78 Our Field and Forest Trees 



One-quarter of it goes to the county in which the 

 forest lies, to pay for schools and for roads. 



Some of the national forests are within reach 

 of growing cities, and these become great play- 

 grounds for the people. Campers, hunters, and 

 fishermen picnic in them and spend their vaca- 

 tions there. 



Several national forests of the West contain 

 wonders of the land — strange geological for- 

 mations, great canyons, or crumbling walls erected, 

 no one knows when, by vanished and forgotten 

 people. By including these in forest boundaries, 

 the Government has saved them from destruc- 

 tion by vandal hands, and given them forever an 

 appropriate and beautiful setting. 



Before Uncle Sam takes a tract of woodland 

 and turns it into a national forest, the land is 

 carefully surveyed, and two detailed maps are 

 made. One shows who owns or claims the land, 

 the other shows what is growing on it. 



The men who make these maps must not only 

 be trained surveyors, but they must also know the 

 neighboring country and its needs. They study 

 the effects of the forest upon the streams and 

 rivers, and the value of the timber standing upon 

 it. They consider the needs of the people round 

 about — how local industries would be affected 

 by turning the land into a national forest. 



So before any new national forest is made, 

 experts know just where a tract of woods should 



