Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-04-21
VERMONT Is FULLY AWAKE
State Forester Iinwcs FINDS An En-
cournging Field OF LnbOr-OutIines
His Work.

In outlining the forestry policy of any
State, the first thing to consider Is. of
course. the prevention OF fires. SAYS
State Forester A. +. Halves In American
Forestry. My first consideration In start
ing here was therefore to determine just
how serious the fire question Is In the
state and what measures seem wise to
adopt This study has convinced me that
Vermont is one OF the most fortunate
States of the northeast in regard to for
est fires. The topography and character
of the forests are chiefly accountable for
this situation, for there are in the State
no immense, uninterrupted Forest areas
corresponding 10 those of northern Maine
or the Adirondacks. Agricultural lands
and rivers divide the forests into blocks.
while spruce is the chief timber OF the
State, 1t usually occurs mixed with hard
woods and these forests are less suscepu-
| bio to fire than pure soft woods only in
| the Champaign and Connecticut valleys
! are there any dry sand plains, and these
are neither extensive or within reach OF
| o dense population as are those Of east
| ern Massachusetts and southern New
Jersey, where fires are SO regular. Rail-
| roads arc responsible for small pro-
| portion of fires for, with the exception
of the few cuts through the Green Noun
| tairs. they extend through agricultural
| river bottoms In years of ordinary rain
| fail the state IS almost exempt from
! fires, but during the exceptionally dry
seasons. spring Of 1908 and fall of 1903.
when all Of New England and New York
| were shrouded IN smoke, Vermont suf-
fered its share Of damage from fire.
These fires we're most wholly IN the lar
ger forest blocks of the Green Mountains
and were due rather to car"lessnesS of
| choppers, hunters, and brush burners
than to railroads, which seem to have
| been the chief cause in New York and
Maine.
| The LEGISLATURE of 1904 provided that
the first seloctman of each town act as
fire warden and in the eight morgan
lied towns that wardens be appointed by
| the forest commissioner This official
| has now been superseded by the state
! forester. Although it is one of the max
| inns of the forestry movement that com
bining the work of fire warden and select
man is poor policy. believe that the ex
emption of three-quarterI of the towns
| from these fires makes it inadvsable to
| try to change the law, especially when the
| delicacy of detracting from the preroga-
| tive of the sclectnan is taken into con-
sderat,on The apparent special danger
of certain sections, however, suggests adj
ditional legislation which shall give the
| state forester authority to appoint dis
trict wardens in certain towns who shall
| nomnally he under the selectmen but
practically lie responsible to the State
forester.
Opinions as TO the value of the watch
flowers built in Maine have thus far been
so varied that none have Yet been con.
structed IN Vermont. AS there is compare
lively little danger except in times of seri
Gus droughts. their value for Vermont
seems problomatcal. as the air is then 80
full Of smoke to render them useless.
Instead OF sharing the expense of fight
ing all fires with the towns. the State
pays the balance when the cost exceeds
five per cent of the grand list of the
town. In this way the poor. uninhabited
| towns receive the greatest help. Dur
ing the bad fire season of l!s)S the State
came to the assistance in this way Of
| twenty towns, laying in all about So 900.
The greatest amount paid by the State
to any one town was 81. E59, against a to-
tai loss for fighting fire in the town of
sl.Gr While the State paid about ninety
per cent. of the cost to this mountain
town. the total paid to these twenty towns
WAS sixty-siX per cent. Of the whole cost,
While. of course, other towns which had
but slight expense received no aid.
I.NFORC E.MENT OF LAW.
The main thing necessary in regard to
the fire problem, is, therefore, to en-
force the law which we ALREADY have. On
| =
attorneys Ghere is one for each county,
calling their attention to the necessity
of prosecuting offenders under the fire
laws. Only one serious fire has been call
ed to my attention this year. Evidence
was at once secured 10y this office and
within three weeks the states attorney
for the county had secured conviction.
which resulted in the guilty party paying
IL fine of SO and costs amounting 10 SIS
in all.
That state forestry work must Tor some
time be largely educational is undoub
tedly the reason that it appeals to such
a limited group OF foresters, Interest
| in the sub iect in Vermont had been so
thoroughly aroused under the leadership
OF Professor Jones and the State forestry
association that the field Is much more
encouraging than in a State like Connec-
ticut. where interest ia primarily In city
affairs. AS evidence of this greater in
terest. which Is undoubtedly due partially
TO the general progress which forestry
has made during five years, may be men
toned the fact that during my first six
months in Connccticut not "A single invi-
taton for an address on forestry was re-
ceived: while during similar period in
| Vermont | have given eighteen adj
dresses before farmers oranges, women 4
clubs. teachers associations, Librarians
conventions, church societies, etc.
| Five years experience in propaganda
work has convinced me that the only way
tiona work is to advocate some specific
line of work. Planting is the one phase OF
forestry which interests the average lay
mind. While It is the least important
branch In the East and the least interest
Ing TO tho forester. il does furnish "A han
die by which to get Il great many peo-
Pile actively interested In forestry work
Wien n man has once planted thousand
trees he Will protect them from fire and
begin to study their growth He soon no.
tees natural reproduction, and it is only
step to more conservative cutting. The
leaders of forestry in Vermont realized
the educational value Of planting and
secured in 1876 an annual appropriation OF
5000 for five years for forest nursery
following the precedent started by Con
necticut Of selling forest seedlings to land