TENURE AND USE OF ARID GRAZING LANDS. 5 



The illustrative material refers to all or a selected part of this area. 

 Most of these statements apply more or less directly to a much larger 

 region — the arid grazing lands of the Western States — which may be 

 roughly outlined as including the great basin region (the southeastern 

 corner of Oregon, the southwestern corner of Idaho, the part of 

 Wyoming west of the Rocky Mountains, the part of California east of 

 the Sierra Nevadas, and practically all of Nevada and Utah), all of 

 Arizona and New Mexico, and the part of Texas west of the Pecos 

 River (but not including the crop and forest lands within these 

 boundaries) . 



The statements relative to the natural and managerial factors con- 

 trolling the stock-raising industry will doubtless apply rather closely 

 over all the region indicated. The conditions of land tenure and 

 their consequences differ more or less with each State. Any recom- 

 mendations as to changes in land policy must necessarily take these 

 conditions into consideration. 



About one-third of this great region, or approximately 200 millions 

 of acres, is to-day open for entry by homesteaders — an area larger 

 than the occupied land of the original 13 colonies when this Nation 

 was founded. All of this land long ago would have passed to private 

 ownership if it had been productive agricultural land or if there had 

 been any way of getting control of large enough bodies of it for 

 private use as grazing land. 



The different classes of land. — On a basis of possible use the lands 

 of the western United States may be classified in a broad way as 

 follows (see bibliography, section 3) : 



" Desert" lands are those where the average annual rainfall is so 

 small 6 — usually less than 6 inches — -that there is very little if any 

 permanent drinking water for stock, and consequently year long 

 grazing is not practicable. Of course, cultivation of any known crop 

 on this land without irrigation is an impossibility. 



"Arid grazing lands" are those where yearlong or seasonal grazing 

 is assured, but where any kind of cultivation of crops is possible 

 only a small part of the time or not at all, and upon only a very small 

 part of the area. The average annual rainfall of this area ranges 

 from about 6 to 15 inches. 



Where the average annual rainfall is from 15 to 20 inches cultiva- 

 tion of certain crops is often possible when topography, soil condi- 

 tions, and the seasonal distribution of rainfall are favorable and the 

 growing season is long enough; but the farm practices are those of 

 the system called "dry farming" and the land is here called "semi- 

 arid" or "dry-farming" land. 



« The average annual rainfall is used merely as a rough means of limiting areas. It is not a good measure 

 to use for anything more than such approximations, but it is the only one now available. It must not be 

 taken to mean the amount of water available to growing plants. 



