109 



The climate, though cool and bracing, as befits a high altitude, is not 

 rigorous except in the higher mountains. But sliglit falls of rain or 

 snow 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 insufficient 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 Eange, Medicine 

 Bow, and Sierra Madre Mountains, and the northern spurs of the Uintah 

 Eange, 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 Eiver 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 Eiver, 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, ^hich 

 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 {Finns Murrayana) is the prevailing forest tree in a 

 wide area along the mountain range north and south of Laramie. It is 

 also common in the northwestern and other portions of the Territory. 

 It often replaces the original growth after fires, etc. 



Eed Cedar (Jxinij^ems Yirginiana) has a scattering growth upon the 

 foot-hills and low elevations in many parts of the Territory. 



The Cottonwood [Poj^ulus monilifera and P. angustifoUa) fringes many 

 of the streams. 



