The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-04-22

made between East Greenwich and westerly oriathe main line and from ICongamond Lake to Conway Mass, en the NorthamptCn Division h has been purchased, but many per rnits have been obtained
 The aim of the railroad is to ac- uu.re. either by purchase or permit, the right to clear a strip at least six Hty-six feet wide on straight track and 1sz feet wide on curves, the spark radius on curves necessarily, being much greater than on straight track These strips are first cleared cofn-s pleteIy of all small growth and ss1n- derbrush b5, the .brush gang" and arc then kept clear by the section. men. All trees are left standing because trees act as screen and protection s against fires, and sparks dropping or leaves and needles are soon extin4 zuished Itssis the underbrush and dry grass which cause these forest fires. Tn Plymouth and Barnstab1e Coun- ties in Massachusetts the forests are chiefIy of pitch pine and g small growth of white oak. The timber is not as heavy as railfos ds encounter in other parts Of the country. but the soil being light and sandy instead Of damp, grass and leaves dry up very quickly and easily catch fire But once all the uIs1erbrush has been re- moved for 8 sufficient width either side of the track there is really little chance of a fire being started.
 Tn the summer of 1912 only two in cf1es of rain fell in this section. Last summers rainfall showed only a. slfrfat increase. On account Of the condition on Cape Cod last summer the New Haven had q motor car with four men follow every train during the drought to look out for and ex- stingpish fires before they made any Haeadway. This plan will probably be followed this summer
 On several Of its lines in the bad seasons of the year the New Haven maintains q fire patrol system. his is true of the Litchneld Branch south Of Washingten, some of the Pascoag and Att1eboro Branches and the main line. On the Midland Division during the worst season the regular section gang patrols especially for fires. On portions of the Danbury and North ampton Branches and New York Di- vision arrangements are being made with property owners for burning over the underbrush outside the right of way.
 The Central New England, in order to reduce the danger of forest fires, is co-operat1ng with the Connecticut State Forestry Department in install ing telephones for the use Of the State every eight or ten miles alcng portions of it's lines in Connecticul.
 All of the locomotives of the New Haven are equipped with spark ar resting device approved by the Massa- oh usetts Commission. This is wire mesh arrangement designed to catch the sparks. Under the rule of the Company these must be inspected at every trip of locomotive and If any holes have been burned in this mesh the locomotive is supposed to be re- paired immediately. The New Ha- ven, in common with other roads, is experimenting with all promising de- vices for arresting smoke and sparks to ascertain if the present device may be improved upon
 The work of reducing the fire haz- ard to a minimum by the clearance method cannot, of course, be accom- plished all at once. It is confidently expected, however, that within two years the results will be such as to demonstrate that this method is by far the most practical and effective for saving woodland from destruction. Ear E Durning-Izawrence, the rfa- nous Baconian scholar, died in Lon don, aged TT.