4 News and Notes. 237 



that the rangers may raise their vegetables, grain and hay. In or- 

 der that suitable lands for these stations may be chosen, the agricul- 

 tural bill provides that only such lands within the reserves be opened 

 for settlement as "are not needed for public purposes." 



Every forest officer in charge of a reserve has therefore been or- 

 dered by the forester to prepare a list of all tracts of land in his re- 

 serve desirable for this purpose. Each tract is to be withdrawn by 

 the Secretary of the Interior from "appropriation and use of all 

 kinds under all of the public land laws, subject to all prior valid 

 adverse claims, for use as a Ranger Station by the Forest Service 

 in the administration of the Reserve." 



These stations will probably be not farther apart than two to six 

 miles, according to the roughness of the country. They will be lo- 

 cated where there is enough agricultural land for a small field and 

 suitable pasture for a few head of saddle stock and cows, in order 

 that the ranger may have a comfortable home and can raise his 

 vegetables and winter feed for his stock. The amount of agricul- 

 tural land necessary will vary from ten to perhaps forty acres in 

 different localities. 



In addition to these small tracts, each ranger will be entitled to a 

 pasture varying in size according to the quality of the feed from 

 forty to two hundred acres. Non-agricultural land will be chosen 

 for these pastures wherever possible and in no case will a site be 

 selected which may prove desirable as a mineral location, or upon 

 which there is a claim pending. 



If there is any difficulty to be met in establishing permanent 

 headquarters throughout the reserves it will be lack of water on lands 

 owned by the Government. In the reserves of the southwest where 

 water is especially scarce, nearly all the springs have long been own- 

 ed by stockmen. 



