INTRODUCTION xxxix 



sign boards giving the tourist detailed information 

 about distances between the various points of inter- 

 est. Roads have opened up new regions to auto- 

 mobiles and to the horse and wagon. In 1916 it 

 was estimated that more than 2,000,000 people vis- 

 ited the National Forests for recreation and pleas- 

 ure. They came in automobiles, in horse and 

 wagon, on horseback, on mules, on burros, and in all 

 sorts of made-to-order contrivances, and the writer 

 has even seen those that could not afford anything 

 better, pack their camp outfits in a wheelbarrow and 

 push it before them in their effort to leave the hot, 

 dusty valleys below, and go to the refreshing and in- 

 vigorating Forests of Uncle Sam. In addition to 

 the large numbers of tourists that visit the National 

 Forests every year, over 100,000 persons or com- 

 panies use the National Forests. Of these a little 

 more than half are paid users, who are charged a 

 fair fee for timber, grazing, or other privileges and 

 a little less than half enjoy free use privileges. 



Agricultural Lands Opened to Settlement. The 

 settlement of the agricultural lands in the National 

 Forests is a matter that has received special atten- 

 tion at the hands of the Forest Service in late years. 

 Land more valuable for agriculture than for timber 



