News and Xo'cs. 303 



streams and to help equalize their flow being considered ex- 

 tremely important, the location of a government forest area in 

 the region is found advisable. 



This new area, in which purchases will be made, is at the ex- 

 treme southern portion of the Appalachian region, about 150 

 miles from the nearest lands which the Government has pur- 

 chased hitherto. The new area is almost completely covered with 

 forest ; 92 per cent, of it has never been cleared, and of the 8 

 per cent, upon which clearing has been attempted 3 per cent, has 

 been abandoned and is reverting to forest growth. There is a 

 merchantable stand of hardwood and pine timber, but there has 

 been no great amount of lumbering because the locality has been 

 too far from transportation facilities. 



One striking thing about the region is that, although it has 

 been settled for more than 100 years, a part of the land is still 

 public domain, fully 9,000 acres never having been taken up by 

 private owners under the various land laws. These lands have 

 now been withdrawn from settlement, and request has been made 

 that they be set aside as a nucleus for the proposed National 

 Forest, the purchase of private lands being also undertaken, that 

 another Forest of sufficient size for economical protection and 

 administration may be built up. 



The Government of the United States has just offered for sale 

 two tracts of timber on Lolo Creek within the Clearwater Na- 

 tional Forest, Idaho, aggregating 600 million feet of saw timber 

 and 350 thousand cedar poles, together with a considerable 

 amount of material for piling, shingles, and posts. The prices, 

 which represent the lowest rates which will be considered for the 

 saw timber, range from $3.50 for Green White Pine to 50 cents 

 a thousand for Douglas Fir, Western Larch, and cedar. The 

 prices of poles range from 5 cents to $2.40 apiece, depending 

 upon the size. 



The readjustment of boundaries has resulted in a total reduc- 

 tion of gross area on the Paulina and Deschutes National For- 

 ests, Oregon, of about 400,000 acres. The lands eliminated are 

 located in the east-central part of the State, a considerable portion 

 being on pumice lands of low fertility and little value for present 

 or future forest purposes. A portion is located near the Des- 



