850 



ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



While it will dou])tless be necessary in the future to make small 

 additions and eliminations from time to time as conditions change, it 

 is believed that tiie boundaries as now established or planned may be 

 regarded as fairly stable. 



As the National Forests consist largely of unsurveyed lands the 

 gross area figures are subject to corrections. A revised estimate 

 adopted January 1, 1911, reduced the apparent area of the Forests 

 530,516 acres, as shown by States in the following table. The changes 

 of area due to additions and eliminations, the amount of alienated 

 lands within the Forests, and the net area — that is, after deduction is 

 made of the lands eliminated—are also shown. Lands covered by 

 patents issued or pending are classed as alienated. They include as 

 their principal items the following: Railroad selection lists pending, 

 1,273,360 acres; homestead entries, original, 1,138,550 acres; State 

 selections, including school, 670,086 acres. 



National Forest areas, in acres, by States. 



> Due to new computations of acreage, as explained in the text above. 



CLAIMS AND SETTLEMENT. 



Still further alienations will, of course, take place. Many claims 

 which antedate the creation of the Forests remain to be perfected; 

 claims may still be initiated under the mining laws, and listing of areas 

 for settlement continues wherever the land is found to be more valua- 

 ble for agriculture than for forest purposes. 



While the Forest Service does not obstruct or desire to prevent the 



gatenting of any valid claim, it cooperates with the General Land 

 'fiice to protect the Government against illegal claims by making 

 field exarmnations on notification that patent is sought. This coop- 

 eration has worked well. The procedure in claims cases was greatly 

 simpUfied and delavs were obviated by the adoption in November, 

 1910, of the method set forth under "Work for the ensuing year" in 



