143 



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, treeless 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 inckides the famed Mesilla Yalley,'^ 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 Jour ncmda del Muerto^^ (Journe^^ of 

 Death). With the exception of the valley of the Eio Grande, which 

 inckides some 300 square miles of alluvial land that may be irrigated, 

 but a small portion of the county is adax)ted 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. Piue, 

 Fir, Cedar, and Juniper are the principal species growing in the mount- 

 ains, and forming 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 tracts 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 on Mexico. The northern portion is mountainous, and includes the 

 sources of the principal streams, the Eio 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 x)ortion 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 i)redominant species of forest trees and attain 

 a good size. A scattering growth of Scrub Oak is found on the mesas 

 and Cottonwood fringes the streams in some places. The forests proper 

 are rarely dense; there is but little undergrowth, and the loss incurred 

 from forest fires is inconsiderable. In fact, fires in this section are moiie 

 destructive to the stock ranges than they are to timber. 



