Arizona weekly enterprise., 1888-07-14
ARIZONA ENTERPRISE.
FLORENCE, JULY 14, 1888
DUSFRTIANDS.
an Interesting Communication from Sec
 retary Villas to Governor Zulick.
not Timher,-The presel

retary Villas to Governor Zulick.
 Mesquite not Timber,-Thep presence of q growth of mesquite trees on land will not exclude 1t from desert entry, if it appears that such land will not, with out irriga ion, produce an agricultural crop.
 Secretary Villas to Commissioner
 Stockslager, May II, 1888;
 On the 29th of August, 1887, this Department referred to your office for report a letter from the Governor of Arizona, enclosing a petition signed by numerous citizens of that Territory, asking that there be some qualifications in the regulations relating to the entry of land under the desert land law of March s, 1867 (19 Stat, STD
 It is asserted in said petition that your office was holding every desert land entry in that Territory for can cellation upon which there were more than four mesquite trees per acre, and that such ruling was manifestly un- just, illiberal, and not in harmony with the object and purpose of the desert land law,
 Your office reported, under date of September 9, 1887, that it was, and had been, the practice to hold desert land entries for cancellation upon which there is a growth of mesquite trees, that your information is to the effect that lin Ariz ma mesquite trees grow to height of thirty feet, and three feet in girth," that it is held that lands containing sufficient mois- ture to produce a natural growth of trees are not to be classed as desert }anls; and that in accordance with such ruling seven (naming thcm) des- ert land entries in said Territory had been held for cancellation, from which orders of cancellation there had been no appeal in any case" Your office further stated that no specific instruc- tions had been given your special agents regarding the character of lands covered with growth of trees, except in office circular of June, 1887 c l.. D., l0S)
 Section two of the desert land act provides;
 That all lands exclusive of timber lands and mineral lands which will not, without irrigation, produce some agricultural crop, shall be deemed des- ert lands within the meaning of this act, etc
 Section three provides that
 The determination of what may be considered desert lands shall be sub ject the decision and regulations ot the Commissioner of the General Land Office.
 In carrying out the design of tho law the circular of June 27, 1887, pro vides: Hands containing sufficient moisture to produce a natural growtl of trees are not to be classed as deser lands."
 It is alleged, in the petition referred to above, that:
 "Mesquite is not timber in any jus interpretation of the term; that it i merely fircwood, and useful an' salable only for that purpose, althougl it may be possible to make smal articles out of the wood Gas curiositiesI but nothing of practical use or value owing to it's brittleness or lack of tibr and size that mesquite will not pro duce a log of more than two or three feet in length, for at that height tn gnarlpd and sttmted trunk spreads in to dwarfed and scraggy branches, am is usually decayed in both trunk ant branch; that mesquite trees grow upol land which will not, without artihcia irrigation, produce a spear Of grass, o any other vegetation, except grease brush, sage-brush, palo vcrde-anothe scrub tree-and cactus, and is a clea proof of the desert character of tn land, rather than an argument agains such character; that mesquite tree grow upon high sandy knolls, whic will not even produce grease-brush C sage-brush and which would be value [ less even if water was carried thereo artificially; that large bodies of land i this Territory, bearing mesquite tree in much larger numbers than four { the acre, are by the entire absence (
 a natural water supply, and the abs,
 lute impossibility of raising any cro
 thereon without artificial irrigation desert land; that to withdraw land ( 5 this character from entry under th
 desert act will cause great loss 10 bor fide settlers, and will seriously chec immigration, the forming of new hol . lngs and the employment of capital clearing, ditching and reclamation
 such land-and without irrigatic = they are practically worthless; tn
 the current price of mesquite woo
 will give little or no margin of prot
 over the expense of cutting and haU ing to market, consequently it ofie
 no temptation whatever to the me 2, SpeculatOr in wood, and is not doI
 except at the first necessary st,
 toward the reclamation of the Ian
 that already two millions of dolla
 have been expended in constructil - ditches, clearing and retaining Ian
 in the Salt River valley alone, and ' will require as much more capital i. thoroughly reclaim the land in Il l. and adjacent valleys, from it's desc '. condition--a large amount of the lal -A thus reclaimed does in its natural sta ,d produce mesquite, and that Il ft one acre lit all will produce an az ll cultural crop without irrigation; a n that this matter is of vital importan lv to the present settlers within this T SC ritory, who are spending their mon' ). employing their energy in the rcclan
 ton of this land, and their influence
 inducing new corners to locate. ,r- In the American Cyclopedia, Vol ] 9 D. 4S7, is an article on the mesqu ni .n tree. 1t is there said:
 le The mesquite seldom grows m,