Progress of the U. S. Forest Service. 399 



The previous year the Forest Service numbered 2624 men. 

 These figures are indicative of the very gradual increase which 

 may be expected in the future, in contrast to the rapid increases 

 in the earher history of the Service. 



Area and Boundaries of the National Forests. 



During the past three fiscal years, the area of the National 

 Forests has remained practically the same, amounting to ap- 

 proximately 187,500,000 acres at end of the fiscal year 1912, in- 

 clusive of Alaska. Exclusive of Alaska and Porto Rico, the 

 National Forests at the end of 1912 included roughly 160,600,000 

 acres. This area is distributed in approximately 160 National 

 Forests, a National Forest thus averaging slightly over one mil- 

 lion acres. Exclusive of the acquisitions under the Weeks Bill, 

 National Forests exist in 20 states, California leads in the area of 

 National Forests within its borders with almost 28,000,000 acres. 

 Idaho and Montana follow closely with almost 20,000,000 acres in 

 each of these two states. 



The policy which has governed recommendations for additions 

 and eliminations since the fiscal year 191 1, may be briefed as 

 follows : 



Lands to be retained within the National Forests: 



1. Lands wholly or partly covered with brush which are valu- 

 able for watershed protection, or open land on which trees may 

 be grown, unless their permanent value is greater for cultivation 

 than for protection. 



2. Lands wholly or partly covered with timber and under- 

 growth which are more valuable for growing of trees than for 

 agriculture. 



3. Lands not possessing timber or brush which should be in- 

 cluded in National Forests for administrative reasons. 



Lands to be eliminated from National Forests: 



I. Lands not wholly or partly covered with timber or under- 

 growth upon which it is not expected to grow trees. 



Claims and Settlements on the National Forests. 



The claims on the National Forests may be divided into two 

 large classes : i. Homestead claims. 2. Mining claims. 



