18 BULLETIN 1001, "U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
Beginning in 1891 there was inaugurated the policy of setting 
aside forested lands which ultimately became what are now called 
National Forests. The areas so withdrawn have been increased until 
now they amount to over 150 million acres. The use of these lands 
as a source of timber and timber products is of primary importance; 
of next importance is the proper control of watersheds so as to utilize 
irrigation and other waters in the best way; the control of the grazing 
within the forest ordinarily receives consideration after provision has 
been made for the other two uses. From the beginning down to the 
present the control of the grazing privileges in these National Forests 
has been one of the most difficult problems. Its solution has resulted 
in a' system of permits to graze stock on specified areas for longer 
or shorter periods upon payment of certain fees, the granting of the 
permits being dependent upon various degrees of equity among ap- 
plicants [87]. This system of control has been very beneficial to the 
forage crop within the controlled areas and consequently to the 
business affected thereby. It is generally referred to as the permit 
system of grazing control and it has certain advantages over other 
systems that have been tried, though, like every other system, it has 
disadvantages under certain conditions. 
Private holdings of large size lying within the national forests, 
especially those like the railroad land grant sections, are to a con- 
siderable extent administered by the forest officials, under agree- 
ment between the owners and the Forest Service, with a pro rata 
division of benefits received. Exchanges for the purpose of con- 
solidating the forested lands have occurred to some extent under 
various special acts authorizing this practice, which, although it has 
not always worked out satisfactorily, is of unquestionable value in 
certain selected places and under proper restriction. (See p. 65.) 
Besides the national forests, certain other areas have been set 
aside as national monuments, national parks, military and naval 
reservations, etc., but the amount of such lands is relatively very 
small. 
The recognized methods by which land may pass from the Govern- 
ment to a private individual are sale and homesteading [1]. Only 
very small areas may be sold to one buyer. Any of the surveyed, 
unreserved, unappropriated, non-mineral public land, may be taken 
under the homestead laws in certain limited quantities by anyone 
legally qualified to make homestead entry [3]. (See p. 65.) 
The original homestead law (passed in 1862) allows an entryman 
to secure title to 160 acres. The great bulk of the good agricultural 
land was homes teaded under this law half a century ago. Practi- 
cally all of the land that has been homesteaded within the last 15 or 
20 years, until quite recently, is either dry farming land or land for 
which irrigation water has been found. 
