FOKEST SERVICE. 495 



and applications are pending for about 180,000,000 feet more. Rapid 

 deterioration makes further sales improbable. 



The selling of much of the fire-killed timber was complicated by 

 the intermixture of Government and unperfected private holdings. 

 To operate, purchasers required solid blocks; on lands of unper- 

 fected title, however, the Government could neither sell nor allow the 

 claimant to sell without some provision against loss should the lands 

 never pass to the claimant. The main difficulty arose in connection 

 with the unclassified or unsurveyed Northern Pacific lands. An 

 opinion from the Attorney General, however, made it possible to al- 

 low the cutting of the timber from unperfected private holdings after 

 the filing of a bond sufficient to protect the interests of the United 

 States. Working under this opinion a cooperative agreement was 

 drafted with the Northern Pacific Eailroad whereby the company 

 agreed to dispose of its timber and to bear its proportionate share of 

 the expense of scaling, running of lines, and general supervision. The 

 same general plan was followed in the case of timber on unperfected 

 homesteads. 



There is an active demand for the white pine and other timber on 

 the Kaniksu National Forest in this district, and the sale of 

 450,000,000 feet to several local operators during the coming winter 

 is under consideration. These sales are particularly desirable, since 

 they will make possible the opening of from 12,000 to 15,000 acres of 

 agricultural land, now heavily timbered, to settlement. Tentative 

 applications for large tracts in northern Montana for the manufac- 

 ture of paper pulp have also been received. 



District 1 is the only district showing increased sales during the 

 year. The cut has showed little change. In district 2, including 

 South Dakota, Colorado, and much of Wyoming, both sales and cut 

 fell off. This was due largely to the retrenchment policy of the trans- 

 continental railroads, which have in the past bought for ties much of 

 the timber sold, especially in Wyoming. Other sales for local con- 

 sumption in district 2, on the whole, fluctuated little from preceding 

 years. An increase in the total sales business of this district over that 

 of preceding years may be expected as soon as new contracts for ties 

 are made by the railroad companies. It is anticipated that this will 

 take place in the near future. 



In district 3, including Arkansas, Arizona, New Mexico, and 

 Florida, receipts increased. In Arkansas increasing sales and de- 

 mand emphasize the importance of securing better utilization in the 

 manufacture of cooperage stock, which takes a high grade of mate- 

 rial and wastes much timber of value for the manufacture of lumber 

 and other products. Investigations are now being made to determine 

 the percentage of loss in stave manufacture as compared with ordi- 

 nary logging. 



Tentative applications have been received in Arizona for sales to 

 supply the mining markets in the soutlieni jiart of the State, which 

 heretofore have secured their material from the Pacific coast, an ob- 

 vious economic loss when timber within a few miles is available. 

 Pending sales for this market and for the general yellow-pine lumber 

 trade involve a total of more than 500,000.000 board feet. 



In district 4, which includes Utah, southern Idaho, and western 

 Wyoming, practically all the timber sales of the year were small, 



