36 



The supervisors have in many cases made recommendations for the withdrawal of 

 administrative sites which, owing to inaccuracy in the descriptions or for other rea- 

 sons, it is afterwards found should not have been made. In such cases the supervisor 

 should at once forward the necessary explanation to the Forester with a specific 

 recommendation. Since the tract is noted as a possible administrative site, an appli- 

 cant under the Act of June 11, 1906, would be informed that his application could 

 not be considered. This is liable to result in serious injustice. 



Each supervisor is requested to go over carefully all recommendations heretofore 

 made and forward to the Forester a complete list of the tracts which will not be 

 needed. 



The utmost care should be exercised in preparing the lists, particularly in clearly 

 identifying the tracts, with all descriptions which may have been previously given. 



A report on a proposed administrative site must specifically state the character of 

 the land whether mineral or nonminerial. If mineral, the report should be supple- 

 mented by further report on new Form 654. If there is any reason to believe the 

 title of the United States is clouded, the facts should be fully reported. Examiners 

 under the act of June 11, 1906, should be particularly careful to fill out the section 

 on claims in Form 110 before recommending the withdrawal of a tract for adminis- 

 trative purposes. 



The use of the term "Ranger Station " as a general designation for all tracts with- 

 drawn for the use of the Service is discontinued and the term " Administrative 

 Site" is substituted for it. In all reference to such sites hereafter the following 

 rule should be observed: When they are referred to as a general class, the term 

 "Administrative Site" should be used. When, however, specific cases are referred 

 to, they should be designated by a term indicating the nature of the sites, as, for 

 instance, "Nursery Sites," "Ranger Sites," "Reservoir Sites," etc. 



Claims 



In reports on mineral claims careful attention should be paid to that part of the 

 report relative to the nature, extent, and value of the improvements, and the dis- 

 covery of mineral. 



Improvements must be such as directly tend 'to promote the extraction of mineral 

 from the claims, such as cuts, shafts, tunnels, etc., hoisting machinery, black- 

 smith shops for sharpening tools, boarding and bunk houses for miners working the 

 claims, and for placer claims hydraulic mining machinery, ditches or flumes for con- 

 veying water used in mining operations. Where extensive improvements are made 

 on one or more claims for the benefit of others, the feasibility of developing claims 

 on which improvements are not located should be clearly shown. 



A common deficiency in filling out Form 655 and often in rendering special reports 

 on settlement claims, where the settlement has not been continuous, is the failure to 

 state the number, duration, and cause of absences, so as to enable the office to reach 

 a proper conclusion where compliance with law has not been strict and the recom- 

 mendation must accordingly be based, to a large extent, on apparent good or bad 

 faith of claimant. 



If it appears he has been absent from the land from time to time, the cause of the 

 absence should be noted. If claimant is away to earn money to support himself and 

 improve the claim, the nature of the employment should be stated, and whether 

 claimant has continued to cultivate and improve the claim. Care should be taken if 

 claimant has a family and they reside elsewhere, not on the claim, to indicate the 

 character of that residence, whether claimant, in fact, maintains his home with the 

 family, and not on the claim, notwithstanding appearances on the claim might 

 otherwise indicate residence. 



o 



