368 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 



from the land. Such questions as tlie strenf:jth or liealtli of the 

 appHcant and his abihty or experience in a«2;ricultural pursuits do 

 not concern the cliaracter of the land and therefore have no place 

 in any inquiry regardin<]j it. A careful examination is made, now- 

 ever, to ascertain wholher the land is capa])le of producing culti- 

 vated crops, and in deciding this the soil, climate, altitude, and slope 

 must be considered. Lands valuable for grazing only are not listed 

 under the act of June 11, 1906. If, however, a tract is found to 

 be valuable for agricultural purposes and will produce crops, and 

 adjacent nontimbered or sparsely timbered land is valuaole for 

 grazing purposes, an added area of such land may be listed with the 

 agricultural land, provided that, except, in the case of bona fide 

 claimants who settled on the land before the National Forest was 

 created, the area of the grazing land shall not exceed the area of 

 the agricultural land. A person who settled upon unsurveyed land 

 within a National Forest before its creation and has continuously 

 occupied and is now occupying such land in good faith and in all 

 respects complying with the homestead law, has the right to include 

 witliin the lines of his homestead 160 acres after the land is surveyed. 

 Therefore if the land is occupied for agricultural purposes and is 

 not more valuable for its timoer than for such purposes, and the 

 claimant applies for the listing for entry of sucli land under the 

 Forest homestead act, the examination is made with a view to listing 

 160 acres of land whenever possible under the provisions of the act. 

 In cases where less than 160 acres have been listed for a person who 

 settled upon the land prior to the creation of the Forest, an addi- 

 tional area sufficient to complete the homestead entry is allowed 

 Upon proper application, under the above conditions. Moreover, 

 negotiations are now pending with the Department of the Interior 

 whereby the surveyors of the Forest Service may be appointed 

 deputy United States surveyors and the survey necessary to describe 

 the land by metes and bounds made without expense to the applicant 

 and accepted in final proof for issuance of patent to the land. By 

 this means bona fide squatters who settled on unsurve3^ed land 

 prior to the creation of the Forest, if the land occupied by them is 

 not more valuable for its timber than for agriculture, may have their 

 claims surveyed by metes and bounds, including the full 160 acres 

 to which they would be entitled if they waited for the land to be 

 surveyed in the ordinary way. 



In the Swan River Valley, in the Flathead National Forest in 

 Montana, very satisfactory progress was made in the examination 

 and classification of lands' with respect to their agricultural value. 

 The agricultural possibilities of this valley and the eagerness of set- 

 tlers to cultivate and make their homes on these lands led to a 

 thorough investigation, and as a result the present classification was 

 undertaken. There is a considerable area in this valley supporting 

 a heavy stand of timber, but capable of producing excellent agricul- 

 tural crops if cleared. The policy has been adopted of listing in 

 practicable farm units, of not exceeding 160 acres, land upon which 

 the value of the timber is not gi'eater than the value of the land for 

 agricultural purposes. 



If land which would be good arable land when cleared supports a 

 very heavy stand, the timber is sold in accordance with the regula- 

 tions of the Forest Service, and the land is then classified for listing 



