except, perhaps, in the matter of range improvement, cover crops 

 for orchards, and alkali-resistant crops. In certain of the sections 

 where these problems are paramount the farmers and ranchmen are 

 alive to the need of such investigations and would probably join 

 heartily in any work that could be undertaken. The station author- 

 ities themselves are desirous of cooperation in any or all of the lines 

 mentioned, and at the present time are best prepared to undertake 

 the work along the line of range improvement and the testing of 

 drought-resistant crops, experiments with legumes for use as cover 

 crops, and alkali-resistant crops. 



ARIZONA. 



The conditions in this Territory are very similar to those prevailing 

 in New Mexico, the open ranges in many sections being so badly 

 injured b}^ drought and over-grazing that there are very few peren- 

 nial grasses remaining of any value, and the only really good forage 

 that the ranges afford is that furnished by the quick-growing annual 

 species which spring up after the summer rains. These, however, 

 disappear in a short time with the result that from late autumn 

 until well into the succeeding summer about all the forage the 

 ranges afford is that from various plants of weedy habit, particularly 

 the Composites and Cacti, and a few shrubs and other plants form- 

 ing the more persistent vegetation of the arid regions, composed 

 principally of Larrea, mesquite, and various species of Acacia. 

 Throughout a large part of the Territory, particularly the southern 

 half, the most important forage problem is to provide food for stock 

 during the period from the disappearance of the annual grasses to 

 the beginning of the rainy season. The most trying time of this 

 period is during the late spring and early summer, when stock suf- 

 fers not only from scarcity of food but also from lack of suitable 

 water. There are two lines of investigation which seem likely to 

 afford relief from the present conditions in this section : One through 

 the improvement of the ranges by the encouragement and protection 

 of the few remaining perennial grasses, and reseeding with hardy 

 native or introduced varieties ; and the other, by the introduction and 

 cultivation of hardy annual crops and succulent perennials, such as 

 the spineless cacti. The authorities of the Arizona station are thor- 

 oughly alive to the need of these investigations and at the time of 

 my visit had already made extensive preparation for taking up the 

 work. Through Director Forbes a proposition for cooperative work 

 was made which seemed so satisfactory that, in view of the urgent 

 need of beginning investigations at the earliest possible moment and 

 the preparations already made by the local station for undertaking 

 the work, I thought it advisable to forward at once my recommenda- 

 tions regarding the plan of cooperation without waiting until my 



