truly yours, J. S. Holmes, Collaborator, U. S. Forest Service ancl State Forester. Instructions for Federal Patrolmen: In addition to the letter of appointment some general instructions are sent out to tlie Federal patrolmen. The following, adapted from those sent out by the State Forester of Texas, have been sent out with appointments during the spring of 1918. General Instructions for Patrolmen “Conscientious performance of your duty is expected each day and all day work except on Sundays, when you are only expected to do absolutely necessary work. Not less than eight hours will be acceptable as a day’s work. You are employed on a monthly basis, and every working day must be properly accounted for. Flan to spend some Saturday afternoons in towns where you can meet large numbers of people from the surrounding country. During heavy rains, when it would be impracticable to ride long distances, endeavor to seek shelter at country stores, sawmills, schools, farms, or 4 50 Forest Fires in North Carolina in towns where you can meet people and discuss fire prevention work with them. Cover your district in a studied and systematic manner, aiming to reach as many people as possible. “Your work is to prevent forest fires. This may best be done by meeting citizens and residents, acquainting them with the importance of preventing fires, and urging them to cooperate with the Government and State to this end. You are expected to explain the causes of fires and the serious damage done by them to all persons who iseem ignorant of these matters, and to win their approval and support. There is no place in this fire protective work for ill-will, or lack of harmony, as a result of your dealing with people. You will find your chief usefulness as a patrolman to be in pointing out to people the importance of fire prevention and in convincing them of the soundness of your arguments. “Become thoroughly familiar with the literature on forest fires which is furnished to you. Make it a point to talk with as many persons as possible. When schools are in session you should seek an opportunity to explain these matters to the children and the teachers. “You will be supplied with fire literature for distribution and fire notices for posting in conspicuous places, such as postoffices, schools, country stores, lumber camps, com- missary stores, sawmills, camping places and cross roads. “You should secure a notebook in which to take notes during the day for your re- ports and to record other information of value concerning forest and fire conditions. The reports which you are to submit are intended to show the number of fires by area and causes, the area burned over, and the damage, not only for the fires you see, but also for all the fires which occur in your district. A record for each entire year is desired, and you should make this as complete as possible, both by observation and inquiry. Additional information of direct bearing upon the protective work, such as the distance traveled, number of persons interviewed, amount of literature distributed, number of fire notices posted, and other matters of interest should also be reported.” In addition to these instructions at the time of appointment, the State Forester endeavors to keep in close touch with the Federal patrolmen, both by correspondence and by inspection. Unfortunately, the amount of money available for this purpose is so small that the work has been seriously handicapped by lack of frequent inspec- tion. To make the fire protective system really effective there should be two or three district Forest Wardens in the different parts of the State, whose sole duty would be to organize, direct, and instruct the fire protective work of the State. FOEEST FEOTECTIYE ASSOCIATIONS As soon as the agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture providing for the employment of Federal patrolmen in North Carolina had been signed, steps were taken to secure the necessary cooperation with landowners through the organization of local associations. At a meeting held in Montreal, North Carolina, July 8, 1915, the proceedings of which are reported in Economic Paper No. 42, the Tryon Forestry Club, which had been organized a year or so previously, applied for the appointment of a patrolman to cooperate with them. At this meeting were also landowners of the Mount Mitchell region, and these later organized themselves into the Mount Mitchell Forest Protective Association. A third one, the Linville Forest Protective Association, was organized the following year. All three of these are still in existence and doing much good work. THE TRTON FORESTRY CLUB This club, which was organized in 1911, is composed of landowners of Tryon Township and others who are interested in fire prevention, most of whom live in the Forest Fires isr FTorth Carolina 51 village of Tryon. The present officers of the club are officially given as follows: W. T. Lindsey, President; G. H. Holmes, Vice-President; George B. Cobb, Secre- tary-Treasurer. The amount of land controlled by the members is comparatively small, but their interest and influence is great. Although the amount of money available has been comparatively insignificant, the results of cooperative fire preven- tion have been most satisfactory. John Eiis was appointed Federal Patrolman for the Tryon district in October, 1915. Among other things, the Federal Patrolman was instructed by the State Forester as follows : “You are expected to cooperate to the fullest extent with the Tryon Forestry Club. It is understood with them that actual fire fighting is to de done by foremen employed by them under your direction. You are to make all necessary preliminary arrange- ments with these foremen so that they would know how to proceed without your per- sonal supervision. It may be necessary for you to personally assist them in their fire fighting until they learn the best methods. It is definitely understood that the Tryon Forestry Club is to bear all expenses of fire fighting. Cooperation should also be arranged with the town of Tryon for the protection of its watersheds. You should en- deavor to cooperate, as fully as possible, with the employees of the Southern Railway operating within your district.” In tbe annual report of tbe Collaborator to tbe United States Forester for 1915 the following reference to the work in Tryon Township is made: “The Tryon Forestry Club appointed wardens throughout the township who promised to watch out for and assist in extinguishing forest fires free of cost. The club also did a considerable amount of propaganda work and induced the county commissioners to offer a reward of $50 for evidence to convict any one setting fire to the woods.” Again, in the Collaborator’s report for 1916, the work at Tryon is referred to as follows : “The cooperation with the Tryon Forestry Club was continued. The Federal patrol- man, John Riis, who was appointed in the fall of 1915, continued his work during the spring fire season and made an excellent record. His district comprised the town- ship of Tryon, containing approximately 40,000 acres. Eight fires, burning over a total of 212 acres, occurred in the spring, causing a total reported damage of $230. Four of these were caused by the railroad, one from smoking, one by a sawmill, one from a burning building, and one unknown. The Tryon Forestry Club has fourteen voluntary fire wardens scattered over the district, who are pledged to fight fires and secure assistance when notified by the Federal patrolman. The people of the town- ship have been interested and active in supporting the work, and the results have been very encouraging. Little financial support, however, has been offered, owing to the small amounts of land owned by members of the Tryon Forestry Club and the apparent impossibility of collcting assessments or greatly extending the membership.” Again, in bis report for 1917, tbe following reference is made: “The Tryon Forestry Club, although small in numbers and comparatively insignifi- cant as to land owned by the club members, did good work. The originator of several incendiary fires was arrested and prosecuted, resulting in his leaving the State. A special subscription was taken up for fire fighting most of which was expended; and although more fires occurred during the spring than usual, they were kept down to a low average area. The club reorganized and changed its management, which resulted in closer and more effective cooperation. A Federal patrolman covered the district both spring and fall.” 52 Forest Fires in North Carolina Reports of forest fires from tlie Federal patrolmen in this township for the past three years show the following results: Table 17.— FOREST FIRES IN TRYON DISTRICT SINCE FEDERAL PATROL BEGAN Date Area of Fire — Acres Total Damage Cost of Extin- guishing Cause of Fire 1916 5 s S 6.00 17 - l A 100 .50 17 20.50 Burning building. Railroad locomotive. 19 l 100.00 1.00 April 20 3 10.00 6.40 Railroad locomotive. 21 1 10.00 4.15 Unknown. 22 2 10.00 1.90 Railroad locomotive. 30.. 100 100.00 15.00 Unknown. Nov. 18 1-10 None .40 Smoking. 1917 April 1 25 500.00 10.00 Children. 7 2 None 1.40 Railroad locomotive. 12.. 10 14.00 4.25 Unknown. 16 7 7.00 4.85 Railroad locomotive. 20. 33 300.00 15 .85 Burning brush. 20... 1-10 5.00 .30 Railroad locomotive. 20 1 6.00 1.20 Railroad locomotive. May 11 Vi 12.00 .20 Incendiary. 14 1 25.00 1.60 Incendiary. 14. 1 20.00 10.00 Incendiary. 19 25 625.00 7.20 Railroad locomotive. 22. 1 20.00 .30 Railroad locomotive. Nov. 7. *150 36.35 a 1 None .90 Railroad locomotive. Totals 470 1,764.00 150.25 *This fire burned over many thousand acres in North and South Carolina. One hundred and fifty acres burned in Tryon District. No estimate made of damage, but very serious in this district. The above statement covers a period of two and one-half years, there having been no fires in the Tryon district during the fall season of 1915. When it is considered that this district five years ago was one of the worst for fires in the State, some idea can be gathered of the value of patrol work. The average fire in this district burned over about 20 acres, whereas the average fire in the mountain region as a whole, covering approximately the same period, was 226 acres. Again, the average area per township reporting annually burned over in the mountain counties during the past three years was 753 acres, whereas the average area annually burned over in the Tryon district was 188 acres. Again, the average damage caused by each fire in the entire mountain region during the past three years has been $555, whereas the average damage per fire in the Tryon district was $76.70. In other words, a saving of $478 per fire has been effected at an average cost of $6 per fire for extinguishing it, plus $25 per fire for patrol. Report on Operations of Tryon Forestry Club for Year 1917 : In February, 1917, a meeting of the club was held, with the object of planning for operations for the current year. The question of dues was brought up and discussed, as dues had not been collected regularly in the past. Y arious suggestions Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina 53 were made, but no decision arrived at, and the meeting adjourned after Captain Bernard Sharp had undertaken to collect some funds for fire-fighting purposes. Captain Sharp succeeded in collecting a fund which is shown in the statement herewith submitted. During April and May a number of fires occurred, which were, in almost every case, extinguished by our fire fighters before they had done much damage. Quite a few fires were started by locomotives on the railway. In these cases the section- hands on the railway helped to extinguish the fire, if they were near enough to be communicated with. The fall danger season was short, owing to snow early in December. In the early part of November some bad fires occurred, one especially, starting at such a distance from Tryon that it had gotten too large to control before it was visible from this patrol district. By the efforts of our fire fighters it was held back and prevented from doing much damage in our district. The educational work being done by the State Forestry Department in coopera- tion with the Tryon Forestry Club is having a very beneficial effect in creating a sentiment among the mountain people against the setting out of fires. Financial Statement : No complete financial statement was received from the Tryon Forestry Club until quite recently, and this only includes receipts and expenditures for the year 1917. A summary of this statement is herewith given. 1917. Disbursements. Receipts. Jan. 1. By amount on hand $ 10.84 Nov. 26. By town of Tryon, cost of protecting town watersheds. . 27.25 Dec. 31. By voluntary subscriptions 110.00 May 31. To labor and expenses, fire fighting $ 20.82 To employment of patrolman, 5 days 7.00 June 12. To back pay of patrolmen, additional time, 1916 25.00 Nov. 30. To labor and expenses, fire fighting 27.25 Dec. 31. To tools and livery expenses 2.80 Balance on band 65.22 Total $148.09 $148.09 No funds were collected as regular dues. MOUNT MITCHELL FOREST PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION With the assistance of Mr. L. L. Bishop, then supervisor of the Mount Mitchell National Forest, an association of a number of the large and smaller landowners of the Mount Mitchell region was formed in the fall of 1915. The proposed working outline of this association, as given in Economic Paper No. 42, pages 27 to 31, was followed as closely as possible in its organization, but this was subsequently consid- erably modified. At the present time a number of the landowners included in the preliminary arrangements are now doing their own fire protection without paying dues to the association. The work, therefore, is rather loosely organized, although the association, still supported by several influential members, is doing good work. At the present time the board of directors is constituted as follows : F. A. Perley, 54: Forest Fires in Foetii Carolina Black Mountain, president ; A. R. Bauman, Montreat, secretary and manager ; J. P. Parker, Black Mountain, C. P. Kerlee, Black Mountain, and J. G. Stikeleather, Asheville. The annual fire report of the Collaborator to the United States Forester for 1915 states : “In the Mount Mitchell region several large landowners got together and formed the Mount Mitchell Forest Fire Protective Association. In all, $385.95 was contributed to the funds of this association, up to December 31. Disbursements for fire protection purposes amounted to $253.57, which leaves a balance of $132.38 to start the work in the spring. “In addition to the two patrolmen and the two foremen paid from the fund, two patrolmen paid by the Asheville City Waterworks cooperated with the association; and the employees of the Perley & Crockett Lumber Company, which operates within the protected area, assisted in fighting fires. “Two Federal patrolmen, appointed by the State Forester under the Weeks Law, cooperated with this association; one man’s district being in Buncombe County, the second one’s in Yancey County.’’ Reference to tbis Association in tbe report for 1916 is as follows: “The Mount Mitchell Forest Protective Association, which was organized in the fall of 1915, continued a somewhat precarious and disjointed existence. Several of the landowners who originally appeared much interested failed to pay any assessment, and little constructive work was done. A total of $240 was collected on assessments, and this, together with a balance on hand from the previous year, amounting to $132.38, gave a total working balance of $378.38. In spite of the very serious spring fire season, only $30 to $40 was spent, so that at present there is a balance on hand of some $340. Perley & Crockett, the largest contributors, have, besides the cash assessment, fur- nished some protection from their men operating along some thirty or more miles of logging railroad. Two Federal patrolmen cooperated with this association during the spring fire season. One, working along the railroad, reported some 84 fires during March, April, and May, none of which got beyond control. The other patrolmen re- ported 5 fires, covering 357 acres, and a total damage of $620. Partly owing to a mis- understanding as to what district the Federal patrolmen should he appointed for, no such patrolmen were appointed for the fall fire season.” Tbe substance of tbe reference to tbe work of tbis association in tbe Collaborator’s report for 1917 is as follows: “The Mount Mitchell Forest Protective Association has done some good work, although, greater interest on the part of the management would have resulted in increased benefits. No dues were paid by members, partly bcause requests for them were not sent out until late in the season. Fortunately, some $300 was left over from the previous year, and part of this was used for fire-fighting expenses. No regular patrolmen were em- ployed by the association, although railroad patrolmen employed by the Perley & Crockett Lumber Company were paid partly from association funds. One Federal patrolman cooperated in the Black Mountain region, both spring and fall, and an addi- tional one patrolled in the neighborhood of Mount Mitchell during the fall fire season.” Financial Statement : Tbe following financial statement of tbe association since its organization shows that private landowners in tbe mountains are willing to pay out money for fire prevention. Forest Fires in FTorth Carolina 55 Condensed Statement of Receipts and Disbursements of the Mount Mitchell Forest Protective Association for 1915-1917, Inclusive: 1915 Contributions from members For tools and tool boxes Salaries of patrolmen and foremen Balance Disbursements Receipts $ 385.95 $ 94.78 158.79 132.38 Total $ 385.95 $ 385.95 Balance on hand January 1 .... Contributions from members. . . For fire fighting For expenses of Secretary Balance on hand December 1 . . 1916 $ 31.08 17.49 323.81 $ 132.38 240.00 Total $ 372.38 $ 372.38 Balance on hand January 1 ... . Contributions from members. . . . For fire fighting For expenses of Secretary Balance on hand December 1 . . 