THE CARE OF THE RANGE 



237 



There is a great area of this weed in eastern Colorado. 

 From La Junta west along the Santa Fe road one can 

 see from the car windows great sweeps of lovely green 

 prairies which delight the eye. On closer examination 

 the green is the green of snakeweed, and on acres and 

 acres the grama and buffalo grass that once covered 

 the whole country are gone, with the exception of an 

 occasional struggling bunch. In winter this weed dries 



A Range of "Snake" or "Fire" Weed Which Is Sometimes Mistaken for Feed. 



and the flowers bear little white seeds that seem to be 

 filled with a resinous substance which makes it burn 

 like tinder. Hence the name fire or turpentine weed. 



Botanists tell us that Guttierrezia is a native of the 

 plains region, and only became numerous because Na- 

 ture, finding the other cover all eaten off, this weed 

 naturally took its place. Given any fair show, the 

 grasses will eventually crowd it out. 



