276 OUR FEDERAL LANDS 



Let us look at recent figures in detail. 



Another fact interfering with safe inference 

 from the government's statistics is that nearness of 

 large permanent populations to several National 

 Parks brings numerous visits a year from the same 

 individuals, each of which necessarily is counted 

 each time at the gateways. Another lies in the habit 

 of most touring motorists of visiting several Na- 

 tional Parks on the same journey, in each of which 

 they are counted anew in the totals. 



Totals, therefore, mean little in terms of indi- 

 viduals visiting the System. By how many the 2,- 

 354,643 visitations to all National Parks in 1927 

 should be reduced so that we may approximate the 

 number of individual visitors, there are no observed 

 ratios to apply. 



