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tral Colorado a height of 50 feet in its best situations, with a diameter 

 of a foot aud a half. The shape and color of the cones as well as the 

 pliable character and white wood of the young shoots are, as Dr. Parry 

 has already noted, strikingly suggestive of the White Pine of the East. 

 The extremely slow growth of this tree is remarkable. The trunk, as a 

 rule, IS quite too full of knots to make good boards, though there is no 

 reason why the less-stunted specimens might not be used for coarse, 

 heavy timbers. 



Finns Balfouriana, Murr.— This tree is seldom if ever found at an alti- 

 tude less than 9,000 feet above the sea. It is the last to survive the 

 exposure on the mountain-tops; and finding a pine at timber-line is 

 presumptive evidence that it is this species. It grows sometimes 35 

 feet high and 18 inches in diameter; has little value as a timber. 



Finns monophyllus, Torr— (Pinon-Piue of Southern Colorado.)— Fur- 

 ther south this name is given to another kind of pine. Both trees how- 

 ever, tnrnish edible nuts. The Pinus monophyllus is the one so freqiiently 

 alluded to by Fremont as the Nut-Piue. It furnishes capital fuel, hav- 

 ing enough of the terebinthinate in it to make an intensely hot tire. 

 This is the most important use to which the tree is applied. It ran^-es 

 from the hills near Canon City south, not going into the mountains west 

 nntil it has crossed the valley of the Arkansas. 



Fimsponderosa,I)ong\.—{'' Yellow Pine" of the West.)— This is the 

 largest and most valuable of the trees in the region surveyed during 

 the past season. It makes the best lumber the country aftbrds and 

 besides, is quite abundant, though this fact will probably be the reason 

 why It will be the first to be extirpated before the growing needs of an 

 increasing population. In the valley of the Conejos liiver it was found 

 growing 60 to 70 feet high, with a diameter of nearly a yard 



Abies Douglasii, Lindl.—Tree 60 to 90 feet high, though becominsr 

 mucli smaller as it ascends the mountainsides. As a timber it is onlv 

 middhug m quality. It does well for beams, &c. It becomes much 

 larger and more valuable on our northwest coast and has fewer knots 

 than on the Eocky Montain ranges. It is known according to Mr. Wat- 

 son in the Uintah Mountains as "Bear River or Swamp Pine" 

 rn^'''';'fT'"^f?,!'^"^^\--T^'istree attains an average height of from 



oO to 00 feet. Timber hard and coarse-grained, but is serviceable for 

 rough work. 



Juiiiperus Virginiana, L.— A much branched dwarfed tree, found 

 associated with the Piuon-Piue. It is of great value as furnishing the 

 most duiable fencmg-posts. It is probably abundant enough in sSuth- 

 eru Colorado to meet the demands for many years. 



There are, besides, several species of cottonwood, none of them, how- 

 ever, being of any great value except for shade. 



It may be well to remark that, on almost any if not i 

 where irrigation is possible, in a few years the settler may relieve the . 



Sifl/ tk"" ^^"^ '-"^ ^Fr"" ^"^ *^"*''y cottonwood-grove about his t 

 buildings. The experiment has so often succeeded that it is no lousier 

 a problem to solve. 



all of the ranches 



AGEIC [JLTUEAL EESOUECES. 



Taking Denver as a starting-point, it is known that fair crops of 

 wheat, rye, oats, barley, and corn may be raised with a tolerable de^n-ee 

 ol certainty, where irrigation can be resorted to. The same statement 

 IS true ot the region east of but bordering the foot-hills as far south as 

 the survey extended this year; the certainty (other things bein^r equal) 



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