FEED ON THE RANGE. 15 



grass, form the main hay grasses on the range. In some localities the 

 galleta grasses {Hilaria midica and Hilar ia jamesii) furnish large 

 quantities of coarse hay, which, as one liveryman expressed it, is used 

 to "chink" in with. The condition of the vegetation in the San Pedro 

 Valley, while much superior to that of the Santa Cruz, is much inferior 

 to the Sulphur Spring. 



THE PLANTAINS. 



These plants, of which the Indian wheat {Plantago fasfigiata Mor- 

 ris) is the most important and which formed the greater part of the 

 feed on the range in the vicinity of Tucson in the spring of 1901, are 

 popularly known as Indian wheat and are ver}' abundant after winter 

 rains all through southern Arizona, especially in the lower altitudes. 

 They are also found commonly at considerable elevations in the 

 mountains, but are not sufficiently abundant there to be of any 

 economic importance. On the lower moister areas of the general 

 mesa region, however, the crop is often quite large. The fenced por- 

 tion of our range reserve afforded an excellent opportunitj' for study- 

 ing these plants during the past season. It is usuall}' impossible to 

 appreciate their entire forage value upon the open range on account 

 of the present short i^asturage. During the past season there was 

 considerable difference in the quantity of these plants found inside 

 and outside of our fenced area, although the feed is reported to have 

 been more abundant than usual and the stock on the range to have 

 been much reduced in recent years. 



At the suggestion of Director R. H. Forbes an attempt was made to 

 ascertain the precise amount of feed which these plants furnished on 

 our range reserve tract during the past season. The estimate is 

 believed to be approximately accurate and to give a very fair idea of 

 the amount which grows in similar localities in rather favorable 

 3'ears. The estimate was made from actual measurements of repre- 

 sentative areas selected by mj^self after a careful survey of the entire 

 fenced area. A die 15 feet long by 3 feet wide was prepared as accu- 

 rately as possible. All plantains covered by this were pulled up. 

 After having the roots 'cut off they were placed in a bag and dried in 

 the sun. Eighteen such areas were measured and treated in the same 

 way. The weight of this material collected on the 26th and 27th of 

 March became constant early in May, indicating that it was thor- 

 oughly dried. The final weights were then taken. The data given 

 below indicate not only the amount of forage, but also the character 

 and diversity of product of the reserve tract. The figures on the 

 plat (p. 22) corresponding with the samples in the tabulation given 

 below, indicate the localities where measurements were made. From 

 these an idea of the relative productivity of the different situations 

 can be readily obtained. It will be seen that the smallest growth 



