68 



are extensive areas in which the water supply is so limited that stock 

 can not be kept on them diiriiif? the summer. Here it is that the salt- 

 sages thrive, and are of especial value for winter forage. During the 

 growing- season the plants make a good development, as they are not 

 kept back by grazing, and the ripened fruits and " sun-cured" leaves, 

 together with the young shoots, make excellent forage for winter, when, 

 since the snow furnishes the animals with water, the stock can be 

 brought to these regions. Thus it is that these desert areas become 

 valuable winter pastures and furnish food for many thousands of sheep, 

 cattle, and horses for about four months of the year. Stockmen, espe- 

 cially those owning large droves of sheep, are almost as anxious to 

 establish and maintain their rights to " winter ranges"' on these desert 

 areas as they are to secure their *' share" of the summer range on the 

 prairies and in the mountains. 



Under this system of winter grazing tlie condition of these salt-sage 

 pasture lands is continually improving. This is probably due to the 

 enriching of the land from the droppings of the animals, and to the 

 increased production of new shoots by the perennial sages, resulting 

 from the close browsing by the animals during winter, followed by an 

 undisturbed period of growth in the summer. 



The annual salt-sages are valuable principally for summer and au- 

 tumn forage, not usually being persistent enough to be of much impor- 

 tance for winter use. However, under certain circumstances, the fallen 

 leaves and fruits may be collected by the wind into little piles in 

 depressions of the ground, or behind shrubs and other persistent plants, 

 and are picked up by sheep or other stock. Under ordinary conditions 

 all of the salt-sages mentioned in the above list produce an abundance 

 of seed, and in most cases it is easily gathered. In view of the recog- 

 nized value of these plants for forage it would seem well worth while 

 to attempt to grow the better sorts under cultivation. There are many 

 localities where they could be used to advantage, 



W INTERFAX. 



One of the most highly prized of the sages is wiuterfat or sweet sage 

 {Ei<rotla lanata). (See tig. 28.) It is a rather small, woolly, half shrnbby 

 perennial, found throughout the IJocky Mountain region in the dry soil 

 of the plains and foothills. It is of most imi)ortance for winter pas- 

 turage and is esteemed not only for its feeding value, but also for a 

 beneiicial effect which it is supposed to have on the health of stock 

 eating it. It usually fruits abundantly, and the great fattening (piali- 

 ties attributed to it are no doubt largely due to the fact that the 

 nuitured fruits compose a large part of the forage obtained by the 

 animals. 



Winterlat grows readily from the seed and could undoubtedly be 

 cultivated to good advantage in many localities. 



