\ 





THE PASTURAGE. 161 



ed, being seldom verdant till after the rainy- 

 season sets in, the grama is only in perfection 

 from August to October. But being rarely- 

 nipt by the frost until the rains are over, it 

 cures upon the ground and remains excel- 



lent hay — equal if not superior to that which 



is cut and stacked from our western prairies. 

 Although the winters are rigorous, the feed- 

 ing of stock is almost entirely unknown in 

 New Mexico; nevertheless, the extensive 

 herds of the country, not only of cattle and 

 sheep, but of mules and horses, generally 

 maintain themselves in excellent condition 

 upon the dry pasturage alone through the 

 cold season, and until the rains start up the 

 green grass again the following summer. 



14 



