PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ARID REGION. 19 
lands have a scanty supply of dwarfed forests, as already described, and 
the people in occupying these lands will not resort, to any great extent, to 
the mountains for timber; hence timber and agricultural enterprises will 
be more or less differentiated; lumbermen and woodmen will furnish to 
the people below their supply of building and fencing material and fuel. 
In some cases it will be practicable for the farmers to own their timber 
lands, but in general the timber will be too remote, and from necessity 
such a division of labor will ensue. 
CULTIVATION OF TIMBER. 
In the irrigable districts much timber will be cultivated along the 
canals and minor waterways. It is probable that in time a sufficient 
amount will thus be raised to supply the people of the irrigable districts 
with fuel wherever such fuel is needed, but often such a want will not exist, 
for in the Rocky Mountain Region there is a great abundance of lignitic coals 
that may be cheaply mined. All these coals are valuable for domestic pur- 
poses, and many superior grades are found. These coals are not uniformly 
distributed, but generally this source of fuel is ample. 
PASTURAGE LANDS. 
The irrigable lands and timber lands constitute but a small fraction of 
the Arid Region. Between the lowlands on the one hand and the high- 
lands on the other is found a great body of valley, mesa, hill, and low 
mountain lands. To what extent, and under what conditions can they be 
utilized? Usually they bear a scanty growth of grasses. These grasses 
are nutritious and valuable both for summer and winter pasturage. Their 
value depends upon peculiar climatic conditions; the grasses grow to a 
ereat extent in scattered bunches, and mature seeds in larger propor- 
tion perhaps than the grasses of the more humid regions. In general 
the winter aridity is so great that the grasses when touched by the 
frosts are not washed down by the rains and snows to decay on the moist 
soil, but stand firmly on the ground all winter long and “cure”, forming a 
quasi uncut hay. Thus the grass lands are of value both in summer and 
winter. Ina broad way, the greater or lesser abundance of the grasses is 
