THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD LEASES 31 



3 cents per acre , and the leases extended over a period of five to 

 ten years. This charge for the forage crop resulted in the active 

 purchase of the pasture lands, the price of which in 1895 was 

 reduced from $2 to $1 per acre. 



The Wyoming Leasing System. — Of the many States that 

 were granted lands, Wyoming is an exception in that she still 

 retains the greater part of her grants. In the administration 

 of the Wyoming State lands, it was provided in 1891 that no 

 land should be sold at less than $10 per acre.^ As most of the 

 lands are arid and valuable only as pasture, purchases have been 

 limited. Here the maximum period of rental is five years, and 

 the lands are rarely rented for a shorter period. The usual 

 rental fee is from 25 to 5 cents per acre, depending upon the acces- 

 sibility of the lands and of the water supply for livestock pur- 

 poses. As a source of revenue the leasing of State lands in 

 Wyoming has been notably successful. With the steady de- 

 mand for range lands between 1892 and 1902 the rentals in- 

 creased from $7,397 to $95,925. Tke funds are devoted to 

 various public purposes. 



The Northern Pacific Railroad Leases. — The Northern Pacific 

 Railroad land grants acquired from the Government con- 

 sisted of the odd-numbered sections in a strip of country 50 

 miles wide on each side of the railroad line. The holdings com- 

 prised of agricultural, timber, and pasture lands. In accord- 

 ance with the policy of transportation development, the lands 

 were sold as rapidly as possible. It was soon found, however, 

 that the treeless, rocky tracts were not suited to reclamation 

 by irrigation and were too dry for ordinary agricultural purposes. 

 An examination by the company in 1895 showed that large areas 

 of these arid lands had been denuded of vegetation by over- 

 grazing. It was evident that, in order to avoid loss of traffic 

 to the company and at the same time to dispose of the lands 

 advantageously, something had to be done to improve and main- 

 tain their productivity. Accordingly a system of leasing was 

 decided upon. 



As the lands, previously used without cost, were now seriously 

 1 Revised Statutes of Wyoming, 1899, Sec. 821. 



