34 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



CLASSIFICATION BY DEPUTY SURVEYORS. 



The regulations for the survey of public lands require the deputy- 

 surveyor to note and report all occurrences of mineral. These re- 

 quirements have varied from time to time. In certain periods the 

 deputy surveyor has reported a somewhat detailed classification of 

 the lands surveyed into first-class agricultural, second-class agri- 

 cultural, grazing, mineral, timber, etc. At one time all lands re- 

 ported by deputy surveyors to be mineral in character were with- 

 held from agricultural entry, but the inaccuracy of the segregations 

 and the magnitude of the areas involved led to a general order throw- 

 ing all such lands open to all forms of entry. The only present 

 result of a report by a deputy surveyor that land is mineral is to sub- 

 ject agricultural entries to a more careful scrutiny than would other- 

 wise be made. 



CLASSIFICATION BY LAND OFFICE FIELD SERVICE. 



The General Land Office has a well-organized field service en- 

 gaged in the examination of entries and selections of public lands. 

 All agricultural entries or selections, including State selections and 

 railroad lieu selections but excepting homestead and desert-land en- 

 tries on unwithdrawn lands, are examined by this field service as to 

 their mineral character and power-site or reservoir values, unless the 

 Geological Survey is able from its records to make a classification 

 of the lands. Formerly the reports of the members of the field serv- 

 ice were accepted as final without review outside of the Land Office 

 and the Secretary's office, and, as a result, some classifications by the 

 Geological Survey were overruled by the Land Office. The resulting 

 confusion led to the adoption of cooperative agreements between the 

 two organizations, whereby the information gathered by each is made 

 fully available to the other. The first of these agreements was en- 

 tered into July 10, 1910. It has been replaced by a more compre- 

 hensive and more systematic agreement adopted March 5, 1912. Un- 

 der this agreement all entries, selections, or applications except metal- 

 liferous mineral entries, coal applications, and homestead and desert 

 entries on unwithdrawn lands are referred by the General Land Office 

 to the Geological Survey. The Survey thereupon renders to the Land 

 Office a report on each case, classifying the land involved. If the 

 Survey classifies the land as having no mineral, power, or reservoir 

 value, questions concerning these values are considered as settled and 

 the case goes forward if it is otherwise regular. If in a given case 

 the Survey reports that the lands are mineral or that they have 

 power or reservoir value the applicant is given 60 days within 

 which to prove that the land is not of the character claimed by the 

 Geological Survey but that it is in fact of the character originally 

 claimed by him. If he fails so to prove, his application is canceled. 



