30 Circular 211, Dept. of Agriculture 



of timber sales, grazing, and free use and special us$ 

 They also help to build roads, trails, bridges, telephone 

 lines, and other permanent improvements on the 

 forests. Physical soundness and endurance are essen- 

 tial on account of the heavy labor and exposure in- 

 volved in such work as building improvements and 

 fighting fire. The forest ranger must also know ho^ 

 to pack supplies and find food for himself and his horse 

 in a country where it is often scarce. On the Alaska 

 national forests travel is almost entirely by water, and 

 the ranger must know how to navigate a seagoing 

 launch. The position of ranger is filled through a 

 civil-service examination, in which applicants are 

 rated on the basis of a written test and also according 

 to their education, experience, and fitness. 



In addition to the different classes of forest officers 

 mentioned, logging engineers, lumbermen, scalers, and 

 planting assistants are employed on the forests in J 

 the work of timber appraisal, cruising, scaling, and 

 forest planting. Like all other permanent employees, 

 they are appointed only after a civil-service examina- 

 tion. 



Forest guards are temporary employees appointed 

 during the seasons of greatest fire clanger. 



On July 1, 1923, the force employed by the Forest 

 Service numbered 4,932. Of these, about 4,012 were 

 employed upon the national forests as supervisors, 

 deputy supervisors, rangers, guards, etc., and 920 were 

 engaged in administrative, scientific, and clerical 

 work at the Washington and district headquarters, 

 the Forest Products Laboratory, and the forest and 

 grazing experiment stations. 



FOREST OFFICERS AND THE PURLIG 



Whoever wishes to make any use of the resources 

 of the national forests for which a permit is required "~ 

 should consult the nearest forest officer. Supervisors, 

 rangers, and other forest officers carry out the ad- 

 ministrative policy prescribed for the national forests 

 by Congress, as embodied in the regulations made by 



