Locating Reserves. 275 



;at the Land Office. Thus are distinguished Homestead Entry, Pat- 

 ented Land, Railroad Land, Timber and Stone Entry, Desert Entry, 

 Approved State Selection, Unapproved State Selection, Patented 

 Coal Land, Coal Entry, Mineral Claims, Lieu Selection and School 

 Land. 



Where the proportion of alienated land is very large, such areas 

 are not generally considered suitable for reserve purposes. The 

 ■exception to this statement is in the case of railroad land, where, 

 within certain limits, every odd-numbered section was granted to a 

 railroad. Some of the reserves contain a very large amount of land 

 of this character. Where the land is otherwise desirable for reserve 

 purposes, it may be included, if only 10 per cent, remains in the 

 hands of the Government. The repeal of the lieu selection law puts 

 a stop to the immense fraud by which the railroad companies, or the 

 lumber companies to which they sold, were able to exchange the 

 worthless portion of their holdings for valuable timber lands else- 

 where. 



Methods of field examination and report vary greatly with the 

 size of the area to be examined and with the comparative necessity 

 of securing exact results in the determination of boundaries. These 

 points will be discussed in connection with the various classes of 

 work. 



EXAMINATION OF LANDS FOR NEW RESERVES. 



This branch of work at first occupied practically the entire atten- 

 tion of the force of the Section of Reserve Boundaries. The large 

 areas of special importance have, however, for the most part, been 

 examined, and with the increasing demand for new lands for set- 

 tlement, there will be an added amount of attention paid to read- 

 justing the boundaries of reserves already existing or recommended 

 for creation. 



The considerations justifying the creation of new reserves are the 

 protection of important watersheds and the production of timber for 

 commercial use. Local demands for the regulation of grazing are of 

 ■course to be considered, but can never be allowed to govern on large 

 areas where there is no question of waterflow or reproduction. The 

 Forest Service does not attempt a general solution of the problem 

 of grazing on public lands ; this can be brought about only by action 

 on the part of Congress. As a matter of fact, however, the Forest 



