148 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



between the highest and lowest examples, an average was struck and 

 the man selected placed in the middle position in the list. Another was 

 then selected who graded between the highest and the middle, as nearly 

 an average between the two as possible. This name was placed next 

 the top position in the list. Similarly a man was selected and entered 

 between the middle rank and the lowest. 



Each of the other four main headings were treated in a similar 

 manner. The result was five check lists of five men each. Each list 

 represented the highest and lowest examples under the various rating 

 scale captions, with a three-way average between the top and bottom. 

 The averages require a great deal of thought and it sometimes seems 

 that a true average cannot be selected. There is a wide range between 

 the top and bottom of the list and the best man and the poorest are 

 so radically different that an average between the two requires careful 

 thought. In practice, however, this has been determined entirely work- 

 able and productive of satisfactory results. 



In order to present clearly the entire thought in the work so far 

 accomplished with the scale, it is now necessary to go back, and show, 

 as clearly as possible the manner in which the weights for the various 

 main captions were produced. Obviously, the main caption, No. 1, 

 "The art of handling men," is more important when weighed against 

 the other four in certain positions than in others. It seemed clear 

 that a great deal of thought should be given this by a large number of 

 rating officers and the matter was thoroughly discussed with some 

 forty-odd men. Each set down his opinion and the reasons therefor 

 were carefully thrashed out. 



The results which are given below are very nearly an exact average 

 of these opinions, and it is interesting to note in passing that after two 

 or three wild exotics were excluded no one man varied very radically 

 from the average. 



For forest rangers in the United States Forest Service the high man 

 in the first check list ; that is, with reference to "The art of handling 

 men," was rated 25, the next man 20, the middle 15, next 10, and the 

 low man 5. Each of the other four check lists were graded in a similar 

 manner, as follows : 



