Mohave County miner., 1917-01-20
FUNDS ALLOTTED FOR
 UPKEEP OF NATIONAL
 FORESTS OF ARIZONA
Special to'The Daily Miner)


 WASHINGTON, Jan. 12.-The ag-
 ricultural appropriation bill which has
 passed the house contains a number of
 items that are of direct interest to the
 people of Arizona. The ten national
 forests in Arizona have been allotted
 the following sums for maintenance
 and improvements during the fiscal
 year beginning July l, 1917:
 Apache forest in Greenlee and Apache counties, SsO79; Coconino forest, near
 Flagstaff, $12,1O7; Coronado forest, in
 Southern Arizona, $9044; Crook for est in Gila and Graham counties,
 S735; Dixie forest, in Mohave county, S1596; Kaibab forest, north of the Grand Canyon, s27OS; Prescott forest,
 S6255; Sitgreaves forest, in Navajo county, SSS41; Tonto forest, in Mari copa and Gila counties, S4525; Tusa- van forest, near Williams, S954.
 When the appropriations for the na- tional forests were under consideration in the house, Congressman Carl Hay den strongly protested against the proposed increase in grazing fees. He stated that at the present rates charged for cattle and sheep the Ari- zona forests were now self-sustaining, and that the stocl1men of Arizona were opposed to being taxed to make up the deficits which are incurred by the forest service in other states. No action could be taken by the house because the contemplated raise in the grazing rates is not to be made by an act of congress, but by a regulation issued by the secretary of agriculture. The rules of the house do not permit an amendment to be offered to an ap- propriation bill which would take away from the secretary this author ity to increase the charges for graz ing, so that the western members were unable to offer such a motion at this time.
 The agricultural bill also provides for the maintenance of the Sacaton experiment station, where the now fa- nous Pima and Yuma varieties of Egyptian cotton were first developed. Fifty thousand dollars is appropriat- ed to prevent the introduction from Mexico of the pink boil worm, which is very destructive to cotton. The date orchard and also the chronological station at Tempe are provided for. Appropriations are made for the destruction of the prai- rie dogs that are doing great damage to the Arizona ranges. The bureau of soils has been granted an increased appropriation so that it will be pos sible to carry out soil survey in some county in Arizona in the near future. No work of this character has been done since 1904, when the soil surveys were made of the Salt river and Yuma reclamation projects.
 The bureau of markets was also given additional funds to carry on it's activities, and steps have been taken looking to cooperative market ing work in Maricopa county. The bill also makes appropriations for the breeding and study of alkali and drought resistant crops, for investiga- tions in connection with western irri- gation agriculture, and for the im- provement of the methods of crop production under dry-land conditions.
 Many of the employees of the for est service and the other bureaus of the Department of Agriculture in Arizona should be happy because pro- vision is made for a 10 per cent in- crease in all salaries under S12O0 per annum. Those whose compensation is between s1200 and $500 will receive a raise of 5 per cent. The bill carries a total appropriation of over 5,6OO,- poo, which is the largest sum ever au- thorized to be expended for the bene- it of the farmers and stock growers of the United States.