226 OUR NATIONAL FORESTS 



in all cases were covered with heavy stands of tim- 

 ber, very small portions of the land had been 

 cleared, the claimant's residence on the land was not 

 in compliance with the law, seldom was any crop 

 raised on the land, and the claimant in other ways 

 did not carry out the intent of the law. 



The Act of June 11, 1906, known as the National 

 Forest Homestead Act, provides for the acquisition 

 by qualified entrymen of agricultural lands within 

 National Forests. The Act is in effect an exten- 

 sion of the general provisions of the Homestead 

 laws to the agricultural lands within the National 

 Forests, with the essential difference that the land 

 must be classified by the Secretary of Agriculture 

 as chiefly valuable for agriculture. 



This Act authorizes the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture in his discretion to examine and ascertain, 

 upon application or otherwise, the location and ex- 

 tent of lands both surveyed and unsurveyed in the 

 National Forests, chiefly valuable for agriculture, 

 which may be occupied for agricultural purposes 

 without injury to the National Forests or public in- 

 terests. He is authorized to list and describe such 

 lands by metes and bounds or otherwise and to file 

 such lists and descriptions with the Secretary of the 



