a2 MISC. PUBLICATION 101, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE | 
Ficurp 4.—Winter fat (Hurotia lanata), a valuable 
winter feed for sheep and cattle 
admirably to regulated grazing. It is a prolific seeder, and is easily 
grown under cultivation, especially if the seed is covered by raking 
miculatus) and salt- | 
such sites it is frequent- | 
ly abundant and wide- — 
spread, sometimes be- — 
coming the dominan 
feature of the landscape 
Frequent associates of 
winter fat are grease- 
wood (Sarcobatus ver- | 
bushes; in the higher ~ 
parts of its range it — 
often grows with wheat- 
grasses and blue grama; 
in the Southwest it is a _ 
frequent component of | 
the mesquite type. Tt — 
willnottolerate asmuch — 
allkali or salinity as its — 
relative, greasewood. | 
Winter fat occurs in 
at least as high as 10,000 
feet on north, and 
sometimes west, slopes — 
but grows in only sparse 
stands at such altitudes, © 
inhabiting dry sandy | 
or shallow clay loams, — 
open grass-weed parks, — 
and the lke. 5 
All classes of live- © 
stock relish this plant, | 
but it is particularly im- — 
portantonsheepandcat- 
tle range. As its name 
imphies it is a conspicu- — 
ously fattening feed 
and is of chief value on — 
winter (or fall) range 
where, under the over- 
grazed conditions not 
infrequently obtaining — 
on such areas, it is ~ 
sometimes exterminated — 
by the livestock. The 
species undoubtedly has — 
been more abundant | 
and once covered a 
wider area in the West — 
than it does now. For- 
tunately it responds | 
