THE LIFE OF A FORESTER 83 



sale is in progress his duties are varied and may range 

 from marking trees for removal ahead of future timber 

 sales, to scaling logs or inspecting the piling of brush. 

 He learns to lay out trails, string telephone lines, 

 becomes familiar with the grazing problems of that 

 particular forest and endeavors to distinguish the sev- 

 eral score of cattle marks and brands that are found 

 on his own range. In whatever he attempts he is 

 usually guided and taught by an experienced ranger 

 for when all is said and done the rangers are the 

 mentors of the youthful forester. 



Stewart Edward White in his "California John" 

 stories has described a splendid type of ranger and at the 

 same time has painted a striking picture of conditions 

 as they existed in the early days before the Forest 

 Service was transferred from the Department of the 

 Interior. The forest rangers are splendid men, sim- 

 ple in manner, kindly in speech, and the young forest 

 assistant who tries to lord it over one of them regrets 

 it. He soon learns how little his book knowledge 

 weighs against a lifetime of experience when it comes 

 to packing a horse or making a trail. Each can profit 

 from the other and it is the wise young college chap 

 who knows at the start that when it comes to valuable 

 information he can get more than he can give. Many 

 stories are told about the breaks made by the green 

 young forester in the "West and sometimes their green- 

 ness and conceit has led them into dangers from which 

 they have been rescued only by the rangers or local 

 ranchmen. 



After the young forester has learned to distinguish 

 the various trees on his forest for trees on the ground 

 or standing upon the mountainside may not resemble 

 the trees which his textbook described he has just made 