1917 $140.15 2.51 192.15 $ 323.81 11.00 Total $ 334.81 $ 334.81 LINVILLE FOREST PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION The Linville Forest Protective Association was organized at a call meeting held at Linville, hi. C., February 25, 1916. This meeting was attended hy a number of representative landowners of the region, who showed their interest in the movement by coming out on one of the coldest and most stormy days in the year. The tenta- tive articles of association given below were adopted and the following board of directors elected: F. P. Howe, Johnson City, Tennessee, president; W. S. Whiting, Elizabethton, Tennessee, vice-president; J. P. Gibbs, Linville, N. C., secretary- treasurer; L. D. Ellis, Cranberry, FT. C., and E. G. Underdown, Blowing Pock, FT. C. List of Members: The following landowners and railroad companies subsequently signified their approval of the step by applying for membership and paying their dues : R. R. Name Boone Fork Lumber Company. Brown. P. Maclay Cone, Mrs. Moses H Cranberry Iron and Coal Company.... Daingerfield, Elliott East Tenn. and Western N. C. Railway Galloway-Pease Lumber Company Guy, E. C Hartley, J. L Highland Nursery Company Hughes, Edward W Linville Improvement Company Linville River Railroad Company MacRae, Hugh Sanford & Treadway Webb, N. F Postoffice Address Acreage Mileage Elizabethton, Tenn. 4,286 4 Crosnore, N. C 800 Blowing Rock, N. C. 3,700 Johnson City, Tenn. 3,700 Blowing Rock, N. C. 27 Johnson City, Tenn. 2% Saginaw, Michigan . 1.200 Newland, N. C 563 Linville, N. C 200 Pineola, N. C 100 Blowing Rock, N. C. Wilmington, N. C. . . 16,000 Johnson City, Tenn. 26 Wilmington, N. C. . . 195 Elizabethton, Tenn. 1,300 Pineola, N. C 190 56 I' orest Fires in North Carolina The first annual meeting of this association was held at Linville, October 3, 1916. Following the resignation of Mr. Howe as president, Mr. P. Maclaj Brown of Cros- nore was elected to this position. Mr. A. W. Wasey, manager of the Boone Fork Lumber Company, Shulls Mills, was elected vice-president in the place of Mr. Whit- ing, who had resigned. The other members of the board of directors were reelected. The articles of association, comprising the constitution and by-laws, which were prepared and submitted to the president the previous spring, were carefully dis- cussed, revised, and adopted. They were later sent out to all members of the asso- ciation as having been adopted by the association at large. As these may hereafter form a basis upon which to organize similar associations in other parts of the State, they are here given in full. ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION, CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS Article I Name: The name of this Association shall be The Linville Forest Protective Associa- tion. Object: And its object the preservation of the forests of Avery, Caldwell, Watauga, and adjoining counties in North Carolina from loss or damage by fire. Article II Place of Business Headquarters: The principal place of business of this association shall be Linville, Avery County, North Carolina. Article III Government Control: The affairs of this association shall be controlled by a board of directors, and five members shall constitute a full board. Article IY Membership Section 1. Any person, firm or corporation, who either as owner, agent, lessee, or in any other capacity is interested in the ownership or management of forest lands withiu the limits specified in Article I shall be eligible to membership in this association. Those executing this instrument on or before 191.., shall be considered charter members. Sec. 2. Any person, firm, or corporation, in addition to those executing this instru- ment, or any acting as agent for such person, firm, or corporation, desiring to become a member of this association, shall apply to the secretary in writing, which writing shall state the location and approximate forest acreage of such land and miles of rail- road or tramroad operated or under construction by him. Sec. 3. Applications for membership must be passed upon and the proposed members elected or rejected by the board of directors at their next meeting after receipt thereof, and it shall take a majority affirmative vote to elect to membership. Sec. 4. No person, firm, or corporation shall exercise the rights or be entitled to the privileges of membership until he, or it, shall have signed the roll and subscribed to these Articles of Association and By-Laws. Sec. 5. The interest of each member shall be equal to that of any other member, and no member can acquire an interest which will entitle him to a greater voice, authority, or interest than any other member. Sec. 6. Membership in the association may be terminated by formal withdrawal of the member, which shall be in writing, delivered to the secretary, by death or ex- pulsion, provided that termination of membership shall not relieve the member of the liabilities of the association then existing. Forest Fires in North Carolina 57 Sec. 7. A member may be expelled from the association for any of the following reasons: a. Failure to timely pay any assessment levied by the association. b. Failure by a member to observe and conform to the by-laws of this association. c. The board of directors shall have the power to expel members, but it shall take a majority vote of all directors to expel, and then only after due hearings and for cause. Sec. 8. When an individual, firm, or corporation ceases to be a member of the association for any cause, he shall receive no •remuneration for any interest he may claim in the property of the association. Membership in the association gives no interest in the property of the association, or in the land or timber holdings of any other member of the association. Sec. 9. Any person interested in forest protection in western North Carolina, even though owning no acres of woodland within the limits specified, nor being pecuniarily interested in any woodland, may become an honorary member of this association upon the majority vote of all members present at any regular meeting. Sec. 10. Dues for honorary membership shall be one dollar (ifl) per annum, but donations in excess of this amount may be contributed. Sec. 11. Honorary members may take part in all meetings, discussions, and other activities of the association, but their vote may be suspended on questions of policy and finance. Article V Assessment Section 1. The funds to defray the expenses of the association shall be raised by assessment of the members thereof, as shown by the roll of membership. Sec. 2. The board of directors shall have the power to levy and enforce the payment of assessments to defray the expenses and maintenance, and to promote the objects of the association. Sec. 3. The amount of assessments shall be determined by the board of directors, and shall be made uniform, based on the total acreage of lands of the members and upon the total mileage of railroad lines either operating or under construction, owned or operated by members. In no case shall an assessment exceed the sum of one-half of one cent per acre and $5 per mile of railroad, nor shall more than two such assess- ments be made during one calendar year; provided: That in cases of emergency seventy-five per cent of the membership may vote an additional necessary assessment. Each member shall be required to pay assessments on the basis of the numbers of acres and miles of railroad each controls, owns or is interested in. Members who own no land or lines of railroad shall not be required to pay an assessment of more than $1 per year, though contributions exceeding that amount may be accepted. Sec. 4. When assessment shall have been levied by the board of directors, notice thereof shall immediately be sent to the members of the association, and all such assess- ments must be paid within thirty days from notice thereof, and no additional assess- ments shall be called until at least thirty days after the previous assessment. Article VI Meetings Section 1. There shall be an annual meeting of the association, held at its piincipal place of business on the second Tuesday of August of each year, for the election of directors to manage the affairs of the association for the ensuing year and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before it. Sec. 2. Notice of the time and place of the annual meeting shall be sent at least ten days prior thereto by the secretary to each member to the address appearing on the records of the association as the postoffice address of such member, and such notice shall be sufficient. Sec. 3. Special meetings of the association may be called at any time by resolution of the board of directors, by the president, or by the secretary upon request of not less than four regular members. Seven members shall constitute a quorum for the trans- action of business. 58 Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina Sec. 4. The order of business at all meetings of the association and of the board of directors shall be, as far as practicable, as follows: a. Call to order b. Calling of roll c. Reading of minutes of previous meeting d. Approval of minutes of previous meeting e. Report of secretary-treasurer f. Report of manager g. Reports of committees h. Election of members i. Election of directors and officers j. Unfinished business k. Communications l. New business m. Adjournment. Sec. 5. The board of directors shall hold meetings on the second Tuesday of August of each year at the principal place of business of the association, and such other meet- ings as they may deem proper and wise. The president or a majority of the directors may at any time call a meeting of the board of directors. Article VII Board of Directors Section 1. The board of directors shall have power to fix the time and place of all regular (and special) meetings, to appoint committees, either from their own mem- bers or members from the association or their representatives, or in such cases as in their discretion seem advisable, to authorize the president to do so. Sec. 2. They shall have power to adopt and carry into effect such measures as they deem proper to promote the object of the association. Sec. 3. They shall have power to levy all assessments, based upon the acreage and railroad mileage of each member, compared with the whole acreage and mileage of the entire membership. Sec. 4. They shall have power to appoint and to fix the salaries of any and all agents or employees of the association, except such as are fixed by law; to authorize the pay- ment of all obligations incurred by the association; and to transact all other business of said association. Sec. 5. A majority of the members of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of general business, and the president shall be chairman of the board of directors. Sec. 6. The directors may elect members of the association to fill vacancies on the board caused by death, resignation, or other causes. Sec. 7. The directors shall have power to do all other business and transact all other business that may lawfully be done and transacted under the laws of North Carolina. Article VIII Officers Section 1. The officers of the association shall consist of a president, a vice-president, a secretary-treasurer, and a board of five directors, who shall be elected at the annual meeting of the association, and who, in all cases, shall be members of the association. Sec. 2. The president shall preside at all meetings and shall have general supervision of the affairs of the association. Sec. 3. The vice-president shall exercise all the functions of the president in the absence of the president. Sec. 4. The secretary-treasurer shall issue notices of all meetings of the association, either regular or special meetings of the board of directors; he shall sign with the president such instruments as require his signature and shall keep and issue lists of the members of the association; he shall collect assessments levied by the board of Forest Fires in Worth Carolina 59 directors, make out vouchers covering legitimate expenses of the association and attest them, shall make out reports, and shall perform such other duties as are incident to his office or are properly required of him by the board of directors. He shall receive all moneys belonging to the association, keep an accurate account of same and pay them out only upon a duly authorized voucher drawn by the secretary with the approval of the hoard of directors. At the end of his term of office he shall turn over to his duly elected successor all moneys in his hands belonging to the association. Article IX Term of Office The term of office of all officers of the association shall be one year from the second Tuesday in August of each year, or until their successors are duly elected and have qualified. Article X Amendments These articles may be amended at any annual meeting, or special meeting, of the mem- bers of the association by a majority vote of the members present, in person or by proxy, at such meeting; said amendment must, however, be submitted to the secretary in writing at least one month before said meeting, or in ample time for him to incorporate same in his notice or call for said meeting, which notice shall in all cases contain the full text of the proposed amendment. Tlie second annual meeting was unavoidably delayed and was not lield until Octo- ber 9, 1917. Delegates to tbis meeting came from Wilmington, Asheville, and other points. Great interest was shown in the work. An important change was made by electing a secretary separate from and in addition to the manager. The following board of directors was elected for the ensuing year, two of the officers having had to resign on account of the exigencies of war: E. C. Eobbins, Pineola, 1ST. C., president; T. W. Hampton, Shulls Mills, 1ST. C., vice-president; J. F. Gibbs, Linville, W. C., manager ; L. D. Ellis, Cranberry, W. C., and E. G. Underdown, Blowing Eock, W. C. George C. Love of Pineola, W. C., was elected secretary. The work of this association was referred to in the Collaborator’s report to the United States Forester for 1916 as follows: “In spite of the very limited assistance the State was able to contribute, owing to the lack of an appropriation, private cooperation was extended in 1916. The Linville Forest Protective Association was definitely organized in February, with headquarters at Lin- ville in Avery County. Landowners, extending from Blowing Rock on the Blue Ridge westerly almost to the Tennessee line and controlling an area of some 33.000 acres in Avery, Caldwell, and Watauga counties, agreed to some general articles of association, a copy of which is attached. The chief feature of these articles is the assessment, which is based not only upon the amount of land represented, but also upon the miles of railroad operated or under construction in the area. A preliminary assessment of half a cent an acre and $5 per mile for railroads was paid in by all members. A total of $330.68 was thus contributed to the fire protection fund of this organization. Owing possibly to a failure on the part of the management to grasp the necessity for vigorous action, few patrolmen were appointed and comparatively little of this sum was spent. Unfortunately, a considerable number of serious fires occurred both on and surrounding this area, which might at least in part have been prevented had more complete control been organized. Though a second assessment of the same size was expected before the fall fire season, it was not thought necessary to call for this, so that only the first assessment has been made. One Federal patrolman cooperated with this association, with his district at the extreme eastern end of the area. A second patrolman was offered to the association during the fall fire season, but the season was so short and light that this was not taken advantage of.” 60 Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina The report of the Collaborator for 1917 contains this reference: “The Linville Forest Protective Association, controlling some 33,000 acres in Avery, Caldwell, and Watauga counties, employed two patrolmen throughout the spring and fall fire seasons. In addition to these two men, some of the members employed their own patrolmen, who cooperated with those employed by the association. The members are thoroughly interested, and practically all of them have paid their dues to date; $316.91 semiannual dues having been received during the fall. No account, however, has been received of expenditures. One Federal patrolman cooperated with this association, both in the spring and fall, on the Blowing Rock end of the district. “No complete official statement has been submitted by the manager, so that only an incomplete one can be supplied. As all the subscriptions of this association have been made through the office of the State Geological and Economic Survey, the receipts, therefore, are known. A statement of expenditures has recently been submitted by the manager. Financial Statement : Linville Forest Protective Association 1916 Semi-annual dues from members Salaries of patrolmen, fall season Balance on hand December 31 Disbursements. Receipts. $ 330.68 $ 85.40 245.28 Total $ 330.68 $ 330.68 1917 Balance on hand January 1 $ 245.28 Semi-annual dues from members 315.91 Fire-fighting tools $ 82.59 Salaries of patrolmen, spring season 178.40 Fire fighting, spring season 27.00 Salaries of patrolmen, fall season 76.00 Postage 2.00 Balance on hand December 31, 1917 195.20 Total $ 561.19 $ 561.19 PROPOSED SMOKY MOUNTAINS PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION Several efforts have been made to enlist the interest of the large timberland owners of the Smoky Mountains region of the State in organized fire prevention, but so far no substantial results have been effected. A plan outlined and sub- mitted to these owners by mail was later advocated by the State Forester before many of them at the spring meeting of the Appalachian Logging Congress held in Asheville, FT. C., April 28-29, 1916. This plan differed from those of associations already established chiefly in the proposal to maintain several lookout stations on the higher peaks of the district. The plan