The board may appoint an executive committee annually, on which it may 
confer authority to perform any executive act, and to exercise its judgment in 
minor details which can not conveniently be acted upon by the board. 
Sec. 10. At least once in every five (5) years, and as much oftener as the State 
forestry board may decide, the accumulated income from each tract of land so 
deeded by persons or corporations for State forestry purposes, shall be divided 
by the State forestry board and disposed of as follows, to wit: 
1st. One-third (4) shall belong to the State, to reimburse the State for the care 
and protection of the forests thereon, and for the nonpayment of taxes thereon 
to the State, county, and town, which third (+) shall be divided between the 
State, county, and town where the land is situated as follows, to wit: One-half 
(4) to the State, one-fourth (4) to the county, and one-fourth (4) to the town. 
2d. Two-thirds (#) shall be paid to such public educational institution or sys- 
tem in the State as the grantor may designate in the deed of conveyance, or in a 
separate instrument executed as deeds of land are required to be executed and 
recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the land is 
situated, or by will. But in case the grantor fails to so designate such institu- 
tion or system, or if for any reason such institution or system fails to exist, then 
the same to be paid to the proper officer or officers or boards for the benefit of the 
public school system of the State and the University of Minnesota, the public 
school system to have three-fourths (#) thereof, and the said university to have 
one-fourth (4) thereof. 
Sec. 11. The State, by and through said State forestry board, shall have full 
power and authority to lease for revenue, or for protection from fire, trespassers, 
or otherwise, low meadow tracts, or other tracts for pasture, when the same will 
not interfere with the growth of forest trees, and to sell dead and down timber 
and mature timber, and to deed said tracts or parcels or parts of the same, where 
the growth of towns, the building of railroads, water powers, or other public 
improvements may demand alienation by the State, and said State forestry board 
may cause to be cut and sold, or sold with the right to cut and haul away forests 
or trees when said board may determine that the State’s and the beneficiaries’ 
interests will be subserved by so doing, but all proceeds of such sales or leases 
shall be divided as is the income therefrom as above provided. 
Sec. 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. 
FEDERAL LEGISLATION. 
The legal authority for the establishment of the National forest 
reservations is found in the following section (sec. 24) of ‘‘An act to 
repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes,” approved March 
ails Sits 
Sec. 24. That the President of the United States may, from time to time, set 
apart and reserve, in any State or Territory having public lands bearing forests, 
any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or under- 
growth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations, and the 
President shall, by public proclamation, declare the establishment of such 
reservations and the limit thereof. 
Acting upon this authority, Presidents Cleveland and Harrison 
established seventeen forest reservations, with a total estimated area 
of 17,500,000 acres, previous to 1894. 
Secretary Hoke Smith, of the Department of the Interior, impressed 
with the importance of devising some adequate system of protection 
and management of the forests, both within the reserves and in the 
public domain, under date of February 15, 1896, requested the 
National Academy of Sciences, the legally constituted adviser of 
the Government in scientific matters, to investigate and report 
‘“upon the inauguration of a rational forest policy for the forested 
lands of the United States.” He especially desired an official expres- 
sion as to the desirability and practicability of preserving the forests 
from fire and maintaining as forested lands portions of the public 
domain now bearing wood growth; as to how far the influence of 
