242 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



mont of Agriculture. In his annual report for 1903 the Commissioner 

 of the General Land Office said: 



The work of establishing n forest service for the care and administration 

 of the reserves * * * has been developed along such practical lines as 

 fall within the province of the Interior Department. The experience of these 

 five years abundantly tostifios to llie need for efficient work of a scientific char- 

 acter. The dangers to which the reserves are exposed from fires, timber depre- 

 dations, and other sources make the establishment of an efficient protective 

 force a matter of great importance. Following closely upon that, however, 

 must come the application of scientific methods in dealing with the many and 

 various forest problems in connection with the various industries affected 

 thereby. * * * Elementary efforts need to give way in the course of devel- 

 opment of such a system. It would seom, therefore, that the point has been 

 reached when the work should be committed to the care of men who have had 

 the scientific and practical training needed to cope with work involving such 

 far-reaching issues. The Bureau of Forestry of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture is properly organized and equipped to carry on this branch of the work. 



Recommendations to the same effect were repeated the following 

 year. An act of Congress, which became law on February 1, 1905, 

 effected the transfer. 



STATISTICS OF USE OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS. 



The salient fact disclosed by the statistics of use of the forests since 

 that time is the immense acceleration affected by the transfer in the 

 rate at which the resources were made available. In 1905 there were 

 issued not quite 8,000 grazing permits; in 1912, over 26,000. The 

 1905 permits were for approximately 600,000 cattle as against 1,400,- 

 000 in 1912, 60,000 horses as against 95,000, and less than 1,800,000 

 sheep as against nearly 7,500,000. In 1905 the number of timber 

 sales made was about 400; in 1912, nearly 5,800. The 1905 sales cov- 

 ered about 100,000,000 board feet, while those of 1912 covered 800,- 

 000,000 board feet ; and the receipts from timber sales rose from less 

 than $86,000 in 1905 to over $1,000,000 in 1912. In 1905 not quite 

 3,400 free-use permits were issued; in 1912, nearly 40,000. These 

 permittees in 1905 took from the forests free of charge the equivalent 

 of about 27,000,000 board feet; in 1912, over 123,000,000. In 1905 

 less than 300 applications for special-use permits were granted; in 

 1912, nearly 5,000. It is true that in comparing these figures allow- 

 ance must be made for the fact that on June 30, 1905, the total area 

 of the National Forests was less than 86,000,000 acres as against over 

 185,000,000 acres on June 30, 1912; but with all allowances made the 

 evidence remains impressive and overwhelming. The application of 

 technical management is the master key that is everywhere unlocking 

 the old-time reserves to the public, developing their resources, and 

 demonstrating the methods by which, under public control, they can 

 be made to contribute most fully to our permanent economic welfare. 



Time altogether fails in which to set forth even cursorily what has 

 been done on the National Forests. From long before the transfer 