as presented at this meeting was as follows : Object: The object of this association should be to protect from fires the lands of the members by the employment of patrolmen, lookouts, etc., and by cooperation with the State and Federal governments. Area: The area covered by this association would be bounded, roughly speaking, by the Tennessee State line on the north; Pigeon River on the east; the Murphy Branch of the Southern Railway on the south; and the Tennessee line and Hanging Dog Creek on the west. It would thus comprise approximately the northeastern part of Cherokee, the whole of Graham, the northern part of Swain, the northern portion of Jackson, and the northwestern part of Haywood counties. Forest Fires in jSTorth Carolina 61 Organization: The association should be regularly organized, all landowners and operators in the area being eligible for membership. The management of affairs should be in the hands of an executive committee and business transacted as in other organiza- tions. Management: The entire protective work should be under the management of one man, who should be employed by the association for this purpose. This man should have the energy, training and experience that would fit him for such work. He should be paid for part or all of his time according to the size of the association and the funds available. If any work ever required the close and undistracted attention of an expert, this does. The chief difficulty in starting small cooperative associations is in securing competent management for the limited compensation they are able to pay. It has been suggested that a good man could look after two contiguous associations; for instance, this and the Fisgah Association, should one be organized, or even this and the Mount Mitchell Association. This seems an excellent plan, and there is no apparent reason why it could not be worked out satisfactorily. Lookouts: The protective work of the association should be based upon a system of lookouts. These should be near enough together to be seen one from the other, and should be so placed as to command a view of the largest amount of territory. The final decision as to their locations should be left to the manager. All lookouts should be connected with the manager’s office by telephone. The following lookouts are sug- gested: (1) Teyahali Bald: This peak commands a view of the greater part of Graham County. It is within a mile or a mile and a half of the telephone from Andrews to Robbinsville. Two additional lookouts in Graham County would make protection much more effective. (2) Shuck Stack: This commands a view of the extreme western corner of Swain County and most of the northern part of Graham County. It is within a mile and a half of the Montvale Lumber Company’s camp. (3) High Rocks: From this station can be seen all of Hazel Creek and Forney Creek watersheds. It is within a short distance of the Norwood Lumber Company’s camp and of the Ritter Lumber Company’s operations. (4) Newton Bald: This peak commands a view of Deep Creek, Mingus Mill Creek, and the Oconalufty region. It is somewhat farther from telephone communication than the former lookouts, but to make it effective telephones should be built there. (5) Lufty Knob: From this Knob can be seen practically all of the Champion Lum- ber Company’s tract, and also the headwaters of Oconalufty. (6) Plott Balsam: In case the landowners in and around the Plott Balsam come into this arrangement, a lookout should be established on one of the highest and best placed of the peaks in this range. Telephone communication should be established with Balsam or some other station on the Southern Railway. Association Patrol: In addition to the lookouts, and to cooperate with them, it will probably be necessary for the association to employ patrolmen. The number of these and the location of their beats must be determined by the manager upon the ground. District Wardens: In order to complete the effectiveness of the lookout system there must be men appointed for the different districts who can be depended upon to summon assistance and extinguish fires when notified of them by the lookouts or patrolmen. These men should have access to the tools owned by the association or the tools of some lumber company; they should be paid a retaining fee of $5 a year for looking out for fires, posting notices, and making reports; they should also be paid for the services they actually render, at a price to be agreed upon between the wardens and the manager; they must know how to fight fire and to handle men. Tools: In addition to the tools which are, or should be, always available for fire fighting on lumbering operations, the association should own a number of sets of fire- fighting tools, which should be kept at effective points where district wardens or other fire fighters could have access to them. The best all-round tool for fire fighting in these mountains is a strong, short-tined potato fork, which can be used either as a rake or a mattock. Where there is no safe place to put the tools, an association tool box should be made and keys provided for those who use the tools. 62 F orest Fires in FTorth Carolina Estimate of Costs: The total area covered by the proposed association is approxi- mately 665,000 acres; the acreage necessary to make an effective system, to include all the owners so far approached on the matter, is 375,000; this latter figure has been made the basis of the following general estimate: Salary of manager, 1 year $1,200 Expenses of manager, 1 year 500 Five lookouts, 4 months @ $40 a month 800 Telephone construction and tolls 400 Tool boxes 250 Fire fighting 500 District wardens, 20 @ $5 100 $ 3,750 The Federal Government will probably employ two patrols or lookouts five months at $50 = $500. I see no reason why the Southern Railway should not assist by clearing their right of way from Hazelwood to Fontana, a distance of 62 miles, and by instructing their employees to cooperate closely with the association, as they are already doing near Tryon and Black Mountain. Conditions: It is proposed to assess all members at the flat rate of one cent per acre per year for their total holdings within the area. Where the operator does not own the land, a mutual agreement might be made between the landowner and the operator to pay half of the assessment each. At the same time operators should guarantee to pre- vent fires as far as possible, and to extinguish at their own expense all fires originating on their own operations. It is urged that operators either employ patrolmen to carefully police their own lines of railroad and their logging operations during dry and dangerous weather or else consent to an assessment, in addition to the acreage one, of $10 per mile for all rail- roads operating or under construction, as is done by the Linville Association. Only in some such way can the risks of operating landowners be equalized. This question of costs is of course a crucial one. If a landowner feels that he is now getting adequate protection for himself at a cost of one-half cent per acre, a scheme based upon one cent per acre would hardly appeal to him. Yet one can scarcely imagine how any operator in this State can feel secure from fire, or can afford to turn down any proposal, even though costing double what he has been paying, without very care- fully looking into the plans. The basis of one cent per acre is of necessity more or less experimental, because cost figures for protection in this State are not available, but it is based on the experience of similar associations in other parts of this country. (See Economic Paper. No. 42, pp. 10-14.) Advantages: 1. The proposed plan is not offered because it is cheaper than the present plan of each owner carrying out his own scheme of fire protection, but because it is more effec- tive. The object is to prevent, rather than to extinguish fires. 2. Nearly every man who has tried to protect his own land from fire finds that the fires most dreaded are those originating off his land, which have gathered strength and breadth by the time they reach his boundary. Cooperative protection eliminates most of these fires. 3. The Federal Government prefers to cooperate with an association, rather than with an individual owner; therefore, Federal patrolmen can more readily be appointed where such associations are in existence. 4. Prosecutions can be brought in the name of the association without endangering personal enmity. 5. The State Geological and Economic Survey can appoint a certain number of the responsible wardens, patrolmen, and lookouts employed by the association as State Forest Wardens, giving them authority to arrest without warrant, to summon help to fight fires, and furnish them with a badge of office according to law. Forest Fires 121 Xorth Carolina 63 When a State appropriation can he secured to carry out the provisions of the new Forestry Law, wardens paid by the State can be appointed to cooperate with this and other associations. A Private Lookout Station Established: In line with the above fire protective scheme, one of the largest owners and opera- tors of the Smoky Mountains region has now established a lookout for the benefit of its own property. On April 23, 1917, Mr. George L. Wood, general manager of the Montvale Lumber Company, wrote the State Forester in part as follows: “We have now completed the installation of telephone service to Little Shuck Stack Mountain, which point is located about one-half mile due east of Shuck Stack Moun- tain, and while this Little Shuck Stack Mountain may not show on your map, there are some maps on which it is shown, and it carries about the same relative height as does Shuck Stack Mountain, and Little Shuck Stack affords a most excellent view of our entire Eagle Creek holdings, together with much of the surrounding country. “We enclose herewith copy of instructions that we sent to our Superintendent at Fontana to be followed in maintaining the service of a lookout. “Most of our forest Are trouble on Eagle Creek has been due to fire approaching our property from the Twenty-mile side, and this is one of our strong reasons for selecting Little Shuck Stack as a lookout, so we can keep a general lookout over the west as well as discover any that originate on our Eagle Creek holdings. Just how far the adjoining timber holders will cooperate with us we do not know, but will try and write you further.” Letter of Instructions for Guidance of Lookout: Baltimore, Md., April 18, 1917. W. W. Pruett, Superintendent, Fontana, N. C. The following instructions shall be closely followed and rigidly enforced governing the operating and maintaining of the lookout station which has been established on Little Shuck Stack Mountain, which point is within the property lines of the Montvale Lumber Company, and which point has been selected for a lookout station because it affords an excellent and unobstructed view of the entire watershed of Eagle Creek and much of the surrounding country, from which point also can be plainly seen lands owned by many other timberland owners within a radius of many miles. Duties of Lootzout: а. The lookout shall arrive at the lookout station not later than 8 o’clock each and every morning and remain on constant duty until near sundown during dry weather during the spring and fall periods. (During damp and wet days the lookout shall not he required to report at the lookout station for duty.) б. Immediately upon arrival at the station he shall make a thorough view inspection of the entire watershed of Eagle Creek to detect and definitely locate any forest fire that may then be burning on the property of the Montvale Lumber Company. c. Immediately following the view inspection of Eagle Creek he shall then carefully look over the surrounding territory in every direction and definitely locate as nearly as possible any forest fire that may then be burning. d. Promptly upon completing the above observation under 5 and c, he shall call by phone the general officer of the Montvale Lumber Company, at Fontana, N. C., and report the results of his observation clearly and distinctly, and if any fire or fires have been noticed, to give location and size as correctly as possible, at which time the Fontana office will promptly detail sufficient men to extinguish it, if on the property of the Montvale Lumber Company. e. He shall remain constantly on duty throughout all dry days and report all forest fires to the Fontana office just as quickly as possible after location and size of fires have been determined. 64 Forest Fires in Forth Carolina /. In addition to reporting fires as they appear, he shall also call and report to the office by phone each hour, on the hour, stating whether any fires can be sighted and if everything is O. K. g. He shall be supplied with and keep a record book in the phone station box in which he will record daily (when on duty) the hour of his arrival, the location, size and time of all forest fires sighted and reported by him, and a report of weather con- ditions, direction of the wind and its estimated velocity, and the exact time of his departure from the lookout station for the night. PROPOSED EASTERN CAROLINA FOREST PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION Following the disastrous forest fires of 1916 in which millions of dollars worth of property was lost by the timberland owners of this State, the members of the Forth Carolina Pine Association, with headquarters at Forfolk, Ya., became aroused to the necessity of doing something definite to protect their timberlands from fire. The sub- ject was presented by the State Forester and by two or three Federal foresters at two successive monthly meetings of the association in the spring of 1917, and conferences were held by interested members to decide on the preliminary steps. The following outline which might form the basis of organization was submitted to a number of the more or less interested members of the association. Owing partly to the entrance of the United States into war and the consequent interruption of business, no further action has yet been taken. It is hoped that Eastern Forth Carolina may soon have one or more strong associations of this kind to assist the State and Fed- eral governments in protecting the valuable forests from fire. Suggestions for the Management of the Proposed Forest Protective Association in the Coastal Plain Region of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina: 1. That the proposed association be independent of the North Carolina Pine Associa- tion, and be formed under the laws of North Carolina, as practically all the land rep- resented by the possible members would be in North Carolina. The name “Eastern Carolina Forest Protective Association” has been suggested. 2. On the basis of one million acres, a minimum annual revenue of $10,000 would be received. Approximately $2,500 of this should be spent for the salary and field expenses of the manager, who should be a man of experience, tact, and enthusiasm, em- ployed on a good salary, and spending the larger part of his time in the field. His correspondence might be handled largely through a clerk who might, a part of the time, be otherwise employed by some member of the association. 3. The funds should be handled by a treasurer, who should be a well-known public man, so that all members and employees would have confidence in him. The clerk or the manager might,, with advantage, be in the office of the treasurer. 4. The sum of $1,000 should be reserved for contingencies. 5. The remaining $6,500 should be spent almost entirely for the employment of forest wardens, who should be paid for patrolling, educational work, fire fighting, etc., at the average of one hundred days a year, or approximately $250 each. This would pro- vide for 25 wardens to look after one million acres of forest land, giving each one an average of 40,000 acres. 6. These forest wardens should go on duty ten days or two weeks before the dangerous fire season commences each spring and fall. This part of their time should be de- voted to posting notices and to other publicity and educational work. 7. Fire-fighting expenses should be paid as soon as possible by the association, but these costs should be assessed by the association on the land benefitted, or on the parties responsible for the fire. 8. Local or district wardens who are employed for fire fighting only should not be paid, except for fire fighting, unless it were thought advisable to pay them a retain- Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina 65 ing fee of $5 or $10 each. These men would be at the call of the regular forest wardens, and should take charge of fire fighting and summon assistance in the absence of the forest wardens. 9. Forest wardens in North Carolina might be appointed State township wardens under the State Forestry law, provided acceptable men were employed. This would give them the backing of the State law and make their work effective. 