16 BULLETIN 1001, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



lands does not permit full control of the use, for reasons already 

 set forth [12]. 



The legal status of the lands. — The present tenure of the land [2] 

 is to be explained in terms of the history of its acquisition and the 

 methods of disposal which have been in use by our Government [5], 

 The acquisition concerns us little here, but the methods of disposal 

 explain very clearly the reasons for the present status. (See bibliog- 

 raphy, section 1.) 



Large areas of land in certain of the Southwestern States that 

 were originally settled by colonists from Mexico are held under 

 titles conferred by the Government of the United States in accord- 

 ance with treaty stipulations. In consequence there are to be found 

 in this region many large areas of land lying in solid bodies, often 

 amounting to many thousands of acres, that may be handled as 

 units. Most of such land has been used as open range and much 

 of it is still so used because the title rests in communities or groups 

 of numerous heirs. Certain individuals, often part owners of the 

 land, recognizing the advantages to be gained by proper manage- 

 ment, have recently obtained control, in one way or another, of 

 several of these grants and have fenced them. It is only a ques- 

 tion of time until they will all be so managed. (See fig. 3.) 



Immense areas of the land of the Western States have been set 

 aside as reservations for the use of various Indian tribes under the 

 direction of the Department of the Interior. (See fig. 4.) Changes 

 in the areas of these reservations occasionally occur; sometimes 

 they are extensions, but more frequently reductions, or the land may 

 be allotted to individual members of the tribe. Extensions of area 

 have led to the issuance of lieu land scrip for certain lands that have 

 been surrendered for addition to the reservations (See p. 65.) Some 

 of the Indians do not live on their reservations, or do not have enough 

 stock to use all the forage. Under such conditions the Indian agents 

 have rented grazing land or privileges to stockmen of the region — a 

 practice which benefits both the stockmen and the Indians. 



As early as 1823, Congress established the policy of granting areas 

 of public lands to separate States and Territories to encourage the 

 construction of canals, river improvements, and wagon roads. Begin- 

 ning about 1850, grants of a similar character were made, first to the 

 States, and later to the railroads, through certain thinly populated 

 sections of the West. This policy was continued until 1871, and many 

 millions of acres of public land were transferred in this way to rail- 

 road corporations [6]. (See p. 65.) 



The ordinary method of making these grants was to give certain 

 sections out of every township (usually the odd-numbered ones) 

 within a belt of a specified number of miles on each side of the rail- 



