42 



RANGE INVESTIGATIONS IN ARIZONA. 



Tabl£ showing difference In arnimnt and dislrihulion of j)recipitalion in a good and in a 



poor season — Continued. 



Several important points should be noted in connection with thi.s 

 table of rainfall. Although arranged by calendar years, it should not 

 be studied according to this division, although this might be done in 

 other regions. The total rainfall of these two years was practically 

 the same, but the good rains of October and November, 1902, with the 

 rainfall of March and April, 1903, were the means of producing good 

 feed during the early part of the latter year, while the rainfall of the 

 latter half of the year 1902, although above normal, produced very 

 poor summer feed on account of its improper distribution. It fell 

 mainly between the 29th of October and the 14th of December, too 

 late for the proper development of the grasses, which thrive here only 

 under intense heat and considerable moisture. The precipitation dur^ 

 ing July, August, and September, 1903, was good and well di.stributed, 

 but the fall during the last three months of the year was too light to 

 augur very auspiciously for the winter of 1904, although the good 

 rainfall of September was sufficient to start the annuals beautifully. 

 It should l)e stated that these conditions do not bear much generaliza- 

 tion, they apply locally where the observations on precipitation were 

 made very well, but they may not apply at all in localities somewhat 

 removed. For instance, the feed upon the inclosure in the Santa Rita 

 Mountains was much better in the summer of 1902 than in the same 



