204 



THE IRRIGTION A GE. 



will attempt to prevent the disorder which 

 usually accompanies the opening of new 

 lands. It was expected that the reserva- 

 tions would be opened about July of this 

 year, but according to a recent act of con- 

 gress the allotment to the Indians did not 

 begin until Dec. of last year and not end 

 until Aug of : 01. As this tract cannot be 

 opened until six months after the end of 

 the allotment poriod. it is now pretty cer- 

 ta ; n that the opening will not occur until 

 late in the spring of '02. As the dept. of 

 interior has charge of this work, those in- 

 terested should write to Sec. Hitchcock, 

 Washii.gton, D. C., for full particulars. 



DIVISION OF FORESTRY. 



The Division of Forestry of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture has selected 

 from its working force two trained lum- 

 bermen with some knowledge of forestry, 

 to be sent to the Philippine Islands in 

 eompliance wilh a cable request of the 

 Taft Philippine Commission. The per- 

 sons selected for this work are Mr. Grant 

 Bruce, formerly a State forester in New 

 York, and Mr. Edward Hamilton. Both 

 of these men are expert lumbermen with 

 some training in forestry, and have been 

 selected in view of their special fitness for 

 the Philippine work. 



A bu*eau of forestry was established in 

 the Philippines in April, 1900. with Capt. 

 (Sreorge P. Ahern, Ninth United States 

 Infantry, in charge. The work of this 

 Bureau has convinced the Taft Commission 

 of the great importance of the timber lands 

 as a natural source of wealth and of the 

 necessity of putting the Bureau on a sub- 

 stantial footing and handling these wood- 

 lands under scientific forest methods. 

 Furthermore, it is evident that the cutting 

 of timber under proper regulations will 

 provide a large and increasing annual re- 

 venue to the Government. It has been 

 found necessary to permit the cutting of 

 timber to supply the present pressing 



needs, but care has been taken at the- 

 same time that the cutting should be done 

 in a manner that would work no injury to 

 the future growth of the forests. These 

 considerations led the commission to cable 

 to Washington for trained foresters to 

 assist in putting the service on a more 

 satisfactory footing. 



Under the Spanish adminstration the 

 timber lands of the Philippine Islands were 

 in charge of a Department of Forestry 

 which was organized in 1863. The per- 

 sonnel of this Department was made up of 

 expert foresters, rangers, clerks, draughts- 

 men, etc. , the higher officials being selected 

 from the Spanish Corps of Engineers. 



After Capt Ahern was appointed he re- 

 ceived authority to employ a small number 

 of foresters, rangers, and clerks; by Sep- 

 tember his office force had been doubled: 

 in order to handle the work of the Bureau 

 properly. The call for activity on the part 

 of those in charge of the Bureau of Forestry 

 was emphasized at once by the lumber 

 famine in Manila and other important 

 towns, owing to the destruction of build- 

 ings in the war, and the increased demand 

 for good dwelling houses resulting from 

 the large influx of Americans. For these 

 reasons the felling of trees and the market- 

 ing of lumber had to begin soon after the 

 establishment of the Bureau. Captain 

 Ahern is in constant communication with 

 the Division of Forestry, for assistance and 

 cooperation with the Philippine Bureau of 

 Forestry. 



The work of that Bnreau was confined 

 for some months to the Island of Luzon, 

 but recently has been carried to other 

 points in the Archipelago. The present 

 plan of the Bureau is to cover all the im- 

 portant forests as the development of the 

 working force will .permit. One great 

 drawback which is retarding the work of 

 the Bureau, is the lack of capable and 

 active subordinate officials. It is difficult 

 to find men familiar with the forest con- 

 ditions and the uses of the woods of the 



