THE USE BOOK. 71 



free use of all saw timber may be refused. Necessary 

 cutting of Jimber in surveying .for lawful projects may 

 be done without permit. Unnecessary cutting is trespass. 



Whether an applicant is entitled to free use must be decided 

 by the Forest officer who receives the application. In all cases 

 not clearly covered by the letter of the regulations he should be 

 guided by their spirit, especially as expressed by the term 

 " those who may not reasonably be required to purchase," and 

 by the distinction between personal and commercial use. A 

 member of a corporation is not necessarily debarred from free 

 use of fuel for his own home, although his ability to secure it 

 from another source should be considered, especially if the Forest 

 supply is limited and in demand by more needy applicants. Resi- 

 dents of towns and villages emrasred in business or earning a 

 livelihood are reasonably expected to purchase fuel and building 

 material for town dwellings and other home structures. A 

 settler may receive a liberal allowance for his own use, but he 

 is not entitled to free material for sale or profit. There is no 

 more reason for giving a hotel keeper or merchant timber solely 

 to build or warm his hotel or store than for giving him a 

 stock of goods, yet it need not be refused the proprietor of a 

 small establishment when it will be used chiefly by himself and 

 his family. Prospectors should be assisted to develop their 

 properties, but owners of mines, who employ men on wage?, 

 should be required to buy. Free timber for use on alleged 

 invalid claims may be i ranted for frel only, pending the final 

 determination of title to the claims. 



The appraisement set upon free-use material should not be 

 less than for any sales from the National Forest or the dis- 

 trict from which the timber is to be taken. Every super- 

 visor should issue to his force at the beginning of each fiscal 

 year, July 1, a schedule of minimum rates for the free-use busi- 

 ness. A copy should be sent to the Forester. The rates for the 

 same class of material may be varied in different districts if the 

 conditions are widely different. In general, posts should be 

 valued at a given rate per post, and poles at a given rate per 



