TENURE AND USE OF ARID GRAZING LANDS. 57 
often very different both in quality and in quantity. Adjustment 
of stock to area by the permit system normally results in slight 
understocking of the range, if any mistake is made; while the lessee 
of an area is almost sure to overstock in order to be sure that he 
"gets his rent back." Especially is this true if his tenure of the land 
is for a short period only. Likewise is this true of a poorly-informed 
man who makes short-sighted plans. And it is very difficult to prove 
that he is really overstocking the range, until it shows deterioration, 
and then the harm has been done. For these reasons it is wiser to 
handle the range under permit. 
Under certain conditions it is highly desirable to handle the grazing 
of a given area as a community pasture. This is particularly true in 
the vicinity of little towns where the owners of land adjacent to the 
grazing lands each have a few head of stock that need pasture. The 
permit system is easily adapted to such conditions, while a leasing 
system is difficult to adjust. 
Where scattered bodies of land too small for separate use belonging 
to one owner are mixed with similar scattered areas belonging to one 
or more other owners, it is often advisable to use the land as a commu- 
nity pasture. Such an adjustment may be brought about by pooling 
the use and adjusting charges on the basis of the number of animals 
grazed and prorating expenses on the basis of tenure. If a part of 
the land is still Government land it might be leased to the owners, 
either separately or as a group, leaving them to determine its use and 
prorate the fees. The same result can be obtained by granting a 
permit for the grazing of a certain number of animals upon the land, 
but this method automatically regulates the rate of stocking to the 
grazing capacity of the land. 
Neither the permit system nor the leasehold system is incompatible 
with the State governments receiving a share of the rents equivalent 
to the taxes which would be collected on such land if it were in private 
ownership. 
The permit system need not interfere with a proper application of 
the homestead laws. It might temporarily delay the occupation 
of small areas of land suitable for crops, pending the demonstration 
that the land was of this character. 
The right to prospect for and acquire mineral holdings might 
easily be granted also, without in any way interfering with the admin- 
istration of the grazing lands. 
That the remaining public arid grazing land should be added to the 
national forests Has been suggested in many places by men who are 
now using the open grazing lands and are acquainted with the methods 
of control of grazing that are practiced in these forests. Many 
requests for such changes come to the Forest Service officials. 
In fact, it has happened that men who were very anxious to have the 