10. All forest wardens and other employees of the association would be requested to fill out reports in regard to forest fires, etc., for the State Forester from time to time, as might be requested by him. j. s. Holmes, State Forester. CO-OPERATION WITH RAILROADS In Economic Paper FTo. 33, pages 48 to 52, published in 1913, reference is made to cooperation in fire protection furnished by railroads in other states. So far no very extensive cooperative arrangements have been entered into between the railroads operating in FTorth Carolina and the State Forester, and none can be expected until the State takes a more active and broadminded grasp of the situation. Several of the large railroads of the State have, however, taken decided steps to control fires along their own roads, and some of them have cooperated either directly with the Survey or through the Forest Protective Associations. SOUTHERN RAILWAY In response to a request by the State Forester for assistance in controlling fires along the line of the Southern Railway in Polk County where it penetrates the Tryon Forest Fire District, the following instructions were issued to train crews and track forces : BULLETIN Asheville, N. C., October 22, 1915. Engineers and Conductors: I have just been advised that the Tryon (N. C.) Forestry Club has secured the ap- pointment of a Federal patrolman for that community, which includes territory on both sides of our main track between Tuxedo and Landrum, and the patrolman, whose name is John Riis, will have headquarters at Tryon, North Carolina. I have been requested by the State Forester of North Carolina to cooperate with the patrolman in the way of reporting fires, either on or off of our right of way, in the territory above mentioned, and to the end that we may be of some assistance in the matter of preserving the forests. I am going to request that you report by tele- graph to our agent at Tryon, N. C., in each instance when fire is discovered by you in territory referred to, and the agent at Tryon, who will receive a copy of this bulletin, will arrange to extend notice to patrolman with as little delay as possible, using his station-hand to deliver such notice, provided there be no other means of reaching the patrolman. Please be governed accordingly. F. S. Collins, Superintendent. Post: Asheville — Old Yard office Asheville — New yard office Asheville — Roundhouse Hendersonville Saluda Hayne Biltmore. Cy Agent Tryon, N. C. Cy W. G. L. 5 66 Forest Fires in North Carolina The above is self-explanatory, and you will please arrange at once to instruct all of your track foremen in the territory referred to, that in addition to their lending assist- ance in extinguishing fires either on or off the right of way, that they will also promptly notify the patrolman through our agent at Tryon in each case of fire; it being understood that such foremen as do not work in and out of Tryon can get to some other telegraph office when telegraphic report is made. Cy A. S. G. as information. BULLETIN Asheville, N. C., March 13, 1916. Engineers and Conductors: Please refer to my bulletin of October 22, regarding appointment of Federal patrolman, to look after territory between Tuxedo and Landrum, with headquarters at Tryon, North Carolina. I have just been advised by State Forester Holmes that he has reappointed Mr. John Riis as Federal patrolman throughout the spring fire season, and requests that we cooperate with him in the way of reporting fires, either on or off the right of way in the territory mentioned, and in each instance when fire is discovered by you, you will promptly make a wire report to our agent at Tryon, N. C., who will convey the information to Mr. Riis. Please be governed accordingly. F. S. Collins, Superintendent. Post at: Asheville — “XO” Asheville — Roundhouse Biltmore Hendersonville Saluda Hayne. Cy Agent Tryon, N. C. Cy Roadmaster, Asheville. Please see mine of October 22, and renew your instructions to track forces in regard to the matter. This railway has, for several years, been cooperating with the National Forest Administration by cleaning up its right of way through the Mount Mitchell Na- tional Forest. In addition to this, the section crew at Black Mountain has cooperated with the Federal patrolman there in clearing the railroad right of way each year of inflam- mable material. OTHER RAILROAOS The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad, which only pene- trates this State for a few miles in Avery County, and the Linville River Railway, which runs from Cranberry in that county to Shulls Mills, are both cooperating heartily with the Linville Forest Protective Association, in which they are charter members. Besides paying their semi-annual dues at the rate of $5 per mile of track, they have employed patrolmen specially to watch out for fires. The latter railway has one or more men on speeders to follow trains along that part of their line where the risk is greatest during dry and dangerous weather. They have also assisted in cleaning up their right of way by cutting out and burning brush and cleaning up leaves. These measures are not entirely optional with the railroad, however, as long stretches of their right of way were granted free of charge, on condition that extraordinary precautions were taken and maintained to prevent fires. It is, in this case, as it should be in all cases, the main purpose of both land- owner and railroad to cooperate in the prevention of fires. Forest Feres in Worth Carolina 67 The Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway, which, lost so heavily by the fires of 1916, although it does not attempt to cooperate with the State in fire prevention, has been cleaning up part of its right of way in FTorth Carolina with the object of reducing the claims for fire damage. The general manager of this road, Mr. L. H. Phetteplace, writes on April 27, 1918 : “We have cleaned the right of way varying in width from 100 to 200 feet from the South Carolina line to Linville Falls, North Carolina, a distance of about sixty miles, with the result that we have had only three small fires this spring in this distance of sixty miles, the claims for which will not amount to more than $150. We expect to continue this work of cleaning our right of way, doing the work in such a manner that we will in the future be able to mow this right of way each year. In general, the instructions to roadmasters or section men are these: Our engineers or any of our trainmen noticing fires along the track are required to throw off to the first section men notice of such fires, and instructions in force to section men require that they go immediately to the scene of the fire and endeavor to put it out. They are also authorized to call upon any one that they may be able to secure to assist them.” Mr. J. D. Stack, general superintendent of the Norfolk Southern Railway Com- pany, in an interview published in the Raleigh News and Observer for April 22, 1916, says, in part : “The Norfolk Southern is ready to cooperate heartily in the work of putting out forest fires. I have on several occasions stopped trains on which I was riding and had the crew go to work to extinguish fires when I saw that there was any chance to succeed. Other representatives of the road have similar instructions. We feel that ■what is good for the country through which our lines run is good for the railroad, and then, of course, we are doing what we can to save our own property. “What is needed is the willingness of the people living in the sections subject to these fires to turn in when a fire has started and is still in its incipiency and put it out. Our people must not lose interest the moment they see their own property is safe; they must think of the other fellow and the common good. . . . “The Norfolk Southern has increased its pay rolls several thousand dollars the past year in making inspections of the netting of engines to guard against fires. We have records on file showing how thorough and extensive this inspection has been, these records indicating by whom inspected, when inspected, conditions of netting when inspected, and other details. Not only that, but officials of the road make surprise tests by opening the front ends of engines and inspecting nettings after employees who are charged with this duty have finished, the purpose of this being to ascertain if the inspectors have been careful in their investigation.” Throughout the State nearly all the railroads take precautionary measures, by cleaning up their rights of way, more or less thoroughly. They are beginning to find out the more thoroughly this is done the greater protection they secure. It is becoming apparent that whatever measures the State hereafter may take to prevent fires they will secure sympathetic consideration from the railroads in regard to any proposition for cooperation which the State may make. CO-OPERATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES Mail Carriers to Report Forest Fires: In July, 1915, soon after the approval of the Weeks Law agreement, the State Forester was notified by the U. S. Forest Service that the Postmaster General’s new order requiring rural and star route mail carriers to report forest fires to the properly designated forest officer would in the future apply to Worth Carolina. 68 Forest Fires in North Carolina This was made possible by tbe passage of tbe Forestry Law and tbe approval of tbe Weeks Law agreement between tbe State Geological Board and tbe Federal Govern- ment by means of wbicb actual forest fire protection might be started in North Carolina. Tbe Postmaster General’s order, dated Washington, D. C., July 12, 1915, reads as follows: The attention of postmasters and rural and star-route carriers is directed to the following order: ORDER No. 9006. The following instructions are promulgated for the guidance of the postal employees concerned : In accordance with the request of the Secretary of Agriculture, this Department has arranged a plan of cooperation with the State and National Forest officers whereby rural and star-route carriers shall report forest fires discovered by them along their routes to persons designated by the State and National authorities to receive such intelligence. Cooperation with State officers will be given in all states which have established by law a system of forest fire protection. Cooperation will be furnished National Forest officers in all States containing National Forests. The State and National authorities will inform postmasters as to whom the discovery of fires should be reported, and each rural carrier should be directed to cooperate to the fullest extent with such authorities in the manner agreed upon, namely, that the carrier shall report a fire to the nearest State fire warden or National Forest officer on his route, or, if no such warden or officer lives on the route, to arrange through some responsible citizen to have him notified, by telephone if possible. Star-route contrac- tors and carriers are included in the plan of cooperation and should be requested to report the discovery of fires in the same manner as will be done by the rural carriers. Postmasters in or near National Forests are also directed to report fires to the nearest forest officer. (Signed) A. S. Burleson, Postmaster General. This order was printed in tbe August supplement of tbe Official Postal Guide of that year. It has since been in application in all parts of tbe State where organized fire protection has been in effect, that is, where there have been proper officials to whom reports of fires could be made. In appointing Federal patrolmen and State wardens they are always instructed to keep in touch with mail carriers and to arrange for tbe quick and effective reporting of fires. Posting Notices in Postoffices : In September, 1915, tbe Postmaster General acceded to tbe request of tbe United States Forest Service that postmasters be allowed and instructed to post at least one fire warning notice in tbe lobby of the postoffice at tbe request of State or Federal Forest officers. At tbe same time be prescribed the proper method of securing tbe cooperation of local postmasters for this service. Should Federal patrolmen or State Forest Wardens at any time meet with difficulty in securing such cooperation with postmasters, they are advised to take the matter up with tbe State Forester. STATE LEGISLATION NEEDED The Forestry Bill of 1915, as introduced into the General Assembly, called for an appropriation of $20,000 for carrying out the provisions of the act. This appro- priation, however, was cut out in committee and the bill was passed without it. At the urgent request of the North Carolina Forestry Association and of the North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey, an appropriation bill asking for the same amount was introduced into the Legislature of 1917. This bill obtained the support of most of the strongest men in the Legislature and would have been passed, after having the amount of the appropriation reduced from $20,000 to $5,000, had it not been for the fatal delay in reporting the measure to the House. The following bill, which embodies the essential features of the previous proposed measure, is here suggested, and its passage respectfully urged : A Bill to be Entitled Ak Act to Provide for Carrying Out the Provisions of the Forest Fire Law The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: Section 1. That in order to enable the Geological Hoard to carry out effectively the provisions of chapter two hundred and forty-three of the Public Laws of nineteen hun- dred and fifteen, relative to the forests of the State of North Carolina, and their protec- tion from fire; and to enable the Geological Board to cooperate with the Federal Gov- ernment in the protection of forests from fire, as authorized under the Weeks Act; there is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of ten thousand dollars annually, or as much thereof as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act, as directed by the Geological Board. Sec. 2. This act shall be in force from and after its ratification. SOME REASONS FOR DEMANDING A FORESTRY APPROPRIATION 1. From 1909-1917, inclusive, the average annual damage from forest fires in North Carolina was more than $950,000, while during the spring of 1916 alone the damage amounted to nearly $3,000,000. 2. Ninety-eight per cent of our fires are caused by human agency, and so are preventable. 3. The Forest Fire Law (chapter 243, Public Laws of 1915) is drafted along lines which have proved most effective in other states, and has been heartily ap- proved by the United States Forest Service. The Chief of Cooperation in the Forest Service speaks of it as “A Forest Fire Law by means of which, if funds had been made available, one of the best protective systems in the United States could have been established.” 4. Under this law forest wardens may be appointed when necessary in each township and district ; fire patrols may he employed during danger periods ; assist- ance may he summoned for fighting fires ; and provision for compensation is made. 5. The administration of this law is put in the hands of the State Geological Board, which has available the necessary knowledge and experience for properly enforcing it. 70 Forest Fires in North Carolina 6. Without any special appropriation the State Geological and Economic Survey has expended as large a share as possible of its regular appropriation for the enforce- ment of this law. Posters have been printed and distributed, landowners have been organized into fire protective associations, and private subscriptions have been received and disbursed for fire protection. 7. The Federal Government, under the Weeks Law, has cooperated by providing as much as $1,000 and not more than $2,000 a year for the payment of patrolmen. These have so far been appointed in the western part of the State so that the head- waters of streams would be protected, and because more active cooperation has been secured there. 8. If an appropriation can he secured from the Legislature, we have been prom- ised a large increase in the apportionment from the Federal Government. At least $4,000 might be expected from this source, and possibly $7,000 or $8,000. Unless, however, the State can provide funds for fire protection, we cannot expect any in- crease in Federal funds. 9. Only first-class men, respected in their community and familiar with their district, would be employed, the object being not only to extinguish fires but to secure the hearty cooperation of the local residents in fire prevention. Public opinion, as represented by interested organizations and the leading news- papers of the State, was strongly in favor of this measure in 1917. It will, no doubt, he found almost unanimously behind this necessary appropriation for the prevention of forest fires in 1919. ACTION URGED BY ORGANIZATIONS The Appalachian Logging Congress which met in Asheville, April 28-29, 1916, passed the following resolution : “That this Congress goes on record as heartily in favor of and willing to support the Federal and State governments in fire protective policies, especially urging upon its members hearty cooperation with the State Forester of North Carolina.” The Linville Forest Protective Association at its annual meeting at Linville, Octo- ber 3, 1916, unanimously adopted the following resolutions : “Whereas the Linville Forest Protective Association has been organized for the pur- pose of protecting the lands of its members from fire; and “Whereas our own experience as members of this association, as well as that of others engaged in similar work, has convinced us that all forces must cooperate to the fullest extent to make fire prevention effective; and “Whereas the Federal Government not only adequately patrols its own lands which border those covered by this association, but under the Weeks Law offers to assist in fire protection in proportion to the work along this line done by the State; therefore, be it “Resolved, That the General Assembly of North Carolina soon to be elected be hereby respectfully requested to provide an adequate appropriation for carrying out the provisions of the new State Forest Fire Law, thereby enabling the State to meet the requirements of the Weeks Law so that greatly increased financial assistance may be secured from the Federal Government.” Later the manager of this association, Mr. J. F. Gibbs, wrote to his representative at Raleigh urging an appropriation. He concluded his letter as follows : “With the Federal Government cooperating in this work and the citizens of some sections actively engaged, is it not the duty of the State through its Legislature to pro- vide means with which to cooperate in protecting its forest resources from which it Forest Fires in FTorth Carolina 71 derives revenue? I hope your honorable Assembly will give this matter the attention that its importance requires.” The Southern Forestry Congress which met in Asheville, July 11-15, 1916, among a number of resolutions dealing with different phases of forestry, indorsed the following : “Whereas progress in State Forestry requires not only an effective nonpolitical organi- zation at its head, but also sufficient funds to carry on the important work of popular education in forestry, establishment of organized fire protection, assistance to wood- land owners in the management of their