160 AKNUAL REPORT 



moisture there to speak of for two or three years at a time. In the 

 spring of the year he had found very little moisture, and one could 

 hardly dig a post-hole. He had been overseeing quite anumber of tree- 

 claims, taking care of some seventy acres of trees, growing them for 

 different parties under contract. He thought the timber culture act 

 a beneficial one and ought to be upheld. 



Mr. Pearce inquired what per cent of timber claims were success- 

 fully maintained. 



Mr. Underwood said about one-third or one-fourth of them were 

 first-class. He referred more particularly, however, to his own expe- 

 rience, and could not say what per cent of timber claims in general 

 were successful. 



Mr. Fuller said that one of the land officers at Benson had made the 

 statement that he knew of but two men in his district who were com- 

 plying with the timber culture law strictly and were making a suc- 

 cess in growing trees That statement was made some six or seven 

 years ago. 



[The Commissioner of the General Land Office estimates the propor- 

 tion of timber culture entries made without securing the results in- 

 tended by the provisions of that act at 90 per cent. — Sec] 



Mr. Gibbs said the best estimate he had seen of the percentage of 

 lands that had been covered with forests under the provisions of the 

 timber culture act was about 30 per cent in Dakota and Minnesota. 

 Under that act only one tree-claim could be taken in a single section,, 

 and only ten acres of trees were required That was a very small 

 amount of timber for an entire section, and so far as climatic influ- 

 ences were concerned the operation of the tree claim law would be an 

 utter failure. So far as accomplishing anything for forestry in general 

 it would amount to very little. If we wish to reforest this country for 

 the purpose of affecting changes in the climate we must have the ma- 

 chiner}^ of the government set to work, in the manner it is conducted 

 in Europe. He thought there was no better purpose to which the idle 

 millions now lying idle in the government treasury could be devoted 

 than to the reforestation of the treeless prairies in the hands of the 

 government. 



Prof. Porter said if any action was to be taken in regard to this matter 

 of sustaining the timber culture act no time should be lost. Bills had 

 already been introduced in Congress for the repeal of the law, and 

 also for the repeal of the pre-emption act. 



Six years ago he had gone on a tour of exploration in Minnesota 

 and Dakota, and was convinced at that time the timber culture act 



