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4,000 feet above the sea level, from which rise a number of mountain 
ranges. ‘These ranges are from 20 to 50 miles long, and seldom exceed 
10 miles in width. Between them are great plains, from 20 to 80 miles 
wide, trecless and almost waterless, but generally covered with grass 
and affording pasturage for stock. The Rio Grande del Norte flows 
through the center of this region, forming a rich alluvial valley about 5 
miles in width and sunken some 200 feet below the surrounding plains. 
It includes the famed ‘ Mesilla Valley,” a district noted for its fine 
fruits and immense crops of cereals. Between the valley of the Rio 
Grande and the Organ and San Andres Mountains at the eastward is 
a desolate region known as the “ Journanda del Muerto” (Journey of 
Death). With the exception of the valley of the Rio Grande, which 
includes some 300 square miles of alluvial land that may be irrigated, 
but a small portion of the county is adapted to the production of crops. 
There is but little timber in this county, and it is mostly confined to 
the higher portions of the Organ and Sacramento Mountains. Pine, 
Fir, Cedar, and Juniper are the principal species growing in the mount- 
ains, and fotming forests. The first two are used to a limited extent 
in the manufacture of lumber. Pinon, Oak, Ash, Mesquit, Cotton- 
wood, and Willow are also native to this region. Oak and Ash are used 
in wagon and carriage work. 
When the forests are destroyed, there is absolutely no chance for 
their natural reproduction, and the denuded iracts become barren wastes. 
GRANT COUNTY. 
(Area, 10,090 square miles; estimated forest area, 800 square miles.) 
Grant county is in the southwestern corner of the Territory, border- 
ing ou Mexico. The northern portion is mountainous, and includes the 
sources of the principal streams, the Rio Mimbres and Gila River. The 
southern half of the county consists mainly of plain and mesas, and 
has an average or mean elevation of about 5,000 feet. The great pla- 
teau of the Sierra Madre extends into the southeastern portion of the 
county. A little farming is carried on in the large valleys, but stock- 
raising and mining are the chief industries. 
The largest bodies of timber are situated in the Black Range, Mim- 
bres, Pinos Altos, and other mountains in the northern part of the 
county. The Florida Mountains upon the eastern border, and the Hades 
and Peloncillo Mountains in the southwestern portion, are also wooded 
to some extent. About one-tenth of the forest area is well stocked. 
Pine and Juniper are the predominant species of forest trees and attain 
a good size. A scattering growth of Scrub Oak is found on the mesas 
and Cottonwood fringes the streamsin some places. The forests proper 
are rarely dense; there is but littie undergrowth, and the loss incurred 
from forest fires is inconsiderable. In fact, fires in this section are mone 
destructive to the stock ranges than they are to timber. 

