1902. 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



28r 



dead timber for fuel, fencing, house- 

 logs, etc., it has been found very desir- 

 able to make the S3'stem as simple and 

 expeditious as possible. To this end the 

 superintendent formerly granted all ap- 

 plications of this kind, and of late this 

 authority has been transferred to the 

 supervisor, or actual manager of the 

 reserve. At the same time, however, 

 the maximum amount granted by the 

 local officer has been reduced from $ico 

 to $20 stumpage value. 



In cases of sale a formal application, 

 accompanied by a detail report involv- 

 ing a forest description and estimate of 

 the timber desired by the applicant, is 

 submitted to the Secretary of the Inte- 

 rior, who grants or refuses the sale. 

 If granted, the timber is usually offered 

 for sale by regular advertisement. The 

 successful bidder is then required to 

 enter into a contract, sometimes accom- 

 panied by a bond, pays in advance, and 

 conducts his work in accordance with 

 the printed and written contract, under 

 the supervision of a ranger or other 

 forest officer. 



In all cases the area from which the 

 timber is to be removed is limited by a 

 blazed line ; all trees, in live timber, are 

 marked for cutting. There is usually 

 a size-limit, modified to meet conditions ; 

 the height of the stump, an economical 

 use of the trunk, and, in many cases, the 

 use of all of the wood above three inches 

 in thickness, is prescribed and insisted 

 upon. In most cases thus far allowed, 

 the tops are worked up into cord- wood, 

 and the limbs are piled ready for burn- 

 ina:. so that manv of the cuttings on 

 the reserves have been done in a man- 

 ner creditable to any forest manage- 

 ment. The logs, cord-wood, etc., are 

 measured and stamped before removal, 

 just as in similar operations elsewhere. 



So far, then, the forest work in the 

 reserves has been little more than a 

 modification of ordinary lumbering, re- 

 stricted to local, urgent demands. It 

 has been limited to such timber as could 

 be spared without injury to the protect- 

 ive forest, and at the same time secure 

 an economic use of the material ; also 

 a cleaning up of debris, such as any 

 orderly farmer demands in his wood- 

 lot, thus avoiding the dangerous fire- 



traps of the ordinary logger's "slash." 

 In addition, a few attempts have been 

 made in other directions. In some of 

 the reserves fire lines have been cut for 

 the protection of the timber, and also a 

 few preliminary experiments have been 

 made of reforestation of burns and 

 chaparral lands. So far, the results of 

 these experiments are too few to warrant 

 further description. To what extent 

 reforestation of bare lands and similar 

 work in practical forestry will be intro- 

 duced is difiicult to state now. That 

 there are a number of localities where 

 a reasonable expenditure of money for 

 this purpose would be well repaid, there 

 is not the least doubt, but with present 

 appropriations matters of this kind must 

 remain among the desiderata. 



Grazing in the forest reserves to-day 

 is of greater importance, financially, to 

 the people of the respective districts 

 than is the timber business. 



Generally, sheep and goats are for- 

 bidden to graze on reserv'es. This is in 

 accord with the general belief and ex- 

 perience that close-herded bands of any 

 kind of animals are more destructive 

 than scattered loose-footed grazing ani- 

 mals. Owing to peculiar local condi- 

 tions, sheep-grazing is permitted at 

 present in eight of the forty-six reserves 

 now in existence. A limited number of 

 cattle and horses are permitted to graze 

 in nearly all reserves. During the season 

 of i90[ the total number of animals 

 grazed on reserve pastures amounted in 

 round numbers to 1,180,000 head of 

 sheep and 277,000 head of cattle and 

 horses. 



Under the present rules the grazing 

 in all reserves and of all kinds of stock 

 is controlled by a permit system, which 

 makes it necessary for every one to make 

 formal application. For the accommo- 

 dation of actual settlers within forest 

 reserves owning small herds, the matter 

 is simplified b}^ having the supervisor 

 issue the permits. 



In all cases the total number of ani- 

 mals allowed to graze in any given re- 

 serve is decided for each year by the 

 Department of the Interior, and also the 

 time when stock may enter the reserve, 

 as well as the length of the grazing 

 season. In all reser\-es where sheep are 



