GOVERNMENT FOREST WORK. 33 



on the Forests under the direction of the supervisor. 

 The position of forest assistant is filled through a 

 technical examination. 



After a probationary period of not less than two 

 years, forest assistants who have rendered satisfactory 

 service are given the designation of forest examiners 

 and assigned to such work as examining and mapping 

 forest areas, designating timber to be cut in sales, sur- 

 veying boundaries, and conducting nursery work and 

 forest planting. 



Every National Forest is divided into ranger dis- 

 tricts, with a district ranger in charge of each. Rang- 

 ers perform the routine work involved in the super- 

 vision of timber sales, grazing, and free use and spe- 

 cial use. They also help to build roads, trails, bridges, 

 telephone lines, and other permanent improvements 

 on the Forests. Physical soundness and endurance are 

 essential on account of the heavy labor and exposure 

 involved in such work as building improvements and 

 fighting fire. The forest ranger must also know how 

 to pack supplies and find food for himself and his 

 horse in a country where it is often scarce. This posi- 

 tion is filled through a civil-service examination, in 

 which applicants are rated on the basis of a written 

 test and also according to their 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 

 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 danger. 



On July 1, 1921, the force employed by the Forest 

 Service numbered 4,238. Of these, about 3,289 were 



