4 TIMELY HINT 135 



any quantity except in occasional swales or storm water areas, while 

 above altitudes of 5,000 feet it gives way to oak, juniper and other 

 woody growth. 



In addition to being used as an emergency forage, considerable 

 quantities of this yucca have been shipped from New Mexico and 

 western Texas to El Paso and other points to be utilized in soap- 

 making. A dark, rather coarse wrapping paper may be made from the 

 leaves of this plant, though, as yet, this has not been manufactured 

 in commercial lots. The paper is made from the green leaves, the 

 growth of which is stimulated by cutting back the old stems to the 

 base. The roots, called amole, are fleshy; they are used by the Mexi- 

 cans and Indians as a substitute for soap. 



Preparation of yucca forage for stock: There are several ways to 

 prepare yucca stems for feed. The method used at the J. H. ranch 

 consists in cutting the stems with the leaves on in pieces about two 

 feet long and then splitting these lengthwise with a sharp axe. Two 

 or three strokes of axe are necessary to cut a stem in two and four or 

 five well directed ones to split it lengthwise. About a minute is required 

 on an average to do this and the material is then ready for the chopper. 

 The stems are hauled in from the surrounding country and one to two 

 hours is required, according to the distance and the abundance of the 

 plant to get a wagon load of these. The older parts of the stems, i. e., 

 those covered with old dead leaves, are too fibrous to be of value for 

 feed and are rejected. 



The yucca chopper at the J. H. ranch consists of a discarded, 

 vertical-acting pump-jack. A stout, moderately sharp iron blade with 

 a cutting edge of about six inches is bolted to one arm of this. The 

 blade is so adjusted that in the downward movement of the arm the 

 cutting edge comes in contact with a thick block of wood below. The 

 yucca stems, cut in pieces and split as just noted, are laid on this block 

 and chopped into small irregular pieces one to two inches in thickness 

 and about two inches in length, the stems being handled by the leaves. 

 .No attempt is made to chop the leaves since these would not be eaten 

 under any circumstances. Stock eat readily this prepared yucca forage, 

 which consists of the stems and the adherent flattish leaf bases. This 

 material is whitish in color, somewhat succulent, and has a pronounced 

 sweetish taste. Enough material may be chopped at one time to last 

 for several days. After being chopped the material is loaded on a 

 wagon and hauled away to the stock. 



A silage cutter answers as well or better than the device described 

 above for chopping the stems, and one of these machines was used 

 about Willcox last year. The power to run the chopper is furnished 

 by a 3 or 4-horsepower gasoline engine. 



Chemical and microscopical analyses of chopped yucca forage: 

 Samples of yucca stems as prepared for feed at the J. H. ranch were 

 taken for chemical analyses. This material represented young or me- 

 dium aged stems, i. e., stems whose leaves are green, and is designated 

 No. 1. Similar material was collected near Tucson, Arizona, to repre- 

 sent somewhat older stems, i. e., those mostly with dead leaves; this is 