property, checking erosion, and supervision of such State forests as may be established; and “Whereas many Southern states which have already made an excellent beginning by the establishment of forestry departments are as yet without adequate financial support; therefore, be it “ Resolved , That the Southern Forestry Congress urges upon the legislatures of the respective states a more liberal policy in providing funds for the conduct of forestry work, and in passing such additional legislation as may be necessary "to make this work effective in practice.” The North Carolina Press Association at its annual meeting in Durham, July, 1916, drew up and adopted a resolution calling upon the General Assembly to enact a practical and an intelligent Forestry Law, which should contain provisions for the appointment of Forest Fire Wardens in each county of the State, with proper compensation, etc. The passage of such a measure, the editor of the Southern Lumber Journal of Wilmington, 1ST. C., contends, would mean a saving of thousands and of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to the Southern states and lengthen the life of our timber resources many years. The North Carolina Forestry Association at its annual meeting in Raleigh, Janu- ary 25, 1917, urged an appropriation for forestry in the following resolution : “Resolved, That the North Carolina Forestry Association urges the members of the General Assembly to support the bill now pending before that body making an appro- priation to the Geological Board for carrying out the provisions of the Forest Fire Law, for making experimental forests, and for other forestry work authorized by law. “ Resolved further, that this association, appreciating the work that the North Caro- lina Geological and Economic Survey has done and is now doing in the interest of the preservation and conservation of our forests, pledges its .support to the further efforts of this department.” CONSTRUCTIVE LEGISLATION DEMANDED BY THE STATE PRESS CARE OF OUR FORESTS , . . The case is a very simple one. We have the laws. We should have the money needed to establish the enforcement of these laws. The Forestry Association will ask this of the Legislature next winter, and that body surely will be moved to put life into the laws. The statute as it stands has a good moral effect; other than that it is useless. We are not advised as to the amount of the appropriation the Forestry Association will ask, but it will not be one of a formidable character. We feel sure of one thing, however, in knowledge of the extent of the yearly devastation of woods by fires, that the sum agreed upon will be well within the bounds of the necessities of the cause . — Charlotte Observer, November 22, 1916. WHEREIN MILLIONS ARE INVOLVED The North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey presented convincing facts and figures, five years ago, showing that the application of proved principles and practices 72 Forest Fires in North Carolina of fire protection and reforestation in Western North Carolina would insure the per- manence of supplies for the pulp, acid, and hardwood industries of that region, and permit of their substantial increase within a few years. Millions are involved. Nothing was done about it; that is, nothing beyond a rhetorical addition to the statute books. Nothing more was done about it by the people directly concerned, or by the Legislature; but it must be added that in cooperation with the United States Govern- ment the Survey has lately diverted money from its general fund— money badly needed for other purposes — to some work in this direction. Will anything be done about it, we wonder? It means millions of dollars worth of resources saved, therefore, millions made.— Greensboro Daily News, Nov. 25, 1916. FOREST FIRES Something has been done towards forest preservation, both from the hungry flames and the still hungrier lumberman, but little more than a mere start has been made. This conservation work is worth spending much more money on than has yet been appropriated for it. — Gastonia Gazette, May, 1916. THE FOREST FIRES The experiences of the present spring ought to give the people of North Carolina a better appreciation of the forestry laws and the necessity for their observance. It is scarcely less important for the people of the State to fight fires in the woods than it is to fight fires in the towns. — Charlotte Observer, April 25, 1916. THE MENACE OF FOREST FIRES In nearly every state now the law prescribes fine or imprisonment for carelessly start- ing or causing a forest fire. Let these laws be enforced. Every farmer should help indict the guilty, and, when on juries, help convict them. — Progressiv Farmer, Novem- ber 25, 1916. PROTECTION FOR FORESTS If the Forest Law now on the statute books will in the judgment of the legislators afford any protection by being carried out, it would be wise to make an appropriation to that end. If it does not appear to be a good and sufficient one, let the Legislature pass a law that will do the work. Ten thousand dollars is a small amount to appropriate for protection from forest fires, especially when it is remembered that at least that amount has been lost in Cumberland County alone this spring. — Fayetteville Observer, May 10, 1916. THE RAVAGE OF THE WOODS The experiences of North Carolina this spring with the ravaging forest fires ought to inspire a stricter observance of the laws for the protection of the forests, bringing the people into a greater realization of their importance. — Charlotte Observer, May 11, 1916. RAVAGE OF THE FORESTS . . . The least the Legislature can do is to provide an appropriation that will give the work of forestry protection a start. The building up of a protective system cannot be done in a year, but it can be initiated at the coming session of the General Assembly. — Charlotte Observer, December 8, 1916. A LITTLE MONET BALKING The State is provided with an excellent set of forestry laws, but there is no money back of these laws, and they might as well not be on the statute books. If the money asked for is made available, we feel quite sure that it would be repaid a hundredfold Forest Fires in North Carolina 73 to the State in the shape of forests protected from destruction. — Charlotte Observer, February 20, 1917. AN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY A bill has been introduced to complete the work of the 1915 Assembly by appropriating $20,000 annually for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the fire protection act. It is safe to assume that if the work had been done properly by the former Legislature the $40,000 that would have been expended would have yielded not less than 100 per cent. The total damage for one fiscal year ran well over half a million dollars. The opportunity was presented to the Geological and Economic Survey, if it had had means with which to work, for saving the cost of that means many times over. Is it, in fact, a good law, adequate to its purpose? The only way to find out is to give it a trial. The experience of other states indicates that this will be an invest- ment returning enormous profits to the State. Twenty thousand dollars is an incon- siderable sum compared to an average annual forest-fire loss running above $600,000. The Survey would have to cut the loss down only one-twelfth to prove the $20,000 a splendid investment. . . . If North Carolina were a private corporation, it would be expending millions upon the forests within its area. It would be setting aside entire stream basins in the Mountain and Piedmont sections for experimental schemes, to determine to what extent stream flow and other factors of agriculture may be controlled through conditions at the headwaters. It would be reforesting all untillable lands as rapidly as possible, and all timber areas would be so adequately guarded that fires would be practically un- known. — Greensboro Daily News, February 20, 1917. It is confidently lioped that an appropriation will be made by the Legislature of 1919 as a war measure. The reduction of available labor throughout the State which can be called upon to fight fires greatly increases the fire risks. It therefore seems essential that some definite steps be taken to meet this emergency, and such steps can only be taken after an appropriation has been provided. APPENDIX List of Counties and Townships in North Carolina, together with the Names and Postoffice Addresses of the Voluntary Township Forest- Fire Correspondents Reporting for the Year 1917 VOLUNTARY TOWNSHIP FOREST FIRE CORRESPONDENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA REPORTING FOR 1917 ALLEGHANY MOUNTAIN REGION BUNCOMBE— Continued Cherry Lane J. T. Miles Cherry Lane Ivy M. T. Arrowood Democrat G. W. Miles Miles J. O. Brigman Dillingham 0. 0. Smith Laurel Branch J. H. Woodward Democrat Cranberry J. M. Blevins Gray Leicester John A. Long Laurel Springs Limestone J. J. Miller Laurel Springs Lower Hominy Gap Civil Reems Creek Glade Creek A. 0. Carico Edmonds Sandy Mush A. L. Ingle Odessa Piney Creek C. L. Hash Piney Creek Swannanoa W. R. Alexander Swannanoa Prathers Creek N. C. Shepherd Scottville Upper Hominy J. C. Byrd Candler Whitehead Wiley Combs Whitehead J. C. Curtis Candler, R. 3 J. C. Waters Candler ASHE Chestnut Hill I. E. Gambill Crumpler BURKE J. F. Oliver Crumpler Icard G. L. Stine Hildebran Clifton J. C. Raland Clifton Jonas Ridge G. A. Loven Cold Spring Creston J. R. McMillan Creston F. W. Bicknell Linville Falls Grassy Creek Eli Francis Grassy Creek Linville J. K. Giles Fonta Flora Helton Charles F. Sexton Grassy Creek Lovelady P. A. Bollinger Horse Creek J. E. Caulter Connellys Springs J efferson Geo. F. Bare Wagoner D. W. Lowman Connellys Springs Laurel A. W. Long Grayson J. M. Abee Waldese W. E. Perry Grayson Lower Creek W. P. Corpening Worry North Fork L. J. Sturgill Parker J. V. Powell Morganton Obids J. C. Bowlin Glendale Springs Lower Fork D. H. Burgess Obids Morganton , No. 1 Old Fields Morganton, No. 2 Peak Creek G. B. Austin Laurel Springs Quaker Meadow W. L. Miller Laurel Springs Silver Creek A. H. Conley Morganton, R. I W. N. G. Wellborn Laurel Springs J. A. Wainwright Morganton, R. 1 E. B. Shepherd Flow Smoky Creek E. H. Tilley Morganton, R. 2 Pine Swamp Virgil L. Maretz Hopkins Upper Creek M. S. Arney Worry Piney Creek T. C. Berry Morganton Walnut Hill Upper Fork S. L. Denton Morganton, R. 4 AVERY Altamont W. C. Franklin Altamont CALDWELL Banners Elk T. L. Lowe Banners Elk Globe B. A. Crump Globe Beech Mountain L. W. McGuire Whaly James Moore Globe J. H. Walsh Dark Ridge J. R. Moore Globe Cranberry Hudson John A. Bush Linville J. h. Hartley Linville Johns River W. T. Mays Lenoir, R. 4 Roaring Creek R. T. Lewis Valley Geo. T. Perkins Adako Toe River J. Calvin Coffey Lenoir, R. 4 Wilson Creek Kings Creek G. M. Icenhour Grandin Pickens Barlow Kings Creek BUNCOMBE G. H. Carter Kings Creek Asheville J. M. English & Co. Asheville Lenoir W. C. Moore, Jr. Lenoir W. Haynes Asheville W. L. Swanson Lenoir, R. 3 Avery s Creek M. S. Glenn Arden G. A. Tuttle Lenoir, R. 5 Beaverdam Little River Fred M. Deal Lenoir, R. 2 Biltmore F. E. Story Lenoir Black Mountain W. H. Burnett Black Mountain Lovelady G. W. Sherrill Granite Falls Fairview Jason Ashworth Fairview Lower Creek Flat Creek North Catawba A. Canon Craig Lenoir, R. 3 French Broad G. H. Blankenship Alexander D. N. W. Smith Granite Falls Haw Creek J. A. Gwaltney Asheville Patterson Charles J. Dobbins Finley Hazel John R. Hagaman Patterson 78 Forest Fires in North Carolina CALDWELL— Continued Patterson T. S. Setser Patterson Wilsons Creek J. Roby Hayes Mortimer Yadkin Valley D. R. S. Frazier Kings Creek R. L. Miller Buffalo Cove CHEROKEE Beaverdam R. L. Hampton Unaka Hothouse A. Z. Roberts Grandview Murphy J. T. Hayes Tomatla T. C. McDonald Murphy Notla A. H. Davidson Letitia Shoal Creek B. L. Fox Ranger Valleytown S. H. Parker Marble R. A. Dewar Andrews CLAY Brasstown T. B. Hampton Brasstown Fred 0. Scroggs Brasstown George R. Sharp Brasstown Hayesville W. T. Bumgarner Hayesville Hiawassee J. A. Chambers Hayesville Ernest D.Penland Hayesville Shooting Creek N. N. Rogers Shooting Creek Tusquittee A. G. Moore Hayesville J. V. A. Moore Hayesville Ed. T. Shearer Hayesville GRAHAM Cheoah Stecoah E. H. Potter Topton Yellow Creek J. M. English HAYWOOD J. L. Green Fontana Beaverdam Cataloochee W. M . Sutton Cataloochee Cecil Clyde H. P. Ledbetter Canton, R. 2 Crabtree F. A. Justice Clyde, R. 1 A. J. McCracken Clyde, R. 1 J. L. Walker Clyde, R. 1 C. E. Williams Crabtree East Fork Gwyn Grill Cruso W. R. Grogen Cruso S. L. Grogen Springdale B. F. Sellers Cruso Fines Creek George A. Brown Crabtree Iron Duff T. N. Crawford Waynesville Ivy Hill J. S. Davis Waynesville, R. 2 Jonathan Creek Robert Harrell Waynesville E. J. Howell Waynesville, R. 2 Pigeon Wm. Ledbetter Canton, R. 2 Ira Mease Canton, R. 2 Waynesville W. W. Wilson Canton, R. 2 White Oak Zack Clark Teague HENDERSON Blue Ridge A. K. Hyder Saconon Clear Creek Crab Creek R. M. Pryor Hendersonville, R. Edneyville T. Q. Ledbetter Edneyville T. A. W. Lyda Edneyville HENDERSON— Continued Edneyville C. Oates Bear Wallow Lonnie R. Rhodes Hendersonville, Green River W. F. Pace Zirconia H endersonville A. Cannon Horse Shoe John Eubanks Hendersonville C. Whitaker Hendersonville, Hoopers Creek J. P. Fletcher Fletcher J. V. Russell Fletcher Mills River J. H. Murray Horse Shoe J. P. Whitaker Horse Shoe JACKSON Barkers Creek Canada S. M. Parker Tuckaseigee W. T. Rigdon Argura John H. Smith Wolf Mountain Caney Fork W. H. Hooper Cowarts G. F. Nicholson Cowarts Cashiers C. G. Rogers Cashiers T. R. Zachary Cashiers Cullowhee T. C. Ledbetter Cullowhee Dillsboro Greens Creek J. C. Reed Greens Creek H amburg D. P. Moss Glenville L. A. Wilson Big Ridge Mountain W. R. Stewart Erastus Qualla River P. N. Price Tuckaseigee Savannah Scotts Creek W. T. Derrick Balsam Sylva Webster Walter E. Moore Webster MACON Burningtown W. M. Edwards Franklin, R. 3 C. S. Ray Franklin Robert Ramsey Tellico Cowee John H. Dalton Iotla W. J. Jenkins Wests Mill Cartoogechaye Ellijay N. L. Jollay Cullasaja Flats R. H. Rogers Scaly- J. E. Vinson Scaly Franklin N. L. Barnard Franklin Highlands J. R. Phillips Short off J. Q. Pierce Highlands Barry C. Hawkins Highlands Millshoal Elias V. Ammons Franklin Nantahala Joseph W. Gregory Lookout Smith Bridge C. R. Cabe Otto Sugar Fork J. M. Keener Scroll MADISON No. 1 John S. Rice Walnut W. C. Sprinkle Marshall No. 8 No. S Thomas G. Murray Marshall, R. 3 No. i Levi Hamlin Buckner W. B. Holcomb Waverly- No. 5 Miss Flossie MurrayMars Bill No. 6 Wiley L. Carver Marshall No. 7 J ames J. Ledford Marshall, R. 5 R. F. Payne Marshall Wiley M. Roberts Marshall, R. 5 No. 8 No. 9 D. H. Gardner Paintrcck No. 10 Forest Fires in JSTorth Carolina 79 MADISON — Continued No. 11 E. E. Bryan Faust W. M. English Faust R. W. Rice No. 12 W. B. Randall Barnard Jacob R. Worley Worley No. 18 J. E. Gregory Joe W. A. Norris Joe T. H. Stormy Joe No. U J. F. Tilson Marshall, R. 2 No. 15 J. A. Ramsey Mars Hill No. 16 C. W. Cody Flag Pond, Tenn. McDOWELL Bracketts Broad River H. W. Miller Black Mountain W. L. Nanney Black Mountain C. M. Nanney Black Mountain Crooked Creek A. B. Burger Old Fort Dysartsville John B. Kirksey Dysartsville Robert F. Sisk Nebo, R. 1 Glenwood E. G. Goforth Neals ville Higgins L. A. Haney Nealsville Marion Peter Cannon Marion, R. 2 W. L. Ferguson Marion D. A. Snipes Garden City Mont fords Cove C. R. Wilkerson Nealsville, R. 1 Nebo North Cove J. B. Lorron Ashford Old Fort J. H. Young Old Fort MITCHELL Baker sville W. G. Bowman Bakersville Bradshaw Cane Creek T. A. Buchanan Hawk Fork Mountain D. M. Cook Bakersville, R. 1 Grassy Creek R. B. Harrison Spruce Pine J. M. Peterson Spruce Pine Harrell W. B. Honeycutt Magnetic City Isaac MeKiney Ewart Little Rock Creek Cain Freeman Glen Ayre Poplar Billie Peterson Poplar Hiram Tipton Poplar Red Hill S. H. Bryant Brummett J. W. Howell Green Mountain Snow Creek M. V. Buchanan Ledger, R. 1 POLK Columbus J. G. Hughes Columbus Cooper Gap W. W. Gibbs Mill Spring W. G. Hill Saconon Greens Creek W. M. Barnett Landrum, S.C., R.l Robert L. Camp Rutherfordton, R. 2 J. W. McFarland Rutherfordton, R. 1 Saluda Henry P. Corwith Saluda Thomas E. Pace Fish Top G. W. Pearson Rockliff Tryon James M. Butler Tryon, R. 1 D. E. Conner Tryon White Oak RUTHERFORD Camp Creek Chimney Rock J. M. Flack Chimney Rock Paul F. Searcy Uree, R. 1 M. A. Searcy Mill Springs, R. 2 J. C. Williams Uree, R. 1 RUTHERFORD-Continued Colfax Cool Springs S. A. Bridges Forest City Duncans Creek Lee W. Lynch Forest City Gilkey W. F. Doggett Gilkey Golden Valley J. D. Fincannon Gilkey Green Hill High Shoals R. Ledbetter Uree Logans Store J. B. Dill Bostic, R. 2 W. G. Grayson Bostic Morgan W. J. Hardin Rutherfordton, R. 3 Rutherfordton L. D. Hemphill Union Mills, R. 1 Sulphur Springs Lloyd Williams Harris U nion J. M. Owens Rutherfordton, R. 1 SURRY Bryan B. J. Snow State Road J. L. Thompson Devotion Dobson Eldora J. F. Nance Dobson Elkin Mrs. W. M. Cuncliff Elkin L. C. Park Elkin, R. 1 Franklin 1. F. Armfield Low Gap G. E. Isaacs Dobson, R. 1 J. M. Todd Low Gap Long Hill F. A. Ashburn Mount Airy P. W. Bryant Ararat S. M. Stone Mount Airy, R. 1 Marsh H. E. Beaman Rusk, R. 1 J. H. Poindexter Crutchfield T. A. Stanley Rusk Mount Airy J. R. McKinny Mount Airy J. A. Sparger Mount Airy Pilot D. J. Denny Pinnacle, R. 3 Job Hiatt Pilot Mountain R. H. Redman Pilot Mountain W. H. Reid Pilot Mountain Rockford J. G. Burrus Rockford Shoals M. F. Butner Pinnacle, R. 1 0. F. Hauser Shoals C. W. Key Pinnacle R. S. Scott Shoals Siloam R. N. Marion Siloam Stewarts Creek J. H. East Mount Airy, R. 3 I. W. Reece Mount Airy, R. 3 Westfield Thomas L. Brim Brim P. H. Jessup Brim H. E. Taylor Pilot Mountain, R.2 W. W. Wamburn Mount Airy, R. 1 SWAIN Charleston D. De Hart Bryson City Nantahala G. W. McCracken Bryson City Forneys Creek Ocona Lufty G. I. Calhoun Proctor TRANSYLVANIA Boyd John S. Boggs Brevard, R. 2 Brevard T. L. Gash Catheys Creek J. M. Zachary Calvert Harry C. Fenwick Selica Dunns Rock Estatoe G. W. Whitmore Brevard, R. 1 80 Forest Fires in K’orth Carolina TRANSYLVANIA— Continued WILKES — Continued Gloucester Jesse M. McCall Balsam Grove