Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 October 1886 — LAND OFFICE STATISTICS. [ARTICLE]

LAND OFFICE STATISTICS.

A Statement of the Public Lands Disposed Of Dnrlngr the Last Fiscal Year. [Washington special.] The amount of public lands disposed of the past five years is 100,974,134 acres. This is equal to four States like Kentucky, four like Indiana, nearly three like Illinois, or one like California. It is a good dftal larger than Great Britain and Ireland, add is equal to about three-fourths of France or Germany. On an average the United States has disposed of one Ireland per annum for the past five years. The area disposed of last year was 20,974,134 acres, which is nearly a million acres more than the previous year, but nearly six million acres Jess than in 1884, when more than eleven million acres were disposed of in Dakota alone. Dakota, which in 1879-80 jumped far ahead of Kansas and which has been immensely ahead of Nebraska since that year, has fallen now to the rear of both these States. Nebraska dropped below a million acres in 1881 and 1882, but it has.riseu above three million acres in each of the Inst three years. Kansas has come rapidly to the front, partly becam e the extraordinary Dakota boom has spent much of its force, and partly because there has been some rainfall lately in the western part of the Slate. Kansas fell from a million and a half acres in 1880 toluss than a million in 1882, but the acreage disposed of in Kansas rose to nearly fourteen hundred thousand in 1884, over three milliins in 1885, and more than five and a half millions last year. Last year the total receipts from public lands were $7,412,767, and tne total expenses $625,234. There were 37,836 cash sales, including preemptions, desert-land entries, etc., covering 3,773,498 acres, for which $5,757,891 was received. There were 61,638homestead entries, covering 9,145,135 acres, for which $892,210 was received. There were 34.996 timber-culture* entries, covering 5,389,309 acres, for which $480,630 was received. The following table shows the disposals for cash and' under the homestead and timber-culture laws by States and Territories for the year 1885-6:

Timber Homestead culture Cash sales, entries, entries, States. acres. acres. acres. Alabama....— ~ 27,225 307,087 Arkansas 2-1,801 240,881 2,(25Arizona 110,275 28,027 15,772 California 72 103 172,110 15.5,074 Colorado 262,593 281,801 710,947 Dakota..... 700,009 1.185,188 1,110,2.50' Florida 70,888 139,174 Idaho 119,157 102,332 49,059' lowa 420 907 2,809 Kansas 390,334 3,224,214 1,920,802 Louisiana 49,194 81,017 9,914 Michigan 47,778 50,550 Minnesota 110,702 235,810 05,020Mississippi 31,901 95,874 Missouri 20,420 214,155 ...... Montana 152,309 08,033 43.031 Nebraska 477,530 1,599,410 907,706 Nevada 573 2,717 ISONew Mexico 117,953 6-,894 1 5 003 Oregon 114,821 287,231 93,100 Utah 9 ,220 70,975 25,032. Washington 90,885 290,513 85,045Wisconsin 131,815 135,709 ...... Wyoming 293,182 59,447 100,107 Total 3,773,198 9,115,135 5,389,309