20 BULLETIN" 211, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



in the mountains or places where wells might easily be dug. These 

 lands have then been leased, and by this means the water and range 

 have been controlled and possible settlers have been kept out. 



A large part of the railroad lands was surrendered for lieu-land 

 scrip. The remainder now in the possession of the railroads is rented 

 for grazing purposes so far as possible. Practically none of these lands 

 are fenced, because they are the alternate sections. 



The grazing privilege on the national forests is controlled by a 

 permit system that guarantees the proper use of such ranges, render- 

 ing the business less hazardous and at the same time increasing the 

 carrying capacity. 



It will thus be seen that the desire of all parties engaged in the 

 business is some sort of legalized control of the range lands; and 

 wherever this has been obtained and is at the same time associated 

 with the proper kind of management, the result has been beneficial 

 to the industry and to the range also, and consequently to the State 



NATURE OF THE FORAGE CROP AND ITS DISTRIBUTION. 1 



Plains. — Much of the area of New Mexico consists of open, nearly 

 flat stretches that pass under such names as prairies, plains, or mesas. 

 They range in elevation from about 3,500 to nearly 7,000 feet above 

 sea level, a few, like Johnsons Mesa, reaching 8,000 feet. Such plains 

 are usually covered with a more or less dense covering of grasses, 

 which in the northern part of the State forms a tolerably thick sod. 

 (PI. II, fig. 1.) In the southern part of the State the grass covering 

 is always less dense and rarely, if ever, forms a true sod (PI. Ill, 

 fig. 1), while in many places the ground is absolutely bare over areas 

 many acres in extent (PI. Ill, fig. 2). Over large sections, often of 

 many thousands of acres of these plains, the soil consists of loose sand 

 and is covered with a more or less scattered growth of sand, bunch, 

 and sage grasses (PI. IV, fig. 1) or a scrub oak known as shinry 

 (PI. IV, fig. 2). Often the tight soils of the southern part of the 

 State carry a growth of shrubs which are valuable browse plants, of 

 which mesquite and shadscale (locally called sagebrush or coarse 

 sage) are the most important. (PI. V, fig. 1.) 



Besides the grasses and shrubs already referred to, there is a long 

 list of herbaceous annuals and perennials that appear in the growing 

 season. The spring growth is fairly constant where some winter rain 

 or snow may be depended upon, but in the southern part of the State 

 these spring weeds only appear abundantly when three favorable 

 conditions occur in sequence. There must be enough rain in the fall 

 to germinate the seeds; the winter must be wet enough and warm 

 enough to produce good root growth; and the spring must not be so 



1 A detailed treatment of the forage plants of New Mexico will be found in New Mexico Experiment 

 Station Bulletins 66, 78, 81, and 87. 



