14 _ BOTANY. 
sedges as a forage, the stock in the San Luis Valley thrives the year around . 
on them. There, over thousands of acres, these plants grow more than 
four feet high. 
Irrigation is possible anywhere in this first division, and water (slightly 
brackish) is usually obtained by digging a few feet. 
The second division is made up of the higher ground, beyond reach 
of irrigation. The soil and its productions undergo a complete change. 
Grama,* chico, and greasewood are here the prevailing growth. The soil 
is unpromising in appearance, yet would, if irrigation were possible, pro- 
duce fair crops. It will not be likely to be brought under the domain of 
agriculture for many years. Most propitious seasons are, in the absence 
of water, absolutely required for this kind of soil. It is, however, the 
legitimate sheep-walk of the valley. 
The third division are the sand-wastes, where there is no water and 
almost no vegetation. Even the chico and sage-brush are barely able to 
live there. I know of no use to which it can be put. There are some 
sheep occasionally found on it, but they derive most of their subsistence 
from the adjacent vega, or lowland. 
It is known, also, that in the smaller valleys between spurs of the 
mountains, bunch-grass is found in considerable quantity. The pifion- 
groves furnish shelter and a certain amount of grama during the winter 
for the herds that frequent them. 
From Loma, south, wheat has long been a regular crop. Corn, too, 
produces small ears with certainty at Conejos. It is not unlikely that they 
could be increased in size by the introduction and thorough acclimation of 
better seed. 
*The term Grama, now applied to the various species of Bouteloua in our Southwest, evidently comes 
from Spain. Itis there applied to what we know here as Bermuda, or Scutch-Grass (Cynodon Dactylon, 
Pers.), introduced among us from Southern Europe, and also found now widely distributed over the 
warmer parts of the globe. Gramma is incorrect, and grass, as @ suffix, ¢ is Ret pte The use of the 
name was evidently suggested here by the one-side like that in Cyno- 
don Dactylon. 
o 
