320 GEOLOGY OF THE BLACK HILLS. 



away or melting, as well as the green twigs of the bushes and trees, will 

 afford subsistence for the cattle during any heavy fall of snow. 



The miners who have passed the winters of lh74-'75 and 1875-76 in 

 the Black Hills report that the grass remained green at the roots, and 

 afforded good grazing, keeping the stock in good condition, if it were not 

 overworked. Little snow was experienced until the early spring months, 

 when the first heavy falls of snow occurred. 



From the secluded and sheltered character of the valleys, the abun- 

 dance of water, and the fine quality of the grazing, the Black Hills are 

 well adapted for dairy-farming, the establishment of cheese and butter 

 factories, and the raising and breeding of fine breeds of cattle and sheep. 



The Black Hills are remarkably free from noxious insects, and grass- 

 hoppers and locusts are rarely met with in numbers sufficient to cause any 

 appreciable damage to the grazing or vegetation. Only in one locality 

 were they at all numerous. On Beaver Creek, in the southwestern portion 

 of the Hills, near the plains, early in June grasshoppers were just hatching, 

 and in a few weeks had grown large enough to strip the leaves from the 

 bushes. Gnats and mosquitoes were sometimes found in the Hills, but 

 never in numbers to cause any annoyance. Large flies were quite trouble- 

 some during a few weeks in July and August, but the first cool nights 

 caused them to disappear. 



SECTION VI. 



TIMBEE. 



The Black Hills are a well- wooded country. The plenteous rains and 

 showers in summer keep the vegetation growing unchecked by drought, 

 The density of the forests clothing the hill-sides have from their somber 

 hue, when viewed from a distance, given the name to this region, the 

 " Black Hills," by which it is known also in the Indian dialects. 

 The following trees will yield timber in this section: 

 The heavy pine (Pinus ponderosa), often known as yellow or Norway 

 pine, the most abundant and valuable tree in the Hills. 



