44 KIEJ.I) WORK OF DIVISION OF AGROSTOLOGY. 



nutritious. The fallen leaves are also said to be devoured b)^ stock 

 when forage is scarce. Besides the feed produced by this plant it also 

 furnishes protection for stock during severe winter storms. ( )n the 

 other hand these niesquite bean groves furnish protection for various 

 noxious weeds and shrubs. They also interfere with the development 

 of the better grasses, which will not thrive in the shade. 



In the more arid portions of New Mexico and Arizona there can be no 

 question of the great value and importance of the mesquite bean {Pro- 

 sopis sp.). Its relation to the forage problem here is indirect, but its 

 influence on the general welfare of the country can scarcely be over- 

 estimated. In the valleys of the larger streauis, as the Santa Cruz 

 in the vicinity of Tucson^ the prevailing species grows abundantly 

 alono- the river and also extends in a small form far })ack from the 

 river. The trees in the immediate vicinity of the river grow to large 

 size. The timber has, howevev, heen very largely destroyed l)y cut- 

 ting it for fuel, and if the present practice of cutting all the available 

 plants for this purpose is continued it will not be long before this 

 valuable heritage will be destroyed. Eflorts should be made to pre- 

 vent further devastation of this valuable plant. The accompanying 

 illustration shows the method followed in cutting such trees (Pi. XIX, 

 fig. 2). The stumps are cut very high, and as the plant possesses great 

 vegetative power and vitality, large numbers of strong shoots arise 

 from the stumps and, growing with great rapidity, soon produce a con 

 siderable amount of fuel, so that successive cuttings are made in this 

 way at intervals of a few years. 



ilr. Smith points out the great need of practical and scientific 

 measures 1)eing used in order to restore and protect the natural graz- 

 ing lands, and discusses the various methods which give promise of 

 success. The great advantage of alternation in pasturing is partic- 

 ularly mentioned. It has l>een shown that resting a pasture for a 

 period, (\specially at the time of seed production, results in great 

 improvement by giving the grass an opportunity to recuperate and to 

 produce a crop of seed. In this connection we may (piote the fol- 

 lowing: 



A rest of two or three months during the growing season in t^arly f^pring would 

 enaljle the early grasses to ripen and shed their seeds, thus ])erpetuating the 

 species. After the seed had fallen the cattle could l)e turned on the grass for two or 

 three in( mtlis and again transferred to a fresh i)asture. In the same way autunui and 

 winter pastur(is can l)e secured. 



The other means of range improvements which have been so success- 

 fully tried at several places are described. The method and advantage 

 of making stack silage when there is a scarcity of feed are given. 

 The desiral)ility of providing water, cithei- in the form of taid<s or 

 wells, so that tlie stoci< will not be re(|uired to travel long distances, 

 and thus tend to the destruction of the grasses on the areas in the 



