rocky ground the soap-weed, a kind of Spanish bayonet {Yucca angusti- 
folia) frequently occurs, and occasionally may be seen a large, branch- 
ing, thistle-like cactus (Opuntia arbor escens). 
Over the larger part of this mesa the capacity for supporting cattle 
will probably average from 15 to. 20 acres to the head. There are, how- 
ever, large tracts which cannot safely be utilized from the absence of 
running water. This difficulty will eventually be overcome by the sink- 
ing of wells. 
Mr. Calhoun, of Watrous, a well-known stockman, remarked, "Cur 
great want is a more productive grass. The quality is not so great an 
object as the quantity." 
Mr. Gordon estimates that there are 11,500,000 acres in this region 
available for stock-raising, and that in 1880 it was stocked on the aver- 
age at the rate of about 52 acres to the head. But the full grazing 
capacity of the land cannot be realized under the ranche system. In 
order to do this the cattle ranges must be restricted in extent, with 
provision for winter feeding, water, and shelter. If to this we add cul- 
tivation of the land and pastures of more productive grasses, we may- 
expect greatly increased population and wealth. Mr. D. W. Brewster 
has a section of land on the dry mesa about 12 miles east of Las Vegas r 
where he has dug a well and this year broken 30 acres, and expects to 
break 80 acres, on which he will try the experiment of cultivation. The 
result of this experiment will be watched with great interest. In a deep 
canon, 28 miles east of Springer, M. W. Mills, esq., has 100 acres under 
cultivation in fruit trees, aud has had good success. Whenever these 
land grants are arranged for subdivision at reasonable prices, a move- 
ment of immigration will probably take place. The towns of Eaton , 
Springer, and Las Vegas are the principal ones on the railroad in a dis- 
tance of 150 miles. 
THE NORTHERN PLAINS. 
We will now return to the arid region north of New Mexico. This is 
bounded on the west by the Rocky Mountains, and extends eastward to* 
the one hundredth meridian in the States of Kansas and Nebraska, a 
distance of more than 300 miles. The elevation at the base of the 
mountains is about 5,500 to 6,000 feet. North of Colorado the high 
mountain range breaks down into the elevated Laramie plains. 
This region is drained in the northern part by the Platte River, the 
north fork in Nebraska and the south fork in Colorado; by the Repub- 
lican River in Southern Nebraska, the Smoky Hill in Kansas, and the 
Arkansas and its branches in Southern Colorado and Kansas. It is an- 
immense treeless plain, sloping eastward at the rate of about 10 feet to 
the mile. It is cut up in many places by dry channels, called arroyas, 
which carry off the surface-water during rains and convey it to the 
larger streams. In the central part of the Colorado plateau is an ele- 
vated ridge, known as the " divide," which separates the waters of the 
