REPORT OF THE SECRETARY, 63 



thus excluded. The result has been to reduce largely the amount of 

 agricultural lands in the forests. 



To a large extent fertile and relatively low-lying land included in 

 the forests had, previously to their establishment, been taken up. 

 This is true both of heavily timbered valleys and of open lands. 

 The traveler passing up a valley and knowing that he is within 

 the Forest boundary is often misled by what he sees. The land 

 which appears to be withdrawn from agricultural development 

 through reservation by the Government is very likely owned by a 

 timber company or speculator. If the value of the standing timber 

 on such land is much greater than its value for farming in its un- 

 cleared state, it is practically certain to be held primarily for its 

 timber. Agricultural development of such land is effectively blocked 

 not because the land is in a National Forest, but because it pays the 

 private owner best to leave it uncleared until he can realize on the 

 timber to good advantage. Many quarter sections of such land have 

 on them timber worth over $20,000. 



Thus a large part of the land still left in the forests which could 

 be cultivated successfully is accounted for. It has passed into pri- 

 vate ownership. In spite of the fact that, in redrawing the bounda- 

 ries, areas on which most of the land was alienated were so far as 

 practicable eliminated, there are still some 22,000,000 acres of the 

 forests which the Government does not own. Of that which the Gov- 

 ernment does own, not over 4,000,000 acres is agricultural. Of this 

 amount a large percentage is heavily timbered. Such lands are at 

 present not being opened to settlement, because to open them would 

 be simply to turn them over to timber speculators. To prevent an 

 indefinite tying up of the land because of its timber value, I shall 

 first, and as soon as possible, sell off the timber on them, and then 

 list them for the benefit of the bona fide homesteadei*. 



That there was need for provision for opening lands capable of 

 serving their best use through agriculture I early recognized. This 

 department advocated the enactment of a law to make this possible. 

 The necessary legislation was secured in the act of June 11, 190G. 

 Under the terms of that act I was authorized to list for homestead 

 entry, upon application or otherwise, lands found upon examination 

 to be more valuable for agriculture than for forest purposes. 



Since this act was passed I have listed nearly l,2r)0.000 acres of 

 agricultural land. At the outset it was iuipracticable to do more 

 than examine lands for which applications were made. As time 

 passed, however, it became apparent that a systematic segregation 

 of the larger tracts was called for. This was first undertaken in the 

 boundary readjustments already described, and in some special classi- 

 fication work, particularly in norlhern Montana. Following com- 

 pletion of the field work on the boundaries, plans were formulated 



