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Show LEASING PUBLIC LANDS. In the Forum Mr. John P. Irish points out that twenty years ago the system of leasing grazing lands was inaugurated in Australia, under which each man who had a leasehold "confined his stock to it, changed its grazing ground and carefully nurtured the forage as. fast as it was reseeded," with the result that jl H Australian ranges are as good now as in 9 M their original state, and advocates a similar fl plan for this country, the proceeds from the M jl leases to be applied to irrigation works. S H Fifteen years ago a convention in Denver, fl in which all the arid States had delegates, B H recommended the same thing. It was pointed S H out that by such a system the government 9I would in twenty-five years obtain as much B H per acre for the desert mountain land, as it 9 H received for the finest lands in the Eastern 9 H States; that by obtaining such leases stock 99 men would be free from the encroachments fl H of others who depend upon the public lands 1H for pasture; that could men obtain leases for fl H a term of years they could then make a flH little provision at least for protecting their H H stock in the winter. The subject was thor- HH oughly discussed, the only argument against HH the plan being that such men would mono- HH polize the public lands to the exclusion of 9H the poor, which is an argument of not much HH point, because where the lands are open to mrH all, the result is the eating off of the scanty HI herbage until it is practically worthless. BIH As yet there has been no way devised to HH restore the feed that these lands yield, ex- HH cept by resting the soil. There has been no HI seed found that can be cultivated without HI water, and stock men pasture their lands up iH to the limit all the time. That will even- tually cure itself for there will be nothing HH left. If the lands could be leased, the lease KH stipulating that half the land should be HH rested alternate years, the best results HH possible would be obtained. HH |