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The climate, though cool and bracing, as befits a high altitude, is not 
rigorous except in the higher mountains. But slight falls of rain or 
show occur during the year, so that the aggregate of sunny days is very 
great. The mean annual rain-fall, including snow, varies from 12 to 15 
inches. The greatest humidity is from the middle of autumn to the 
middle of spring. Irrigation is depended upon for raising farm prod- 
ucts, the rain-fall being insuflicient to mature crops, except grass for 
grazing purposes. 
Stock-raising is as yet the chief industry, though the natural resources 
of the Territory are extremely varied. It is estimated that one-eighth 
of its entire area is suitable for cultivation. 
The forests of Wyoming are confined mainly to the mountain ranges. 
Some of them are of wide extent, and the timber quite dense and heavy ; 
but, as a rule, they are not equal to those of the Territories farther north 
and west. The best timber is found on the southern part of the Big 
Horn Mountains, the central portion of the Laramie Range, Medicine 
Bow, and Sierra Madre Mountains, and the northern spurs of the Uintah 
Range, which extend from Utah into southern Wyoming. Upon nearly 
all of these mountains the snows are heavy, and remain, in part, through- 
out the year. The Shoshone, Teton, and Snake River ranges also bear 
quite heavy forests. The timber upon the eastern extension of the 
Sweetwater range and western portion of the Rattlesnake Mountains 
is light and scattering. The widest timbered area is in the northwestern 
part of the Territory, covering the Wind River, Shoshone, and other 
mountains of the main range, including the groups of Yellowstone Park, 
There is considerable timber mostly Yellow Pine, upon the Black 
Hills near the Dakota line. 
Measurements of the timber limits of various mountains have been made, which ° 
show the heights, in their respective latitudes, above which coniferous trees—the 
-hardiest of any species—will not grow. The timber line of Mount Washburn is 9,900 
feet above sea level, while the altitude of that mountain is 10,388 feet; the timber 
line of Mount Hayden, of the Teton range, is 11,000 feet, while its altitude is 13,858 
feet above the sea; the timber line of the Wind River range is 10,160 feet, while its 
general altitude is 11,500 feet above the sea. 
Yellow and White Pine and White Spruce are the principal timber 
trees. Many regard the Yellow Pine as the best and most useful tree, 
while others think the White Spruce furnishes the best timber for all 
purposes. 
Lodge-pole Pine (Pinus Murrayana) is the prevailing forest tree in a 
wide area along the mountain range north and south of Laramie. Itis ~ 
also common in the northwestern and other portions of the Territory. 
It often replaces the original growth after fires, ete. 
Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana) has a seattering growth upon the 
foot-hills and low elevations in many parts of the Territory. 
| The Cottonwood (Populus monilifera and P. angustifolia) fringes many 
of the streams. 

