The Colorado Desert. 57 



is naturally dry enough without the necessity of curing for hay. 

 The stems are so full of starch as to be very brittle, and the grass 

 is consequently exceedingly nutritious and hearty for horses or 

 cattle. One good bunch was a good feed for an animal, and our 

 horses and mules soon learned to like it and were kept in good 

 working condition during our six weeks' experience in this ap- 

 parently (at first glance) inhospitable region. 



The alfilaria or Spanish clover has gained a permanent foot- 

 hold in the vicinity of Dos Cabesas and promises to be one of the 

 most useful forage plants for this arid region. It has not yet 

 become very widely distributed, however, though it would doubt- 

 less succeed wherever once given a start. If other forage plants 

 can be successfully introduced in this region, it will doubtless 

 become an important stock-producing section, as there are mil- 

 lions of acres equally as well adapted to this industry as are the 

 plains around Coyote Wells. If the United States would estab- 

 lish an experimental forage station in that region it would doubt- 

 less prove a profitable investment. 



Nature is exceedingly provident and thoughtful for all her sub- 

 jects. One who has crossed the dreary basin through which the 

 Southern Pacific Railway runs would scarcely look for a new gar- 

 den vegetable to have its origin there. There can be little ques- 

 tion that the desert once supported a comparatively large Indian 

 population. Along the New River, within the memory of man, 

 the Indian cultivated extensive gardens, and traces of their work 

 can yet be seen on those rich alluvial bottoms. Corn and melons 

 and other products of the soil were produced by them in bounti- 

 ful profusion and they had enough and to spare. But, like his race 

 in many other sections of our coast, the Indian cultivates the soil 

 no more. The hundreds and thousands who formerly roamed 

 over our mountains and occupied the valleys have disappeared, 

 and only a few are left to represent them. Among the native 

 plants which are known to have contributed to the support of the 

 desert tribes the wild onion or 'day lily of the desert' (Hespero- 

 callis undulata) was unquestionably one of the most important. 

 It is not rare on both the Mojave and the Colorado Deserts, and 

 is known as far south as the southern part of the California pen- 

 insula. It is one of the most beautiful and characteristic plants 

 of the arid region of California, and is destined to prove a wel- 

 come addition to the garden because of its white fragrant flowers, 

 if not an acquisition to the farm. It produces a large edible bulb, 

 varying from one to four inches in diameter, nearly round, of a 

 fine texture and with a pleasant taste, whether eaten raw or 

 cooked like onions. Our party of seven had them cooked at 

 nearly every meal after we first tested their qualities, and in the 

 lack of other vegetables found them very acceptable. The bulb 

 is found in sand or fine, gravelly soil, in which the plant thrives 

 best, and is usually resting on gravel or a clay subsoil. The 

 Indians obtained both food and drink from this plant, and the 