Lovelace Parks M. Reid Spurgeon J. W. Owen Lake Toxaway, R.l T. A. Triplett Hunting Creek Hogback T. C. McCall Quebec C. C. Wright Hunting Creek Little River A. J. Beddingfield Etowah, It. 1 R. V. Wright Hunting Creek Moravian Falls W. G. Meadows Moravian Falls WATAUGA Mulberry H. H. Jennings N. Wulkesboro, R. 1 Bald Mountain C. M. Blackburn Brookside New Castle G. W. Sale Ronda Beaver Dam S. C. Eggers Vilas C. M. Welborn New Castle Smith Hagaman Vilas North Wilkesboro Leonard Vyne North Wilkesboro Blowing Rock L. S. Bollinger Blowing Rock Reddies River O. L. Foster Congo R. K. Hartley Blowing Rock Rock Creek W. N. Alexander North Wilkesboro Blue Ridge A. B. Hays Hays Boone T. L. Critcher Bamboo Somers S. A. Mitchell New Castle W. D. Farthing Boone Stanton H. O. Parsons Purlear Cove Creek N. L. Mast Mast Traphill G. M. Brown Traphill Elk J. W. Hayes Triplet Union C. H. Colvard W T ilbar Laurel Creek D. C. Mast Sugar Grove W. H. Joines Wllbar Meat Camp W. W. Norris Sands David Roten Sherman North Fork J. M. May Trade, Tenn., R. 2 Walnut Grove W. L. Brewer Brewers J. 0. J. Potter Tamarack Wilkesboro H. H. Moorehouse Oakwoods F. M. Thomas Trade, Tenn. W. D. Woodruff Wilkesboro Shawneehaw YANCEY Stony Fork Burnesville J. M. Banks Anatone Watauga J. F. Church Shulls Mills Cane River Gus F. Hensley Bald Creek Z. P. King Wampler WILKES R. A. Radford Cane River Antioch Simon Curry Call W. J. W r aycaster Bald Creek L. M. Jarvis Roaring River Crabtree J. G. Marsh Bowditch Beaver Creek T. J. James Ferguson A. B. Silver Micaville V. McGlimnis Boomer N. N. Silver Micaville W. J. St. Clair Boomer, R. 2 Egypt D. M. Buck Bald Mountain Boomer John E. Phillips Boomer Green Mountain D. C. Renfro Toledo Brushy Mountain J . J. Hendren Gilreath Jacks Creek B. T. Horton Burnsville, R. F. D. Edwards C. F. Fields Elkin Carl Young Day Book P. A. Lomax Lomax Prices Creek P. S. Casida Burnsville E. W. Settle Benham J. D. Robinson Paint Gap Elk G. W. Welch Mount Zion W. B. W r ray Cane River Jobs Cabin J. W. Church Summit Pensacola Lewis Fork E. C. Foster Purlear Brush Creek W. G. Foster Champion Ramseytown J. A. Hannum Ramseytown B. C. Triplett Marley Ford South Toe C. R. Harrison Celo PIEDMONT REGION ALAMANCE Albright ALEXANDER Boone Station Ellendale Coble Green A. Nicholson Burlington, R. 1 Gwaltneys J. F. Homewood Burlington Little River Faucett Miller J. T. Hedrick Stony Point, R. 3 Graham Lewis H. Holt Graham Sharpes T. F. Murdock Hiddenite H. J. Stockard Graham A. A. Somers Stony Point J. M. McCracken Graham Sugar Loaf J. P. Russell Taylorsville Haw River Taylorsville I. A. Barnes Taylorsville Melville Morton J. T. Bowles Altamahaw, R. 2 Wittenburg L. D. Rippy Altamahaw ANSON Newlin R. F. Moore Saxapahaw Ansonville North Burlington Burnsville Patterson R. J. Thompson Rock Creek, R. 2 Gulledge R. Z. Hornaday Rock Creek, R. 2 Lanesboro Pleasant Grove S. E. Tate Mebane Lilesville W. B. Sellers Mebane, R. 3 Morven South Burlington Wadesboro Thompson H. G. Paris Graham, R. F. D. White Store W. M. Overman Graham, R. 2 H. M. Cates Graham, R. 2 Forest Fires in FTorth Carolina 81 CABARRUS No. 1 No. 2 No. S .C. H. Hamilton Davidson No. i F. W. Glass Glass No. 5 L. J. Sapp Concord, R. 3 No. 6 G. M. Cress Concord, R. 4 No. 7 J. W. Honeycutt Gold Hill, R. 3 C. L. Earnhardt Gold Hill No. 8 L. A. Lipe Mount Pleasant No. 9 D. Milas Coley Georgeville George C. Shinn Georgeville No. 10 No. 11 No. 12 John S. Turner Stanfield CASWELL Anderson Dan River D. G. Watkins Blanch Hightowers Leasburg Locust Hill J. L. Warren Hightowers Milton W. 0. Smith Milton, R. 1 Pelham J. A. Brackin Danville, Va., R. 5 T. J. Martin Pelham Stony Creek Yanceyville F. G. Harrelson Y ance yville J. W. Wiggins Yanceyville CATAWBA Bandy s William Hoyle Reepsville Caldwell T. L. Bandy Catawba Catawba A. L. Loftin Catawba Clines P. L. Smyre Claremont J. H. C. Huitt Catawba G. W. Winebarger Canover H ickory W. P. Bowman Hickory, 647 High- land Ave. A. K. Joy Hickory Jacobs Fork Mountain Creek E. M. Yoder Hickory Newton J. Y. Killian Newton CHATHAM Albright W. J. Thompson Siler City, R. 1 Baldwin C. A. Snipes Bynum, R. 1 G. G. Ward Bynum Bear Creek J. L. Glosson Bonlee Cape Fear Center James L. Griffin W. H. Hearne Pittsboro Gulf Hadley Haw River Rev. G. C. Phillips Bear Creek Hickory Mountain Matthews D. Talmage Siler Siler City, R. 2 New Hope Oakland Williams W. T. Hunt Apex CLEVELAND No. 1 No. 2 No. S E. B. Hamrick Boiling Springs No. 4 H. W. Gallinure Kings Mountain No. o S. C. Lattimore Shelby T. L. Hord Waco C. C. Bram Waco CLEVELAND— Continued No. 5 S. L. Dellinger Waco No. 6 Joe E. Blanton Shelby No. 7 No. 8 J. B. Lattimore Lattimore No. 9 J. W. Grigg Lawndale No. 10 J. M. Carpenter Belwood John T. Warlick Belw r ood, R. 1 No. 11 J. F. Logan Casar DAVIDSON Abbots Creek L. H. Bumgardner Casar Alleghany A. H. Michael Chandler F. M. Cook Newsom Arcadia C. W. Stokes Newsom Boone Conrad Hill Oscar F. Hughes Light Cotton Grove Emons 0. L. Stoner Southmont Hampton W. L. Davis Clemmons, R. 2 Healing Springs J. A. Kinney High Rock Jackson Hill D. G. Smith High Rock, R. 1 Lemelys J. A. Boyles Davidson Lexington H. L. Leonard Lexington Midway R. E. Lambeth Winston-Salem, R.5 Reedy Creek James Nifong Winston-Salem, R.4 Silver Hill C. A. Hedrick Lexington, R. 6 Thomasville J. E. Meredith Thomasville, R. 2 J. W. Bowers Thomasville, R. 1 Tyro C. L. Hedrick Davidson N. H. Swicegood Linwood, R. 1 H. H. Hartey Lexington, R. 5 Joe Sink Lexington, R. 5 F. F. Snyder Linwood, R. 1 Yadkin College Edward L. Greene Yadkin College DAVIE M. F. Phillips Yadkin College Calahaln J. M. Ratledge Calahaln J. H. Boyd Calahaln W. S. Belk Calahaln A. D. Ratledge Calahaln Jesse L. Cartner Mocksville, R. 1 Clarksville D. R. Eaton Cana Farmington M. J. Hendricks Cana Fulton George T. Tucker Advance, R. 2 J erusalem J. D. Goins Cooleemee Mocksville D. C. Foster Mocksville A. C. Kelly Mocksville Shady Grove A. C. Wood Advance DURHAM Carr Cedar Fork Durham J. W. Ferrell Durham, R. 2 Lebanon G. C. Stallings Durham, R. 6 Mangum Oak Grove W. J. Young Rougemont Patterson FORSYTH P. H. Massey Durham, R. 3 Abbots Creek E. L. Carter Kernersville Belews Creek A. W. Preston Belew Creek Bethania 6 Forest Fires in ITorth Carolina FORSYTH— Continued Broad Bay George W. Flynt Winston- Salem W. R. Rominger 107 Flat Rock St. Winston-Salem Clemmonsville C. H. Reed Winston-Salem, R., Kernersville D. W. Harnon Kernersville Lewisville E. B. Shouse Clemmons, R. 1 Middle Fork W. B. Cline Winston-Salem, R.: Old Richmond J. R. Wall Tobaccoville, R. 3 Old Town Salem Chapel 0. V. Pfoff Tobaccoville South Fork J. M. Jarvis Winston-Salem, R.l Vienna Winston West Salem C. F. Mieker Pfaffiown FRANKLIN Cedar Rock T. W. Stokes Louisburg, R. 4 Cypress Creek Dunns J. M. Sykes Mapleville Franklinton Gold Mine J. O. Green Franklinton Harris M. C. Wilder Louisburg Z. L. Cheaver Louisburg N. B. Young Louisburg, R. 1 Hayesville Kenneth Hawkins Kittrell Louisburg Sandy Creek Youngsville G. C. Parrish Gupton GASTON Cherryville J. Kine Bessemer City L. H. J. Houser Cherryville Crowders Mtn. John J. Ormand Bessemer City Dallas D. A. Medlin High Shoals J. A. Furday Dallas Gastonia L. E. Rankin Gastonia River Bend South Point GRANVILLE W. B. Rutledge Mount Holly Brassfield Dutchville Fishing Creek E. C. Harris Oak Hill J. S. Watkins Virgilina, Va, R. 2 Oxford C. H. Cheatham Oxford B. Z. Royster Oxford Sassafras Fork Salem C. C. Heggie Stovall Tally Ho E. N. Clement Oxford, R. 1 W. S. Gooch Stem Walnut Grove B. T. Dean Oxford, R. 4 GUILFORD Bruce J. B. Ogburn Summerfield C. H. Willson Summerfield Center Grove L. A. Walker Summerfield Clay Deep River W. D. Clayton Summerfield Fentress Friendship Gilmer J. M. Watlington Pleasant Garden Greene L. W. Causey Liberty W. M. Hanner Liberty GUILFORD— Continued High Point G. B. Yarbrough 102 Ennis Street, High Point J amestown E. S. Armfield Greensboro, R. 3 Jefferson H. L. Cannon Pleasant Garden Madison Monroe Morehead E. S. Holt McLeans ville Oak Ridge D. L. Donnell Oak Ridge Rock Creek W. R. Wood Gibsonville Summer A. 0. Newman Greensboro, R. 1 R. C. Short Greensboro, R. 1 Washington IREDELL Barringer Bethany W. T. Cummings Gibsonville Chambersburg Coddle Creek Concord J. T. Carter Cool Spring V. C. Montgomery Statesville, R. 7 Davidson H. L. Swann Statesville, R. 4 Eagle Mills P. B. Kennedy Houstonville A. F. Cook Harmony, R. 3 Fallistown J. H. Troutman Troutmans New Hope D. A. Warren New Hope Olin J. L. Reid New Hope Sharpsburg Shiloh Statesville Turnersburg W. B. McLelland Stony Point, R. 2 Union Grove J. W. Crater Olin LEE Cape Fear Deep River East Sanford Greenwood J. J. Edwards Lemon Springs Jonesboro Pocket J. H. Henley Sanford D. A. Cole Sanford, R. 1 John B. Cameron Sanford, R. 3 W. E. Paschal Sanford, R. 3 West Sanford W.S. Weatherspoon Sanford J. F. Jones Broadway LINCOLN Catawba Springs D. C. K. Wilkinson Iron Station Howards Creek T. A. Warlick Reeps ville R. B. Sullivan Hickory Charles Black Crouse W. C. Kiser Reepsville fronton J. E. Reinhardt Iron Station G. B. Goodson Lincolnton Lincolnton T. J. Ramsaur North Brook T. Pate Jenks Henry C. W. Beam Cherryville MECKLENBURG Berry hill R. C. Freeman Charlotte, R. 4 Charlotte J. A. Baldwin Charlotte J. Y. Orders Charlotte, R. 2 Clear Creek C. P. Munge Allen, R. 1 Crab Orchard W. M. Junker Allen Deweese J. L. Sloan Davidson Forest Fires in North Carolina 83 MECKLENBURG— Continued Deweese W. P. Sloan Huntersville M. W. Van Pelt J. L. Mayberry Lemleys M. M. Blythe Long Creek W. P. Craven W. M. Kearns Mallard Creek Morning Star Paw Creek H. Y. Galloway Pineville W. M. Garrison Providence Sharon W. T. Pharr A. B. Hood Steele Creek C. R. Choate John L. Millwee MOORE Ben Salem E. K. Sheffield J. M. Deaton Mcl. Kennedy Carthage Deep River J. S. Currie Greenwood H. P. McPherson M. D. McLean McNeills D. C. Lemon Mineral Springs Ritters J. T. SeaweU Sand Hills Bion H. Butler Sheffields D. H. Homer W. G. Carter MONTGOMERY Biscoe Sam T. Ewing Carl McGill N. C. McLeod J. M. Wright Cheeks Creek J. R. McKenzie D. J. Poole* Eldorado N. M. Thayer J. A. Kirk Little River W. A. Leach Mount Gilead John A. McAulay Ophir Pee Dee N. S. Hamilton Rocky Springs J. F. Whitlock M. A. Bennett Troy J. R. Wallace L. R. Lisk 0. B. Deaton Barna Allen Uwharrie Wadeville J. B. Henley ORANGE Bingham Cedar Grove T. J. Oldahm Chapel Hill J. M. Loyd M. Lindsay Cheeks James 0. Webb Eno Hillsboro Little River Robert M. Hill PERSON Allenville W. T. Whitt Bushy Fork A. M. Long R. S. Bayner Cunningham Davidson PERSON— Continued Flat River Huntersville Holloway Huntersville Huntersville, R. 22 Charlotte, R. 6 Mount Tirzah Huntersville, R.F.D. Olive Hill Derita, R. 11 Pineville Charlotte Roxboro Woodsdale RANDOLPH Asheboro Matthews, R. 17 Back Creek Charlotte, R. 3 Brower Pineville, R. 15 Cedar Grove Eagle Springs Spies, R. 2 Eagle Springs Colerdige Columbia Carthage Concord Cameron Franklinville Grant Cameron Southern Pines Level Cross Putnam Southern Pines Liberty New Hope Henry New Market Carters Mills Pleasant Grove Candor Providence Randleman Steeds Biscoe Richland Biscoe Pekin Tabernacle Pekin Trinity Eldorado Union Eldorado Martins Mill ROCKINGHAM Mount Gilead Huntsville Immer Leaksville Sulphur Springs Madison Jackson Springs Mayo Troy New Bethel Troy Price Troy Reidsville Troy Ruffin Wadeville Mebane, R. 2 Simpsonmlle Wentworth Williamsburg Hillsboro ROWAN Chapel Hill Atwell Efland Hillsboro Roxboro, R. 2 China Grove Cleveland Hurdle Mills Franklin Hurdle Mills, R. 2 Gold Hill J. C. Cates Timberlake G. E. W'oody Woodsdale J. B. Barrett Woodsdale, R. 2 S. P. Gentry Denniston.Ya., R. 1 T. C. Wagstaff Roxboro W. A. Winstead Roxboro, R. 3 J. W. Younger Roxboro J. S. Ridge Asheboro N. H. Ferguson Randleman M. F. Wrenn Steeds, R. 1 H, T. Bray Ramseur, R. 1 H. P. Moffitt Ramseur Robt. L. Caviness Coleridge John T. Turner Ramseur J. M. Yates Caraway J. V. Free Cedar Falls C. 0. Ingold Asheboro, R. 1 S. S. Cox Asheboro, R. F. D. W. B. Owen Liberty R. C. Palmer Liberty J. A. Wall Sophia J. A. Ward Cheeks N. T. Grcce Worthville 0. C. Marsh RandlemaD A. C. Lowdermilk Seagrove C. E. Stuart Seagrove W. H. Lawrence Caraway, R. 1 S. A. Cox Pisgah W. A. Presnell Seagrove J. M. Price Leaksville L. J. Shelton Spray T. L. Smith Stoneville W. G. Sharpe Wentworth, R. 1 T. J. Martin Pelham W. K. Gibbs Reidsville D. E. Purcell Wentworth James W. Moore Reidsville, R. 3 A. J. Whittemore George T. Davis Reidsville J. L. Fleming China Grove, R. 2 A. L. Deal Mooresville F. D . Patterson China Grove W. C. Goodman Cleveland A. Leroy Powlas Barber D. B. Rosebrough Cleveland E. B. Davis Cleveland J. Cicero Miller Salisbury, R. 1 J. A. Earnhardt Gold Hill G. H. Peeler Rockwell 84 Forest Fires in North Carolina ROWAN— Continued Lock Litaker Morgan G. M. Hoffman Gold Hill C. A. Campbell Gold Hill M. Earnhardt Gold Hill John W. Miller Richfield, R. 2 G. Allen Trexler Gold Hill Paul T. Goodman Gold Hill Mount Vila J. C. Sherrill Mount Ulla E. S. Miller Mount Ulla Providence R. M. Peeler Salisbury Salisbury A. L. Smoot Salisbury Steel J. S. Hall Barber Scotch-Irish Unity STANLY C. T. Beeker Mount Ulla Almond U. S. Burleyson Albemarle, R. 6 Big Lick Center R. H. Burleyson Albemarle Endy L. H. Bost Albemarle, R. 6 Furr A. F. Haigler Stanfield J. H. McClure Mount Pleasant Harris D. R. Parker Palmerville E. C. Bost New London North Albemarle E. A. Ridenhour Richfield Ridenhour R. L. Lipe Richfield, R. 1 South Albemarle J. J. Efird J. C. Parker Albemarle Tyson J. M. Reap Albemarle, R. 5 STOKES Beaver Island J. Wilson Mitchell Dillard Big Creek Joe Francis Francisco Danbury J. R. Forrest Francisco Meadows Samuel C. Hill Germanton Peters Creek I. G. Ross Walnut Cove Quaker Gap Sauratown Snow Creek J. R. East Yadkin D. V. Carroll Mizpah UNION Buford R. W. Elliott Monroe Goose Creek A. W. McManus Unionville, R. Jackson W. R. McNeely Waxhaw Wm. McWhorter Waxhaw, R. 5 Lanes Creek B. F. Parker Monroe Marshville T. C. Griffin Marshville Monroe New Salem F. W. Ashcraft Marshville Sandy Ridge J. N. Price Monroe, R. 5 Vance * VANCE Dabney J. T. Alderman Henderson Henderson VANCE — Continued Kittrell J. B. Allen Henderson, R. 4 Middleburg T. B. Porham Henderson, R. 3 Nutbush C. M. White Manson Sandy Creek E. T. Alston Henderson, R. 1 Townsville J. E. Kimball Watkins H. D. Floyd Henderson, R. 5 Williamsboro J. H. Rice Henderson, R. 7 WAKE Bartons Creek R. A. Bullock Henderson, R. 3 Buckhorn Cary A. C. Olive New Hill Cedar Fork Holly Springs House Creek Leesville Little River Marks Creek Middle Creek Neuse River J. D. Willson Neuse New Light J. B. Wiggins Neuse, R. 1 Panthers Branch Miss S. M. Adams Willow Springs Raleigh St. Marys St. Matthews Arch J. Woods Swift Creek Wake Forest T. A. Whitaker Raleigh White Oak Sexton Lawrence Apex, R. 3 WARREN Fishing Creek J. F. Hunter Areola 0. C. Davis Grove Hill Fork W. H. Pridgen Creek Hawtree J udkins J. D. Newell Macon Nutbush R. D. Paschall Ridgeway River A. L. Pope Vaughn Roanoke H. L. Wall Elams Sandy Creek S. J. Pritchard Henderson, R. 6 Shocco Six-pound J. B. Davis Alston Smith Creek J. F. P. Harton Norlina W. C. Mabry Ridgeway Warrenton G. E. White N orlina YADKIN Boonville A. S. Speer Boonville Buck Shoal E. G. Myers Buck Shoal G. T. White Buck Shoal Deep Creek J. W. McCoy Yadkinville East Bend W. Y. Wall East Bend Fall Creek E. B. Vestal Siloam J. R. Hall Siloam E. J. Vestal Yadkinville Forbush J. K. Gough East Bend Knobs John H. Eaton Yadkinville, R. 2 Liberty J. L. Crater Yadkinville Little Yadkin Will A. Jones Lewisville, R. 1 BEAUFORT Bath Chocowinity Long Acre Pantego Richland Washington BERTIE Colerain Indian Woods Merry Hill Mitchells Roxobel Snakebite Whites JT indsor Woodville BLADEN Abbotts Bethel Bladenboro Brown Marsh Carvers Creek Central Colly Cypress Creek Elizabethtown Frenchs Creek Hollow Lake Creek Turnbull White Oak White's Creek BRUNSWICK Northwest Lockwoods Folly Shallotte Smithville Town Creek Waccamaw CAMDEN Court House Shiloh South Mills CARTERET Beaufort Cedar Island Hunting Quarters Merrimon Forest Fires in North Carolina 85 COASTAL PLAIN REGION CARTERET— Continued G. H. Elliott Washington Morehead W. M. Kear Washington Newport Portsmouth Straits White Oak J. A. Hardy Aurora Smyrna H. E. Tripp, Jr. Blounts Creek CHOWAN No. 1 No. 2 M. B. Chappel Edenton E. D. Spruill Quitsna No. 3 No. 4 E. W. Welch Tyner T. A. Smithwick Merry Hill H. L. Early Aulander W. R. Brown Kelford COLUMBUS T. S. Norfleet Roxobel Bogue Geo. T. Parker Kelford Bolton M. D. Creech Bolton J. Rufus Cherry Windsor John Innes Bolton J. H. Lawrence Colerain, R. 3 Bug Hill G. L. Holmes Dotham H. J. Ward W. D. White Windsor, R. 3 Chadbourn J. H. Lay Pireway Fair Bluff Lees James A. Pierce Vineland N. M. Ward Nakina Ransom W. L. Hobbs New Berlin A. R. Edwards Bladenboro South Whiteville B. White Vineland S. N. Ferguson Bladenboro South Williams E. J. Cox Clarkton Tatums D. F. McLelland Evergreen S. M. Newell Council A. H. Porter Whiteville F. F. Dickson Council Waccamaw K. B. Council Wananish R. P. Tatum Ruskin Welches Creek J. M. Smith W'hiteville D. A. Nanbler Elizabethtown Whiteville D. H. Collier Whiteville J. L. Peterson Elizabethtown Williams W. C. Gore Clarendon R. B. Cromartie Elizabethtown CRAVEN A. H. Pait Elizabethtown No. 1 • No. 2 S. F. Cain Tar Heel No. 3 D. J. Sessoms Ivanhoe, R. 2 No. 4 No. 5 John S. Morton North Harlowe Clarkton James L. Taylor Bachelor I. A. Register No. 6 E. A. Armstrong Havelock T. E. Haywood Croatan John L. Tull Havelock No. 7 No. 8 Troy Hewett Shallotte No. 9 J. B. Atkinson R. C. Phelps Winnabow Ash CUMBERLAND Beaver Dam F. E. Bullard Roseboro Black River N. Williams Godwin Carvers Creek J. E. Jordan Overhills (Harnett T. B. Godfrey Camden County) Mrs. B. Sawyer Belcross Cedar Creek M. S. Jones Old Trap Cross Creek Flea Hill D. D. Bain W 7 ade, R. 1 H. H. Bolton Fayetteville, R. 1 Grays Creek Manchester J. B. Goodwin Roe Pearces Mill G. M. Powell Humboldt, Tenn. T. L. Goodwin Roe Rockfish Seventy-first C. C. Howard Fayetteville 86 Forest Fires in FTorth Carolina CURRITUCK GREENE — Continued Atlantic Mrs. N. T. Hurdle Jason Levi Hill Snow Hill W. J. Tate Coinjock W. D. Mewborn LaGrange Crawford A. B. Midgett Coinjock Olds T. E. Barrow Farmville E. R. Johnson Currituck Ormonds W. A. Darden Ayden Fruilville W. T. Fentress Knotts