550 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



experiments described in the body of this report must of necessity 

 extend over more than one year that specific mention of a number 

 still under way will not be made. 



The classification, survey, and listing of national forest lands 

 chiefly valuable for agriculture, provided for in the appropriation act 

 of August 10, 1912, will be begun. Men well qualified by training 

 and experience w'ill be selected to have direct supervision over the 

 work, to which they will give their entire time and attention. Ex- 

 perts from the Bureau of Soils will assist in the classification. Field 

 examinations will be detailed and thorough, and will take into account 

 all factors, such as climate, topography, soil, stand of merchantable 

 timber, and value for purposes other than agriculture, influencing the 

 comparative values of the lands examined. Parties have already been 

 organized and are proceeding with the work on eight forests. This 

 work will be extended to other forests as rapidly as men are available. 

 Effort will be made to sell the stumpage on agricultural lands listed 

 as temporaril}^ more valuable for timber, in order that these lands 

 may as soon as possible be opened to entry. The great area to be 

 classified and the necessity for thorough and painstaking examina- 

 tions will necessarily cause the work to be extended over several years. 

 It wdll, however, in no way interfere with the regular handling of 

 applications for homesteads under the act of June 11, 190G. 



The work of preparing detailed fire plans for the national forests 

 will be carried forward as rapidly as possible. Along with this will 

 go further study of effective means of locating and reporting fires 

 and of how to use the small protective force to the best advantage. 

 Lookout stations will be established and equipped, trails and tele- 

 phone lines constructed, and fire-fighting equipment purchased to the 

 extent that funds permit. A great deal of attention will be given to 

 the problem of bringing home to the public the necessity of cooper- 

 ating with the service in the prevention and suppression of forest 

 fires. 



In conformity with the plans outlined in the body of this report, 

 effort will be made during the year to bring the total amount of tim- 

 ber sold as nearly as possible up to 3,000,000,000 feet. As one of the 

 means of accomplishing this, improvement will be sought in methods 

 of advertising and in otherwise bringing available timber to the at- 

 tention of prospective purchasers. Particular attention will be given 

 during the year to the development of a policy for large sales that 

 will be practical from the standpoint of the lumberman and that 

 will at the same time insure protection to the interests of the United 

 States. A modification of the timber-sale policy regarding small 

 sales will be made necessary by the provision in the agricultural ap- 

 propriation act for the fiscal year 1913, which directs the Secretary 

 of Agriculture to sell at actual cost to homestead settlers and farmers, 

 for their domestic use, the mature dead and down timber in national 

 forests. Heretofore the law has provided that sales of national 

 forest timber not exceeding $100 should be made at its appraised 

 value, and that timber of value exceeding $100 should be advertised 

 for at least 30 days and disposed of to the highest bidder. Under 

 the present amendment timber desired by homestead settlers and 

 farmers for their own use will be sold to them without advertising 

 at a price based upon the cost per thousand feet of making and ad- 

 ministering such sales. 



