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Show 6 REPOBT OF COMMISSIOIOBEBo z INDIAN A F B ~ S . if the cultivation of cotton increases through the neighboring corn. kry, he will be in position to aid those Indians who have acquired expert knowledge of cotton growing and picking to obtain profitable employment. The $5,000 appropriation to which I have already alluded has, been largely used or hypothecated for the buildings, machinery, etc., necessary to develop and carry on the worlt already begun on the Pima Reservation; but I expect to start similar work at a few other points. I am now trying to arrange for the establihent of a co-operative farm on the Colorado River Reervation, also in Ariaona, which contains some of the richest land in the United States. Super-intendent Shelton of the San Juan Indian. School at Shiprock, N. Mex., who is himself a skilled horticulturist, has been conducting on his school farm, during the last year, some rather successful ex-periments with fruit ind shade trees as well as with grains and garden vegetables. He is anxious to eontinue the work on a more -extensive scale. Arrangements have therefore been made to furnish him with a number of valuable plants for his experiments, and, if the results seem to justify it, I shall try toestablish a regular cooperative station there. In sobthern California, plans are under consideration for undertaking similar testing and demonstration work on the Indian reservations at Banning and Palm Springs At Palm Springs the climatie conditions are unusually favorable for growing and propagating many kinds of fruit, nut and other food-producing plants which could afterwards tw sent to the other reservations in . the Southwest for trial. Our third cooperative contract was made with the Forest Sewice: On the 22d of January last, the Secretary of Agriculture and your-self appended your respective, signatures to a written programme whereby the Forest Service undertook- (1) The sale of timber and the supervlsionof logging on Indian reservations, under methods which will improve the forest and yield the full market value of all timber cut; (2) The protection of all forests in Indian reservations, whether they are now being cut orer or not; (3) A study of the forests on Indlan reservations to determine the best per-manent use of the lands nwn which they grow, and, where these are morevalue-ble tor forest purposes than lor any 0 t h ~ .th e wewat ion and application of plans for their management. Within six weeks thereafter the mv&ral Indian agents and super-intendents had been advised of the agreement and received instruc- .$ions for carrying it into effect. As the plan involved an estimated annual cost oP $90,000, on March 6 an item appropriating that sum to enable the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, in .coop,raCion' with the Forest Service, to make in-vestigations on Indian reservations for the purpose of preserving |