Island Shine David Jones Knotts Island Speights Bridge Moyock W. M. Stewart Vine, Va. Snow Hill Poplar Branch W. N. Hampton Poplar Branch R. L. Newbern Olds HALIFAX Brinkleyville N. M. Harrison DARE D. S. Moss Ringwood Croatan C. R. Fulcher Manns Harbor Butterwood S. T. Thoone, Jr. Airlie G. W. Hooper Stumpy Point Conoconara J. H. Darden Springhill East Lake Enfield Hatteras N. F. Jennett Buxton Faucetts B. B. Ballance Hatteras Halifax Kennekeet Littleton Nags Head M. G. Hollowell Nags Head Palmyra W. G. Hedgepeth Hobgood W. H. White Hobgood DUPLIN Roseneath Albertson W. G. Kornegay Alvin Roanoke Rapids Cypress Creek Scotland Neck Faison Z. V. Blount Faison Weldon J. W. Pierce Weldon Glisson HARNETT Island Creek A ndersons Creek Kenansville Henry Dail Kenansville Aierasboro V. L. Stephens Dunn Limestone J. W. Whitehead Dunn Magnolia Barbecue E. B. Hodgin Spout Springs Rock Fish Black River Rose Hill • Buckhorn Smith Duke Wilson H. Lucas Duke Warsaw W. R. Blackmore Warsaw Grove T. D. Stewart Coats Wolfscrape Hectors Creek Johnsonville EDGECOMBE Lillington H. M. Spears Lillington No. 1 A. M. Show Lillington No. 2 Miss C. Withers Lillington, R. No. 3 0. P. House Speed Neills Creek F. H. Taylor Buies Creek V. B. Knight Speed Stewarts Creek S. M. Hobbs Linden No. 4 U pper Little River J. B. F. Stewart Mamers No. 5 E. J. Hurdle Tarboro No. 6 HERTFORD No. 7 S. N. Weeks Battleboro Ahoskie A. E. Garrett Ahoskie No. 8 B. T. Eagles Macclesfield Harrellsville J. A. Powell Harrellsville No. 9 Wm. W. Eagles Macclesfield Mameys Neck S. P. Winborne Como No. 10 Robert E. Pitt Pinetops M urfreesboro E. L. Pitt Pinetops St. Johns Clarence Chavis Ahoskie No. 11 George D. Britt Tarboro W inton W. D. McGlohan Enfield No. 12 G. B. Cooper No. IS HOKE No. 14 H. L. Lancaster Sharpsburg Allendale A ntioch GATES Blue Springs Gatesville John B. Walters Gatesville Little River J. H. Priest Marley Hall McLaughlin Hasletts Quewhiffle N. A. McDonald Timberland Holly Grove W. C. Beaman Savage Raeford Hunters Mill J. M. Beaman Sunbury Stonewall Mintonville Riynoldson HYDE Currituck L. A. Griffin Scranton GREENE G. T. Radcliff Leech ville Bull Head C. C. Eason Stantonsburg Fairfield Carrs Lake Landing J. M. Hall Middletown Hookerton W. A. Shackleford Hookerton John L. Mann Lake Landing Forest Fires in jSTorth Carolina 87 Coopers Dry Wells J. H. Smith Middlesex F err alls W. B. Bergeron Middlesex Griffins J acksons A. W. Cooper Whitakers Mannings J. S. Sykes Spring Hope Nashville Wm. B. Boddie Nashville North Whitakers Oak Level W. H. Proctor Nashville Red Oak J. A. Beal Battleboro Rocky Mount South Whitakers J. W. Robbins Sharpsburg Stony Creek J. W. Culpepper Rocky Mount NEW HANOVER J. C. Harper & Co. Nashville HYDE— Continued Lake Landing Ocracoke Swan Quarter JOHNSTON Banner Bentonville Beulah Boon Hill Clayton Cleveland Elevation Ingrams Meadow Micro O'Neals Pine Level Pleasant Grove Selma Smithfield Wilders Wilsons Mills JONES Beaver Creek Chinquapin Cypress Creek Pollocksville Trenton Tuckahoe White Oak MARTIN Bear Grass Cross Roads Goose Nest Griffins Hamilton Jamesville Poplar Point Robersonville Williams Williamston NASH Bailey Castalia George E. Roper J. W. Jarvis T. R. Credle A. L. Stephenson J. M. Beasley J. H. Langston W. G. Pittman B. B. Adams J. J. Rose H. R. Gerald W. F. Gerald N. G. Wigg C. H. Honeycutt Wm. D. Avena Bruce Barnes J. I. Whittey C. M. Wilson C. S. Rhodes F. H. Foy T. A. Windley W. A. Perry McG. Taylor C. C. Collrain Jesse A. Leggett A. L. Bellflower J. L. Collrain J. G. Staton J. F. Findo J. M. Braswell Engelhard Swan Quarter Swan Quarter Benson Bentonville Bentonville Kenly, R. 2 Four Oaks Bentonville, R. 2 Pine Level Pine Level Princeton, R. 3 Angier, R. 1 Smithfield. R. 1 Clayton Wendell, R. 1 Wilsons Mills Comfort Pollocksville Trenton Kinston, R. 1 Kinston, R. 3 Deep River Kinston, R. 6 Kinston Kinston, R. 2 Kinston, R. 5 Williamston, R. 1 Williamston Williamston, R. 3 Parmele Williamston Williamston NASH — Continued Cape Fear Federal Point Harnett Masonboro Wilmington NORTHAMPTON Gaston Jackson Kirby Occoneechee Pleasant Hill Rich Square Roanoke Seaboard Wiccacanee ONSLOW J acksonville Richlands Stump Sound Swanboro White Oak PAMLICO No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. b No. 6 PASQUOTANK Elizabeth City Mount Herman Newland Nixonton Providence Salem PENDER Burgaw Caintuck Henry Horne N. H. McGirt John R. Morris E. M. Clements G. A. Moore A. J. Conner Albert Vann J. J. Parker J. W. Fountain F. D. Shaw J. T. Shepard T. H. Prichard J. E. Freeman B. D. Eubank J. W. Martin E. E. Mayo J. R. Sadler T. B. Wilson W. J. Albertson W. J. Williams J. L. Brock M. P. Jennings J. C. James, Jr. A. H. Paddison D. J. Corbett F. P. Flynn B. F. Keith E. A. Hawes, Sr. Wilmington Wilmington Wilmington, R. 1 Stancell Jackson Rich Square Rich Square Lasker Richlands Richlands Hollyridge Swanboro Stonewall Mesic Lowland Elizabeth City Elizabeth City, R. 4 Elizabeth City, R. 6 Elizabeth City, R. 3 Weeksville Burgaw Currie Currie Currie Atkinson Middlesex Castalia Caswell LENOIR Contentnea Neck J. S. Abbott Falling Creek G. F. Parrott Institute Kinston Moseley Hall Neuse Pink Hill Sand Hill Southwest Trent Vance Woodington R. K. Noble F. Leo West G. F. Loftin E. C. Carraway E. H. Waller W. D. Tomlinson Clayton Jonesville 88 Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina PENDER— Continued Columbia Grady Holly Long Creek J. E. Henry Rocky Pt., R. F. Rocky Point W. W. Pearsall Rocky Point Topsail The Pine Lbr. Co. New Bern U nion N. W. Powers Willard PERQUIMANS Belvidere H. P. White Belvidere Bethel Hertford New Hope Arthur Butt Hertford, R. 3 Parkville PITT Ayden J. R. Smith & Bro. Ayden Rev. T.E. Beaman Ayden Beaver Dam J. J. Harrington Greenville Belvoir Bethel M. 0. Blount Bethel S. T. Carson Bethel R. D. Whitehurst Bethel Eureka Lbr. Co. Washington Carolina Chicod W. L. Clarke Chicod Falkland Abner Eason Fountain Farmville John T. Thorne Farmville Greenville D. H. Joyner Greenville Pactolus J. E. Clark, Jr. Washington Swift Creek M. R. Quinerly Grifton Winterville J. J. May Greenville RICHMOND Beaver Dam C. H. Teague Hoffman C. M. Thompson Hoffman Black Jack J. F. Capel Ellerbe Marks Creek W. H. II. Bagwell Hamlet M. B. Nicholson Osborne Mineral Springs J. R. Bennett Ellerbe J. A. Covington Ellerbe, R. F. D. Rockingham J. A. Hutohison Roberdell Steeles A. J. Little Mangum Wolf Pit W. H. Roberts Rockingham, R. ROBESON Alfordsville Back Swamp Britts Burnt Swamp Fairmont J. P. Brown Fairmont Gaddy Howellsville D. C. Regan Lumberton, R. 7 Lumber Bridge H. M. John Lumber Bridge Lumberton Maxton Rosy McNair Maxton Orrum M. W. Hedgpeth Orrum I. H. Warwick Orrum Parkton Pembroke Raft Swamp J. E. Carlyle Buies R. H. Gregory Lumberton, R. 6 W. C. Townsend Buies Red Springs A. D. McLeod Red Springs J. L. McMillan Red Springs Rennert C. W. Watson Rennert ROBESON— Continued Rowland A. T. McKeller' Rowland Saddle Tree St. Pauls Joseph Allen St. Pauls Marcus Smith St. Pauls Shannon Smiths Sterlings Thompson White House Foster Williams McDonald Wishart J. Troy Phillips Lumberton SAMPSON North Clinton 1 South Clinton / J. A. McArthur Clinton Dismal J. S. Horne Autryville W. B. Page Cooper Franklin Halls John A. Fort Clinton Herrings Honeycutts Lisbon Little Coharie McDaniels C. A. Brown & Bro . Garland Mingo Newton Grove W. A. Bizzell Newton Grove I. W. Westbrook Mt. Olive, R. 7 Piney Grove Taylors Bridge A. R. Herring Delway Turkey L. D. Rogers Turkey Westbrooks Westbrook Lee, Sr. Newton Grove SCOTLAND Laurel Hill Spring Hill Stewartsville Williamson J. A. McNeill Laurel Hill TYRRELL Alligator A. Melson Fort Landing Columbia E. B. Hopkins Columbia W. E. Spencer Columbia Gum Neck Scuppemong South Fork E. R. Davenport Columbia, R. 1 WASHINGTON Lees Mills J. E. Singleton Roper N. C. Vail Plymouth Plymouth D. G. Darden Plymouth W. J. Jackson Plymouth Scuppemong W. T. Phelps Creswell J. F. Snell Creswell Skinnersville WAYNE Brogden John A. Toler Goldsboro Basil J. Bowden Dudley W. F. English Mount Olive Buck Swamp B. F. Smith Pikeville Fork W. C. Hollowell Goldsboro D. C. Pipkin Goldsboro Goldsboro W. G. Hollowell Goldsboro, R. 6 Grantham Great Swamp B. R. Egerton Kenly, R. 1 Indian Springs Nahunta Forest Fires in FTorth Carolina WAYNE— Continued New Hope Pikeville Saulston Stony Creek WILSON Black Creek Cross Roads Gardners ■ 89 WILSON — Continued Old Fields P. B. Scott Pikeville Saratoga Joshua Smith Goldsboro, R. 5 Spring Hill Stantonsburg H. E. Thompson Stantonsburg R. W. Whitley Stantonsburg T aylors Toisnot Wilson The W. W. Simms Wilson L. P. Woodard Wilson Co. PUBLICATIONS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC SURVEY BULLETINS 1. Iron Ores of North Carolina, by Henry B. C. Nitze, 1893. 8°, 239 pp., 20 pi., and map. Out of print. 2. Building and Ornamental Stones in North Carolina, by T. L. Watson and F. B. Laney in collaboration with George P. Merrill, 1906. 8°, 283 pp.’ 32 pi., 2 figs. Postage 25 cents. Clotli-bound copy 50 cents extra. 3. Gold Deposits in North Carolina, by Henry B. C. Nitze and George B. Hanna, 1896. 8°, 196 pp., 14 pi., and map. Out of print. 4. Road Material and Road Construction in North Carolina, by J. A. Holmes and William Cain, 1893. 8°, 88 pp. Out of print. 5. The Forests, Forest Lands, and Forest Products of Eastern North Carolina, by W. W. Ashe, 1894. 8°, 128 pp., 5 pi. Out of print. 6. The Timber Trees of North Carolina, by Gifford Pinchot and W. W. Ashe, 1897. 8°, 227 pp., 22 pi. Out of print. 7. Forest Fires: Their Destructive Work, Causes and PTevention, by W. W. Ashe, 1895. 8°, 66 pp., 1 pi. Postage 5 cents. 8. Water-powers in North Carolina, by George F. Swain, Joseph A. Holmes, and E. W. Myers, 1899. 8°, 362 pp., 16 pi. Out of print. 9. Monazite and Monazite Deposits in North Carolina, by Henry B. C. Nitze, 1895. 8°, 47 pp., 5 pi. Out of print. 10. Gold Mining in North Carolina and other Appalachain States, by Henry B. C. Nitze and A. J. Wilkins, 1897. 8°, 164 pp., 10 pi. Out of print. 11. Corundum and the Basic Magnesian Rocks of Western North Carolina, by J. Volney Lewis, 1895. 8°, 107 pp., 6 pi. Out of print. 12. History of the Gems Found in North Carolina, by George Frederick Kunz, 1907. 8°, 60 pp., 15 pi. Out of print. 13. Clay Deposits and Clay Industries in North Carolina, by Heinrich Ries, 1897. 8°, 157 pp., 12 pi. Out of print. 14. The Cultivation of the Diamond-back Terrapin, by R. E. Coker, 1906. 8°, 67 pp.. 23 pi., 2 figs. Out of print. 15. Experiments in Oyster Culture in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, by Robert E. Coker, 1907. 8° 74 pp., 17 pi., 11 figs. Postage 10 cents. 16. Shade Trees for North Carolina, by W. W. Ashe, 1908. 8°, 74 pp., 10 pi., 16 figs. Postage 6 cents. Cloth copies 50 cents extra. 17. Terracing of Farm Lands, by W. W. Ashe, 1908. 8°, 38 pp., 6 pi., 2 figs. Postage } cents. 18. Bibliography of North Carolina Geology, Mineralogy, and Geography, with a list cf Maps bv Francis Baker Laney and Katherine Hill Wood, 1909. 8°, 428 pp. Postage 25 cents. Cloth-bouncl copy 50 cents extra. 19. The Tin Deposits of the Carolinas, by Joseph Hyde Pratt and Douglas B Sterrett, 1905. 8°, 64 pp., 8 figs. Postage 1/ cents. 20. Watei powers of North Carolina: An Appendix to Bulletin 8, 1910. 8°, 383 pp. Postage 25 cents. 21. The Gold Hill Mining District of North Carolina, by Francis Baker Laney, 1910. 8°, 137 pp., 23 pi., 5 figs. Postage 15 cents. Cloth copies 50 cents extra. 22. A Report on the Cid Mining District, Davidson County, N. C., by J. E. Pogue, Jr., 1911. 8°, 144 pp., 22 pi., 5 figs. Postage 15 cents. Cloth copies 50 cents extra. 92 Forest Fires in Worth Carolina 23. Forest Conditions in Western North Carolina, by J. S. Holmes, 1911. 8 C , 116 pp., 8 pi. Postage 15 cents. 24. Loblolly or North Carolina Pine, by W. W. Ashe, Forest Inspector, U. S. Forest Service (and former Forester of the North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey). Prepared in Cooperation with the Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1914. 8°, 176 pp., 27 pi., 5 figs. Postage 15 cents. Cloth copies 50 cents extra. 25. Zircon, Monazite, and Other Minerals used in the Production of Chemical Com- pounds Employed in the Manufacture of Lighting Apparatus, by Joseph Hyde Pratt, Ph.D., 1916. 8°, 120 pp., 3 pi. Postage 15 cents. Cloth copies 50 cents extra. 26. A Report on the Yirgilina Copper District of North Carolina and Virginia, by F. B. Laney, Ph.D., 1917. 8°, ... pp pi., ... maps. Postage .. cents. In press. 27. The Altitudes of North Carolina, 1917. 8°, 124 pp. Pastage 20 cents. In press. ECONOMIC PAPERS 1. The Maple Sugar Industry in Wetsern North Carolina, by W. W. Ashe, 1897. 8°, 34 pp. Postage 2 cents. 2. Recent Road Legislation in North Carolina, by J. A. Holmes. Out of print. 3. Talc and Pyrophyllite Deposits in North Carolina, by Joseph Hyde Pratt, 1900. 8°, 29 pp., 2 maps. Postage 2 cents. 4. The Mining Industry in North Carolina During 1900, by Joseph Hyde Pratt, 1901. 8°, 36 pp., and map. Postage 2 cents. Takes up in some detail Occurrences of Gold, Silver, Lead and Zinc, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Corundum, Granite, Mica, Talc, Pyrophyllite, Graphite, Kaolin, Gem Minerals, Monazite, Tungsten, Building Stones, and Coal in North Carolina. 5. Road Laws of North Carolina, by J. A. Holmes. Out of print. 6. The Mining Industry in North Carolina During 1901, by Joseph Hyde Pratt. 1902. 8°, 102 pp. Out of print. Gives a List of Minerals found in North Carolina ; describes the Treatment of Sulphuret Gold Ores, giving localities; takes up the Occurrence of Copper in the Yirgilina, Gold Hill, and Ore Knob districts; gives Occurrence and Uses of Corundum; a List of Garnets, describing Localities; the Occurrence, Associated Minerals, Uses and Localities of Mica; the Occurrence of North Carolina Feldspar, with Analyses ; an extended description of North Carolina Gems and Gem Minerals ; Occurrences of Monazite. Barytes, Ocher; describes and gives Occurrences of Graphite and Coal; describes and gives Occurrences of Building Stones, including Limestone; describes and gives Uses for the various foi-ms of Clay; and under the head of “Other Economic Minerals,” describes and gives Occurrences of Chromite, Asbestos, and Zircon. 7. Mining Industry in North Carolina During 1902, by Joseph Hyde Pratt, 1903. 8°, 27 pp. Out of print. 8. The Mining Industry in North Carolina During 1903, by Joseph Hyde Pratt. 1904. 8°, 74 pp. Postage If cents. Gives description of Mines worked for Gold in 1903 ; description of Properties worked for Copper during 1903, together with assay of ore from Twin-Edwards Mine; Analyses of Limonite ore from Wilson Mine ; the Occurrence of Tin ; in some detail the Occurrences of Abrasives, Occurrences of Monazite and Zircon; Occurrences and Varieties of Graphite, giving Methods of Cleaning; Occurrences of Marble and other forms of Limestone; Analyses of Kaolin from Barber Creek, Jackson County, North Carolina. 9. The Mining Industry in North Carolina During 1904, by Joseph Hyde Pratt, 1905. 8°, 95 pp. Postage If cents. Gives Mines Producing Gold and Silver during 1903 and 1904 and Sources of the Gold Produced during 1904; describes the mineral Chromite, giving Analyses of Selected Samples of Chromite from Mines in Yancey County; describes Commercial Varieties of Mica, giving the manner in which it occurs in North Carolina, Percentage of Mica in the Dikes, Methods of Mining, Associated Minerals, Localities; Uses; de- scribes the mineral Barytes, giving Method of Cleaning and Preparing Barytes for Market; describes the use of Monazite as used in connection with the Preparation of the Bunsen Burner, and goes into the use of Zircon in connection with the Nernst Lamp, giving a List of the Principal Yttrium Minerals; describes the minerals containing Corundum Gems, Hiddenite and Other Gem Minerals, and gives New Occurrences of these Gems; describes the mineral Graphite and gives new L T ses for same. 10. Oyster Culture in North Carolina, by Robert E. Coker, 1905. 8°, 39 pp. Out of print. 11. The Mining Industry in North Carolina During 1905, by Joseph Hyde Pratt. 1906. 8°, 95 pp. Postage If cents. Describes the mineral Cobalt and the principal minerals that, contain Cobalt; Corundum Localities: Monazite and Zircon in considerable detail, giving Analyses of Thorianite; describes Tantalum Minerals Forest Fires in FTorth Carolina 93 and gives description of the Tantalum Lamp ; gives brief description of Peat Deposits ; the manufacture of Sand-lime Brick; Operations of Concentrating Plant in Black Sand Investigations; gives Laws Relating to Mines, Coal Mines, Mining, Mineral Interests in Land, Phosphate Rock, Marl Beds. 12. Investigations Relative to the Shad Fisheries of North Carolina, by John N. Cobb. 1906. 8°, 74 pp., 8 maps. Postage 6 cents. 13. Report of Committee on Fisheries in North Carolina. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, 1906. 8°, 78 pp. Out of print. 14. The Mining Industry in North Carolina During 1906, by Joseph Hyde Pratt, 1907. 8°, 144 pp., 20 pi., and 5 figs. Postage 10 cents. Under the head of “Recent Changes in Gold Mining in North Carolina,” gives methods of. mining, describing Log Washers, Square Sets, Cyanide Plants, etc., and detailed descriptions of Gold Deposits and Mines are given; Copper Deposits of Swain County are described; Mica Deposits of Western North Caro- lina are described, giving Distribution and General Character, General Geology, Occurrence, Associated Minerals, Mining and treatment of Mica, Origin, together with a description of many of the mines; Monazite is taken up in considerable detail as to Location and Occurrence, Geology, including classes of Rocks, Age, Associations, Weathering, • method of Mining and Cleaning, description of Monazite in Original Matrix. 15. The Mining Industry in North Carolina During 1907, by Joseph Hyde Fratt, 1908. 8°, 176 pp., 13 pi., and 4 figs. Postage 15 cents. Takes up in detail the Copper and Gold Hill Copper District; a description of the Uses of Monazite and its Associated Minerals; descriptons of Ruby, Emerald, Beryl. Hiddenite. and Amethyst Localities; a detailed description with Analyses of the Principal Mineral Springs of North Carolina; a description of the Peat Formations in North Carolina, together with a detailed account of the Uses of Peat and the Results of an Experiment Conducted by the United States Geological Survey on Peat from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. 