HAV CKOI'S. r)7 



by themselves, ami deserve more attention a> forage plants than is 

 usually accorded them. AAliitc oak {Qiterrn.s nrf'so/ucus) \s proltahly 

 the most Important species in the soutiiern part of Arizona, where it 

 has even l)een known to l)e cut and fed to cattle. The hlack oak 

 {Quercxs /'//tor///') is said not to be touched by cattle, a statemcMit which 

 it has not been possible to verify. (Jiiircns turhhuUa furnishes moiv 

 feed in places in the Prescott and Bradshaw mountains than all other 

 forage plants combined, goats and even sheep having little else to eat 

 at some seasons. 



Brigham's t^'A {Ephedni frifnn-a, K neradenstK^ and E. forreijavn) 

 is ver}^ commonly grazed. The first species is confined to southern 

 Arizona mesas and foothills, while the other two are most common in 

 the central and northern portions of the Territory. The three-leaved 

 sumacs (Rhus t/'Ut/haiii and R. t///(/ri/l) arc commonly browsed. Ujion 

 the highlands of the central portion of the Territory (\/i/uui'ui ///e,vka/ia 

 ivndi F((h(gio jHiradoxa are grazed wherever found. I'pon the mesas 

 and foothills in the Tucson region there are two species of composite 

 sliru])s, Bti(<-Jit//'ls }//;/(■}, /ipl/ylJi/ and //. h/gelmni^ which are invariably 

 grazed. 



Upon all the sandy ridges in the valley of the Little Colorado there 

 is more or less sage {ArUn/'/Kni jil/folla). which is said to make valu- 

 able Avinter feed, 



HAY CROPS. 



No more than a very brief mention of the cultivated forage crops is 

 necessary here. Alfalfa is of course the staple wherever water for 

 irrigation is obtainable, and there is no region where more profital)le 

 returns are obtained than in the river valleys of the Territory. It 

 is a common practice to cut a crop of barley with the first crop of hay 

 each year upon poorly established meadows; but strange as it may 

 seem, the bearded variety is usually sown, although the objectionable 

 feature of this could be very easily dispensed with by sowing the 

 beardless form instead. It is a common practice where alfalfa mead- 

 ows are pastured to cut the iirst crop, for two purposes. One is to 

 get rid of the w^eeds and the other is to give the plants a chance to 

 recuperate from the close pasturage by this season of growth. 



Barley and wheat are very largely grown for ha}' as winter crops, 

 and are frequently sown for pasturage also. The Mexican population 

 cut a large amount of this winter grain crop, bind it up in small 

 sheaves 6 to 10 inches in diameter, and sell it in the green state in the 

 cities and mining camps, where there is a small market for this class 

 of roughage. These sheaves sell at the rate of about 20 for 25 cents. 

 Sorghum is commonly grown in the summer rainy season, sujiple- 

 mented by light irrigations, upon the lands which produce the winter 

 crop of barley. 



