ITINERARY. Vll 



were consequently not as rich and were overrun with the 

 worthless, even injurious, grass locally known as "fox-tail." 

 A number of distinctly halophytic plants were present such 

 as Triglodin maritima and a Plantago. 



At Gunnison (7,680 ft.) are some beautiful meadows, 

 though many are filled with a most astonishing array of 

 native plants. When these are in bloom, the Erigerons, 

 Pedicularis, Castilleias, Crepis and many others, present a 

 very beautiful sight. Barley, oats and red clover do well 

 here, and better examples of radish, lettuce, carrots, turnips, 

 potatoes, rhubarb, cabbage, etc., would be hard to find. It 

 is probable that some of the small fruits would prove a great 

 success at this point. 



Coming down out of the foothill country and entering 

 the desert above Montrose, one finds beautiful orchards and 

 broad green fields where the ground has been irrigated, and 

 portions now have the appearance of a prosperous agricul- 

 tural district. It is, however, near Delta (about 5,000 ft.) 

 and neighboring towns that the fruits are grown to greatest 

 perfection. Here are produced pears, peaches, apples, plums, 

 cherries and other fruits which cannot be excelled. Grand 

 Junction is also the center of a great fruit country. 



There is, in this Gunnison region, a vast natural supply 

 of water from the high mountains and vast areas of laud 

 which that water may yet be carried to in ditches, so that 

 the possibilities before the region are almost unlimited. 

 The day is coming when the lower Gunnison valley, now 

 largely a desert, will be one of the richest agricultural re- 

 gions in the United States. 



Thousands of sheep are pastured during summer in the 

 lower foothills. Higher up many cattle may be found, 

 though there is rich unoccupied range for many times the 

 number now there. 



