20 Muhlenbergia, Volume 5 



are in most places very narrow, cliffs frequently rising abruptly 

 on both sides of the streams and forming "boxes." Now and 

 then, however, narrow meadows are found where grasses, sedges, 

 and other meadow plants abound. These fields, wherever they 

 were found, were gay with the yellow of the Dugaldca and the 

 purples and whites of the Erigerons. 



Several ferns were found in the neighborhood of the ranch, 

 notably Athyrium filix-foemina (only one clump of this was 

 seen), Filix fragilis, Cheilanthes Fendleri and C. Fca\ and 

 Woodsia mexicana. In places there were great fields of the 

 bracken. Only one representative was seen of that family so 

 abundant elsewhere in the Territory, the Cactaceae. About a 

 mile below Winsor's one or two plants of Echinoce? ens coccineus 

 were found. On the western side towards Santa Fe several spe- 

 cies of Opuntia, O. arborescens as well as some of the Platopun- 

 tiae, were abundant, but only after the boundary of the forest 

 had been passed. 



At elevations only slightly above Winsor's most of the pine 

 timber disappears, and almost the only tree found besides the 

 aspens is the spruce. This forms dense forests in which hardly 

 any other vegetation occurs. Almost the only herbaceous plants 

 found here are Vaccinium oreophilum, Oryzopsis aspcr/folia, and 

 Pedicularis racemosa. Several lichens are very abundant upon 

 the dead limbs of the trees, hanging down from them one and 

 two feet. In this zone are a great many areas that have been 

 burned over in years past. For miles in places the ground is 

 covertd with logs so that it is impassable except where the ran- 

 gers have opened trails. Most of the fallen logs seemed to be in 

 good condition; the bark was gone from them but the wood was 

 frequently perfectly sound. ( >ne of the oldest settlers was ques- 

 tioned concerning the time of the occurrence of the fires which 

 threw down so much of the timber. He said that it had been 

 before he came to the country. One of the forest rangers in- 

 formed the writer that the Indians state that the fires occurred 

 forty and fifty years ago. It is almost incredible that fallen 

 timber should endure for so long a time at altitudes of nine and 

 ten thousand feel where the rainfall is comparatively heavy. 