16. Report of Convention called by Governor R. B. Glenn to Investigate the Fishing In- dustries in North Carolina, compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, 1908. 8°, 45 pp. Out of print. 17. Proceedings of Drainage Convention held at New Bern, North Carolina, September 9, 1908. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, 1908. 8°, 94 pp. Out of print. 18. Proceedings of Second Annual Drainage Convention held at New Bern, North Caro- lina, November 11 and 12, 1909, compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, and containing North Carolina Drainage Law, 1909. 8°, 50 pp. Out of print. 19. Forest Fires in North Carolina During 1909, by J. S. Holmes, Forester, 1910. 8°, 52 pp., 9 pi. Out of print. 20. Wood-using Industries of North Carolina, by Roger E. Simmons, under the direc- tion of J. S. Holmes and H. S. Sackett. 1910. 8°, 74 pp., 6 pi. Out of print. 21. Proceedings of the Third Annual Drainage Convention, held under Auspices of the North Carolina Drainage Association; and the North Carolina Drainage Law (codi- fied). Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, 1911. 8°, 67 pp., 3 pi. Out of print. 22. Forest Fires in North Carolina During 1910, by J. S. Holmes. Forester, 1911. 8°, 48 pp. Out of print. 23. Mining Industry in North Carolina During 1908, ’09, and TO, by Joseph Hyde Pratt and Miss H. M. Berry, 1911. 8°, 134 pp., 1 pi., 27 figs. Postage 10 cents. Cloth copies 50 cents extra. Gives report on Yirgilina Copper District of North Carolina and Virginia, by F. B. Laney; Detailed report on Mica Deposits of North Carolina, by Douglas B. Sterrett; Detailed report on Monazite, by Douglas B. Sterrett; Reports. on various Gem Minerals, by Douglas B. Sterrett; Information and Analyses concerning certain Mineral Springs ; Extracts from Chance Report of the Dan River and Deep River Coal Fields; Some notes on the Peat Industry, by Professor Charles A. Davis; Extract from report of Arthur Keith on the Nantahala Marble; Description of the manufacture of Sand-lime Brick. 24. Fishing Industry of North Carolina, by Joseph Hyde Pratt, 1911. 8°, 44 pp. Out of print. 25. Proceedings of Second Annual Convention of the North Carolina Forestry Associa- tion, held at Raleigh, North Carolina, February 21, 1912. Forest Fires in North Caro- lina During 1911. Suggested Forestry Legislation. Compiled by J. S. Holmes, Forester, 1912. 8°, 71 pp. Postage 5 cents. 26. Proceedings of Fourth Annual Drainage Convention, held at Elizabeth City, North Carolina, November 15 and 16, 1911, compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, 1912. 8°, 45 pp. Out of print. 27. Highway Work in North Carolina, containing a Statistical Report of Road Work during 1911, by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, and Miss H. M. Berry, Secretary, 1912. 8°, 145 pp., 11 figs. Out of print. 94 Forest Fires in FTorth Carolina 28. Culverts and Small Bridges for Country Roads in North Carolina, by C. R. Thomas and T. F. Hickerson, 1912. 8°, 56 pp., 14 figs., 20 pi. Postage 10 cents. 29. Report of the Fisheries Convention held at New Bern, N. C., December 13, 1911, com- piled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, together with a Compendium of the Steno- graphic Notes of the Meetings Held on the two trips taken by the Legislative Fish Com- mittee Appointed by the General Assembly of 1909, and the Legislation Recommended by this Committee, 1912. 8°, 302 pp. Postage 15 cents. 30. Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the North Carolina Good Roads Associa- tion held at Charlotte, N. C., August 1 and 2, 1912, in Cooperation with the North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, and Miss H. M. Berry, Secretary, 1912. 8°, 109 pp. Postage 10 cents. 31. Proceedings of Fifth Annual Drainage Convention held at Raleigh, N. C., Novem- ber 26 and 27, 1912. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist. 8°, 56 pp., 6 pi. Postage 5 cents. 32. Public Roads are Public Necessities, by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, 1913. 8°, 62 pp. Postage 5 cents. 33. Forest Fires in North Carolina during 1912 and National and Association Coopera- tive Fire Control, by J. S. Holmes, Forester, 1913. 8°, 63 pp. Postage 5 cents. 34. Mining 'Industry in North Carolina during 1911-12, by Joseph Hyde Pratt. State Geologist, 1914. 8°, 314 pp., 23 pi., 12 figs. Postage 15 cents. Gives detailed report on Gold Mining in various counties with special report on Metallurgical Processes used at the Iola Mine, by Claud Hafer; description of a Cyanide Mill, by Percy Barbour; the new milling process for treating North Carolina Siliceous Gold Ores at the Montgomery Mine, including a de- scription of the TJwarrie Mining Company’s Plant ; notes on the Carter Mine, Montgomery County, by Claud Hafer; also a description of the Howie Mine and its mill; a detailed report of the Coggins (Appalachian) Gold Mine, by Joseph Hyde Pratt; a list of gems and gem minerals occurring in the United States; special descriptions of Localities where the Amethyst, Beryl, Emerald, and Quartz Gems Occur, as taken from United States Geological Survey Report by Douglas B. Sterrett; a report on the Dan River Coal Field, by R. W. Stone, as reprinted from Bulletin 471-B of the United States Geological Survey ; a special report on Graphite, by Edson S. Bastin and reprinted from Mineral Resources of United States for 1912; a special report on Asbestos describing both the Amphibole and Chrysotile varieties; a report on the Mount Airy Granite Quarry; special report on Sand and Gravel, giving Uses. Definitions of Various Sands, etc.; the portion of a Bulletin on Feldspar and Kaolin of the United States Bureau of Mines, which relates to North Carolina, and which takes up in detail Occurrences, Methods of Mining, and Descriptions of Localities of Feldspar and Kaolin mines in North Carolina, prepared by Mr. A. S. Watts. In this Economic Paper are also given the names and addresses of producers of the various minerals during the years covered by the report. 35. Good Roads Days, November 5th and 6th, 1913, compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt. State Geologist, and Miss H. M. Berry, Secretary. 8°, 102 pp., 11 pi. Postage 10 cents. 36. Proceedings of the North Carolina Good Roads Association, held at Morehead City. N. C., July 31st and August 1, 1913. In Cooperation with the North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey. — Statistical Report of Highway Work in North Carolina during 1912. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, and Miss H. M. Berry, Secre- tary. 8°, 127 pp., 7 figs. Postage 10 cents. 37. Forest Fires in North Carolina during 1913 and a Summary of State Forest Fire Prevention in the United States, by J. S. Holmes, Forester, 1914. 8°, 82 pp. Postage 8 cents. 38. Forms covering the Organization of Drainage Districts under the North Carolina Drainage Law, Chapter 442, Public Laws of 1909, and Amendments. And Forms for Minutes of Boards of Drainage Commissioners covering the Organization of the Board up to and Including the Issuing of the Drainage Bonds. Compiled by Geo. R. Boyd, Drainage Engineer. 133 pp. Out of grint. 39. Proceedings of the Good Roads Institute held at the University of North Carolina. March 17-19, 1914. Held under the auspices of the Departments of Civil and Highway Engineering of the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey. 8°, 117 pp., 15 figs., 4 pi. Postage 10 cents. 40. Forest Fires in North Carolina during 1914 and Forestry Laws of North Carolina, by J. S. Holmes, State Forester, 1915. 8°, 55 pp. Postage 5 cents. 41. Proceedings of Seventh Annual Drainage Convention of the North Carolina Drain- age Association held at Wilson, North Carolina, November 18 and 19, 1914. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, and Miss H. M. Berry, Secretary. 1915. S°, 76 pp., 3 figs. Postage 5 cents. Forest Fires in ISTorth Carolina 95 42. Organization of Cooperative Forest Fire Protective Areas in North Carolina, being the Proceedings of the Special Conference on Forest Fire Protection, held as part of the Conference on Forestry and Nature Study, Montreat, N. C. ; July 8, 1915. Pre- pared by J. S. Holmes, State Forester, 1915. 8°, 39 pp. Postage 4 cents. 43. Proceedings of the Second Road Institute, held at the University of North Caro- lina, February 23-27, 1915. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, and Miss H. M. Berry, Secretary, 1916. 8°, 128 pp. Postage 15 cents. 44. Highway Work in North Carolina During the Calendar Year Ending December 31, 1914. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, and Miss H. M. Berry, Secretary, 1916. 8°, 55 pp. Postage 10 cents. 45. Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Drainage Convention. Held under the Auspices of the North Carolina Drainage Association and the North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey, Belhaven, N. C., November 29, 30, and December 1, 1915. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, and Miss H. M. Berry, Secretary. 8°, 90 pp. Postage 15 cents. 46. The Vegetation of Shackleford Bank, by I. F. Lewis, 1917. 8°, 40 pp., 11 pi. Postage 10 cents. 47. Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Drainage Convention of the North Carolina Drainage Association, held at Greensboro, N. C., November 22 and 23, 1916. Compiled by Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, and Miss H. M. Berry, Secretary, 1917. 8°, 110 pp., 8 figs. Postage 15 cents. 48. Forest Fires in North Carolina during 1915, 1916 and 1917, and Present Status of Forest Fire Prevention in North Carolina, by J. S. Holmes, State Forester, 1918. 8°, 97 pp. Postage . . cents. VOLUMES Vol. I. Corundum and the Basic Magnesian Rocks in Western North Carolina, by Joseph Hyde Pratt and J. Volney Lewis, 1905. 8°, 464 pp., 44 pi., 35 figs. Postage 8: 2 cents. Cloth-hound copy $1 extra. Vol. II. Fishes of North Carolina, by H. M. Smith, 1907. 8°, 453 pp., 21 pi., 188 figs. Postage 75 cents. Cloth-hound copy $1 extra. Vol. III. The Coastal Plain Deposits of North Carolina, by William Bullock Clark, Benjamin L. Miller, L. W. Stephenson, B. L. Johnson, and Horatio N. Parker, 1912. 8°, 509 pp., 62 pi., 21 figs. Postage 35 cents. Pt. I. — The Physiography and Geology of the Coastal Plain, of North Carolina, by Win. Bullock Clark, Benjamin L. Miller, and L. W. Stephenson. Pt. II. — The Water Resources of the Coastal Plain of North Carolina, by L. W. Stephenson and B. L. Johnson.. Vol. IV. — The Birds of North Carolina — In press. BIENNIAL REPORTS First Biennial Report, 1891-1892, J. A. Holmes, State Geologist, 1893. 8°, 111 pp., 12 pi., 2 figs. Postage 6 cents. Administrative report, giving Object and Organization of the Survey; Investigations of Iron Ores, Building Stone, Geological Work in Coastal Plain Region, including supplies and drinking waters in eastern counties, Report on Forests and Forest Products, Coal and Marble, Investigations of Diamond Drill. Biennial Report, 1893-1894, J. A. Holmes, State Geologist, 1894. 8°, 15 pp. Postage 1 cent. Administrative report. Biennial Report, 1895-1896, J. A. Holmes, State Geologist, 1896. 8°, 17 pp. Postage 1 cent. Administrative report. Biennial Report, 1897-1898, J. A. Holmes, State Geologist, 1898. 8°, 28 pp. Postage 2 cents. Administrative report. 96 Forest Fires in jSTorth Carolina Biennial Report, 1899-1900, J. A. Holmes, State Geologist, 1900. 8°, 20 pp. Postage 2 cents. Administrative report. Biennial Report, 1901-1902, J. A. Holmes, State Geologist, 1902. 8°, 15 pp. Postage 1 cent. Administrative report. Biennial Report, 1903-1904, J. A. Holmes, State Geologist, 1905. 8°, 32 pp. Postage 2 cents. Administrative report. Biennial Report, 1905-1906, Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, 1907. 8°, 60 pp. Postage 3 cents. Administrative report; report on certain swamp lands belonging to the State, by W. W. Ashe; it also gives certain magnetic observations at North Carolina stations. Biennial Report, 1907-1908, Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, 1908. 8°, 60 pp., 2 pi. Postage 5 cents . Administrative report. Contains Special Report on an examination of the Sand Banks along the North Carolina Coast, by Jay F. Bond, Forest Assistant, United States Forest Service ; certain magnetic observations at North Carolina stations ; Results of an Investigation Relating to Clam Cultivation, by Howard E. Enders, of Purdue University. Biennial Report, 1909-1910, Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, 1911. 8°, 152 pp. Postage 10 cents. Administrative report, and contains Agreements for Cooperation in Statistical Work, and Topographical and Traverse Mapping Work with the United States Geological Survey; Forest Work, with the United States Department of Agriculture (Forest Service) ; List of Topographic maps of North Carolina and counties partly or wholly topographically mapped; description of Special Highways in North Carolina; suggested Road Legislation; list of Drainage Districts and Results of Third Annual Drainage Conven- tion ; Forestry Reports relating to Connolly Tract, Buncombe County and Transylvania County State Farms; certain Watersheds; Reforestation of Cut-over and Abandoned Farm Lands on the Woodlands of the Salem Academy and College ; Recommendations for the Artificial Regeneration of Longleaf Pine at Pinehurst ; Act regulating the use of and for the Protection of Meridian Monuments and Standards of Measure at the several county seats of North Carolina ; list of Magnetic Declinations at the county seats, January 1, 1910; letter of Fish Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Fisheries relating to the conditions of the North Carolina fish industries; report of the Survey for the North Carolina Fish Com- mission referring to dutch or pound-net fishing in Albermarle and Croatan sounds and Chowan River, by Gilbert T. Rude, of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey; Historical Sketch of the several North Carolina Geological Surveys, with list of publications of each. Biennial Report, 1911-1912, Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, 1913. S°, 118 pp. Postage 7 cents. Administrative report, and contains reports on method of construction and estimate of cost of road improvement in Stantonsburg Township, Wilson County ; report on road conditions in Lee County ; report on preliminary location of section of Spartanburg-Hendersonville Highway between Tryon and Tuxedo ; report of road work done by United States Office of Public Roads during biennial period; experiments with glutrin on the sand-clay road; report on Central Highway, giving, Act establishing and report of trip over the Highway ; suggested road legislation ; report on the Asheville City watershed ; report on the Struan property at Arden, Buncombe County; report on the Woodlands on the farm of Dr. J. ^V. Kilgore. Iredell County; report on examination of the woodlands on the Berry place, Orange County; report on the forest property of Miss Julia A. Thorns, Ashboro, Randolph County; report on the exannnation of the forest lands of the Butters Lumber Company, Columbus County; proposed forestry legislation; swamp lands and drainage, giving drainage districts ; suggested drainage legislation; proposed Fisheries Com- mission Bill. Biennial Report, 1913-1914, Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, 1915. 8°, 165 pp. Postage 10 cents. Administrative report, and contains reports on the work of the State convicts on Hickory Nut Gap Road, Henderson County, and on the link of the Central Highway in Madison County which is being constructed with State convicts ; report on road work accomplished by the State burvey and by the United States Office of Public Roads during biennial period; suggested road legislation ; a lorestry policy for North Carolina; report on investigation. Timber supply of North Carolina; reports on the examina- tion of certain forest lands in Halifax County ; report on the ash in North Carolina ; report on the spruce forests of Mount Mitchell; report on the forest-fire conditions in the northeastern States, by J. b. Holmes. Report on the work of the United States Forest Service in North Carolina in connection with the pur- chase of forest reserves and their protection ; timber tests, including strength of timber, preservation of timber, timber suitable to produce pulp, distillation of certain woods and drying certain woocts, suggested forestry legislation; report on the swamp lands and their drainage m .North Caro lina , ^ i n- gested drainage legislation; report on magnetic observations made during biennial period; report on the economic value of the fisheries of North Carolina ; report on the survey made m Albemarle, Croatan, and Pamlico sounds by the Coast and Geodetic Survey ; suggested fisheries legislation. Forest Fires in jSTorth Carolina 97 Biennial Report, 1915-1916, Joseph Hyde Pratt, State Geologist, 1917. 8°, 202 pp. Postage 25 cents. Samples of any mineral found in the State may be sent to the office of the Geological and Economic Survey for identification, and the same will be classified free of charge. It must be understood, however, that no assays or quantitative determinations will be made. Samples should be in a lump form if possible, and marked plainly on outside of package with name of sender, postoffice address, etc.; a letter should accompany sample and stamp should be enclosed for reply. These publications are mailed to libraries and to individuals who may desire informa- tion on any of the special subjects named, free of charge, except that in each case applicants for the reports should forward the amount of postage needed, as indicated above, for mailing the bulletins desired, to the State Geologist, Chapel Hill, N. C. Date Due Form 335— 40M— 6-39— S D00754636V N873 Mo.* * 54881 H«C« Geological and Economic Survey: 0 „ — - Forest Fires in N.C . 1915-1917 DATE DUE ISSUED TO Feb. 3 , 411 F inning. 553 H873 no . 48 54881