American Forest Congress 223 



by a handful of sturdy prospectors and miners who 

 gathered about their CaHfomia campfires sixty years 

 ago. Their problem was simple compared to the graz- 

 ing problem. If these men could not then devise a 

 perfected system applicable to the varied interests that 

 the subsequent development of the mineral wealth of 

 our country have presented, how can they devise rules 

 and regulations for all climates and conditions of 

 grazing? These must be the growth of experience 

 in each locality, the slow evolution of the industry 

 from which the speculator and the theorist must be 

 eliminated. 



For some reason the average expert, examining the 

 forest or range on any point of policy or use, seems 

 to feel called upon to keep his business a profound 

 secret, especially from those settlers whose experience 

 and observation in the locality, form one of the neces- 

 sary premises of logical, correct conclusion and report. 

 These methods tend to create and develop a spirit of 

 distrust between the settler and the official, instead of 

 confidence and cooperation. This criticism is not 

 applicable to all, but is quite prevalent and calls for a 

 radical reform in methods. The pioneer stockman 

 or settler knows more about his own range than any 

 expert and he must be reckoned with in any final solu- 

 tion. The average expert on forestry or grazing 

 operating unaided in a country new to him is one of 

 the most fallible men I know, however honest or ex- 

 tensively drilled in technical schools. 



Much depends upon the supervisor of a forest re- 

 serve, who must be a strong man, with plenty of 

 common sense. He must not be opinionated or unduly 

 sensitive. He must be a man of character, a judge of 

 men, and ever ready to learn from the most humble 

 and illiterate home-builder, and to patiently advise 



