, 1890-10-16
LAND OFFICE REPORT.
Statistics Given by Commits
sioner Croft.
YEARS RECEIPTS AND ENTRIES
Railroad Lands-Inadequate Pro-
lection of the Forests on the
Public Domain.

WAsurgGToN, Oct. l0--Tho annual re.
port of Commissioner OF the General
Land Office Croft shows that the numbe
ofagrlcultural patents issued during the
fiscal year ending June 80 was III, ,247
embracing Is, 100 $40 accres, as against
10 lil issued in 1885, with an aggregate
area of II. 220, $50. OF mineral and mill
site patents, 1,4O7 were issued, showing
au increase in the year of i9i. OF coal
patents 22i were issued, an increase OF
60 the patents representing l5 $40 acres.
The state school selections aggregate
$50 779 acres. Z he selections for tho pre-
vlous year aggregated only 1872, $50 acres.
The acreage of swamp lands patented
to the several states during the year was
Oo,35l. There were patented or certi.
to undo the law, for the benefit Of
railroah crmpanies during the year,
3G3 s62 acres. This is a decrease Tor the
year of 0l, tS3 acres.
The total cash sales during tho year
were 8, 800, S4G acres. The original home
stcads, timber culture state school Sc
lccuons an swamp and railroad selec-
tions, nj tiers OF miscellaneous
character, amounted to O362655 acres.
The indian land. disposed OF aggregate
1}b 800 acres, making u grand total OF
Il? 7Ds, S37 acres.
The total cash receipts of the Office
from various sources during the fiscal
wear was s77sO,5l7. OF this amount
81 so, la was received from the cash
sales.
June 30 1889, there were 276,75l final
entries OF all kinds pending, aud at the
close of the fiscal year 1880 there were
2lS, $50 pending, showing a decrease as
CON pared with the previous year oil
GS Gs7 entries. Railroad selections
amounting to 90 776, 955 acres were pend
ing at the close of the year, an increase
over the previous year of 332,-
7Oi acres. There were also Oregon
wagon road selections pending to the
amount of 30+ 9i2 acres. The ex parte
mineral entries are in arrears about two
and one-half years. The contest cases,
quasi.contest and ex parte coal entries
are no to date.
The mileage of thcland grant railroads
actually constructed up to the close of
the last fiscal year was 1900 miles.
Surveys have been accepted after exam
inution in field, of 4, iG2, ,G9l acres, includ-
ina; Arizona, 507, 74s acres; California,
l62O3l; Colorado, 473, i57; Dakota, 900 -
052; Montana, 620, lGli Nevada, 40s, s57 !;
New Mexico, 237, l3l; Utah. $40, 625 I;
Washington, lSo, l22i Florida, 2,5l0;
Idaho, %, l4s; Minnesota, IA, $50; Ne
braska, 23,O39; Oregon, -, TOO.
Upon the subject OF the forests OF the
public domain, the commissioner finds
the most valuable timber on the public
lands being rapidly exhausted. and the
laws relating to the subject utterly in
adequate to properly protect either the
public forests from unluYiul nppropria-
ton. or the interests of the settlers
over SS3, 900 was received last year from
timber deprcdations. Provisions should
be made for the legitimate procuring o.,
timber from the public lands by mill
men, and lumber manufactured for sale
to the extent necessary to supply the
community in which they operate with
lumber and other timber products
needed in the settlement thereof but the
expectation of public timber should be
prohibited as also should the removal
of timber from any OF the reserved lands
and from the mountainous regions and
other woodlands at or in the vicinity of
the headwaters or sources of streams,
which for climatic. economic or public
reasons should be held permanently as
forest reserves exception being made in
favor of settlers or miners Tor their per-
yOnal necessities.