1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



295 



est Assistant, and Forest Ranger. In 

 so far as possible the administration of 

 the reserves takes place on the ground 

 and with the promptness that is sup- 

 posed to characterize private business. 



One of the most important aspects 

 of forest administration is the sale of 

 timber. All timber on forest reserves 

 which can be cut safely and for which 

 there is actual need is for sale. Ap- 

 plications to purchase are invited. 

 Green timber may be sold except 

 where its removal makes a second 

 crop doubtful, reduces the timber sup- 

 ply below the point of safety, or in- 

 jures the streams. All dead timber is 

 for sale. The cutting of this timber 

 is done under the local supervision of 

 the Forest Service and in accordance 

 with certain clearly defined and practi- 

 cal rules. 



SPECULATION PREVENTED. 



The restrictions governing the tim- 

 ber sales, while effective, are simple. 

 Application is made to the local officer 

 in charge of the reserve from which 

 the timber is desired, who executes 

 small sales on the ground. In case of 

 large sales, the application is forward- 

 ed to the Forest Service, from which 

 the advertisement of the sale is made. 

 Applicants for timber are required to 

 send sealed bids to the Forest Service. 

 Small bidders enjoy exactly equal op- 

 portunities with large, and monopoliz- 

 ation is effectually forestalled. The 

 highest bid fixes the price. Should the 

 first applicant desire to begin cutting 

 immediately he may (except in Cali- 

 fornia) do so, on condition that he pay 

 in advance at a price already fixed by 

 the Forest Service, and that he obli- 

 gate himself to pay the full amount 

 named in the highest bid. Thus delay 

 is avoided and the Government is pro- 

 tected. Speculation in reserve timber 

 is made impossible by the provision 

 that the timber must be removed with- 

 in a specified time( and that when a 

 contract extends over several years a 

 proportionate amount of timber must 

 be removed each year. Five years is 

 the extreme limit of a sales contract. 



That these restrictions are not oner- 

 ous is shown by the numerous sales 

 made under them. A single sales of 

 50,000,000 feet of lodgepole pine for 

 railroad ties is pending on the Mon- 

 tana Division of the Yellowstone For- 

 est Reserve. It is estimated that 165,- 

 000,000 feet B. M. of lodegpole pine 

 can be taken from one watershed in 

 the Medicine Bow Forest Reserve, still 

 leaving a large percentage for future 

 crops. Much timber is sold in small 

 lots ; fifty applications for such sales 

 are made to each single application 

 for 1,000,000 board feet or more; the 

 prompt, businesslike consideration ac- 

 corded such applications standing in 

 marked contrast with the slow meth- 

 ods once prevailing, when all applica- 

 tions had to be made through Wash- 

 ington. 



FORESTS AS REVENUE. 



During the year 1905 the sales of 

 timber from the National reserves 

 were as follows : 



The largest sales so far made are 

 71,466,537 board feet from South Da- 

 kota; 68,255,916 from Wyoming; and 

 5,327,443 from Utah. 



In sales of wood for fuel South Da- 

 kota led with 29,844^2 cords ; Arizona 

 followed with 16,649; an d Colorado 

 with 10,795^/2. The total number of 

 cords sold was 74,120. 



In sales of posts and poles Montana 

 led with 119,500, followed by Wyom- 

 ing with 30,750, and Colorado with 

 13,988. The total number sold was 

 188,740. 



The largest timber sales were made 

 in Wyoming, where they reached 

 $143,894.81. South Dakota's sales 

 ranked second in value, amounting to 

 $78,958.24, and Colorado's to $23,- 

 937.07. The total sales for 1905 

 reached $273,659.82. 



Nor are the receipts from these sales 

 swallowed up by the cost of adminis- 

 tration. The entire property of the 

 forest reserves, worth $250,000,00 in 

 cash, is now being administered at a 

 cost of less than one-third of 1 per 

 cent, on its value, while increase in 



