136 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



"Had a bad time getting out to the road on the prairie. Had my horse down 

 a half-dozen times and it certainly looked as though I was up against it for 

 a while." 



The local forest assistant, who had charge of this sale, in com- 

 menting on the contract, stated in a letter to Mr. Breen, dated 

 March 29 : 



"I never know when some new piece of finesse in methods is to be sprung. 

 The latest is that the original contract has been changed to include the reserving 

 of seed trees, and ... to include trees of any size needed for seed. That 

 man 'L' (the superintendent) says it is the first time he had heard of it and 

 asserts the company bought all trees (which are accessible and desirable) over 

 16 inches and that his instructions from 'D' are to cut any large trees unmarked, 

 and that he would take up the matter with Washington." 



After local negotiations with the company and correspondence with 

 Washington, the dispute was finally settled amicably by saving large 

 "blackjack" for seed. This, I believe, was the first departure from 

 the diameter-limit system in the history of the Forest Service. 



In August, 1906, the writer was in Washington, and Breen wrote, 

 August 4 : 



"... 'D' informed me that our scale was two per cent higher than his 

 and failed to say it was caused by the inexperience of our scalers — this gives 

 me a small bunch of hopes that he will eventually forget to say it." 



When the history of the Forest Service timber sales is finally written, 

 the troubles due to the inexperience of the early scalers will fill no 

 small page, and, in the case of at least some companies, these scalers 

 were offered temptations which, happily, they avoided. 



Breen wrote in this same letter: 



" 'S', poor red-headed knot-hole examiner, is having a spasm now. He wanted 

 to pay the company $4 for rent of his house and 'L' tore up his check ; then he 

 is having trouble to find out whether he is Henry William 'S' from the Navy 

 Department (which discharge affects his C. & S. exam.). I suppose his wife is 

 anxious about it, too, on account of their child. I will take him up a lump of 

 ice soon. He moved back to town on account of a few thousand skunks ihat 

 tainted the atmosphere at his happy home and because of the check." 



When the Forest Service first took over the administrative force, 

 organized by the General Land Office, it was exceedingly difficult to 

 make promotions correctly. The best that could be done was to have 

 reports from traveling inspectors as to how they sized up the dififerent 

 men. It was natural that mistakes were made. 



