42 



That covering salary should be mailed to the Fiscal Agent in a separate envelope 

 promptly at the close of each month, not before. Care should also be exercised 

 that the Office titles of all projects and studies are given exactly as furnished 

 by each Chief of Office. Failure to observe this will not only cause unnecessary 

 work in the Office of Accounts, but will endanger the accuracy of the cost- 

 keeping record. The projects to which transportation requests are to be charged 

 should be reported on the back of the form accompanying reimbursement 

 accounts. Calculations for salary reports are based on actual working days 

 during the month, exclusive of Sundays and holidays. For instance, if there 

 are twenty-five working days in a month, one twenty-fifth of the monthly salary 

 should be charged for each day's work. 



The cost-keeping record is of much importance to the Forest Service in gen- 

 eral, and its efficiency depends almost wholly upon the care with which field men 

 make these reports on Forms 98 and 99. It is expected that every member of 

 the Service will cooperate to make this record as complete and accurate as 

 possible. 



Certification in Advance 



It has come to the notice of the Fiscal Agent that the certificates to Form A 

 vouchers are in some instances signed by officers in charge before the signature 

 of the claimant to the receipt is obtained. Officers in charge should under no 

 circumstances certify to an account until the amount due has been entered and 

 the receipt signed by the party to whom the money is due. They should care- 

 fully examine all vouchers before submitting them for settlement, to detect any 

 irregularity in the charges or in the signature to the receipt. > The importance 

 of thorough familiarity with the Fiscal Regulations regarding the preparation 

 of accounts can not be too strongly urged upon officers in charge. 



Use of long' Form A 



For purchase accounts of less than ten items the use of long Form A vouchers 

 should be discontinued and the short forms be used instead. A supply of the 

 short forms has been forwarded to all supervisors, and more can be secured 

 upon requisition. 



New Form 99 



A revision of Form 99 has been printed and a supply forwarded to forest 

 officers. Full instructions regarding the distribution of expenditures among 

 the new headings (comprising twelve instead of six projects) are printed on the 

 back of each form. All salaries and expenses on account of Forests should be 

 distributed under the new headings, according to these instructions. 



Latest Area Figures 



A new area and location table was issued April 1, showing the total area on 

 that date of National Forests in the United States, Alaska, and Porto Rico to 

 be 147,948,685 acres. Since April 1 proclamations have been issued enlarging the 

 following National Forests: "Big Burros, Gallinas, and Lincoln, in New Mexico; 

 Stony Creek, in California ; and Manti and Beaver, in Utah. The following new 

 National Forests have also been created : Toquima and Monitor, in Nevada, and 

 Guadalupe and Sacramento, in New Mexico. The total estimated area of all 

 National Forests in the United States, Alaska, and Porto Rico, up to and in- 

 cluding April 27, is 150,255,045 acres. 



