20 BULLETIN 211, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
in the mountains or places where wells might easily be dug. These 
lands have then been leased, and by this means the water and range 
have been controlled and possible settlers have been kept out. 
A large part of the railroad lands was surrendered for lieu-land 
scrip. The remainder now in the possession of the railroads is rented 
for grazing purposes so far as possible. Practically none of these lands 
are fenced, because they are the alternate sections. . 
The grazing privilege on the national forests is controlled by a 
permit system that guarantees the proper use of such ranges, render- 
ing the business less hazardous and at the same time increasing the 
carrying capacity. : 
It will thus be seen that the desire of all parties engaged in the 
business is some sort of legalized control of the range lands; and 
wherever this has been obtained and is at the same time associated © 
with the proper kind of management, the result has been beneficial 
to the industry and to the range also, and consequently to the State 
NATURE OF THE FORAGE CROP AND ITS DISTRIBUTION.! 
Plains.—Much of the area of New Mexico consists of open, nearly 
flat stretches that pass under such names as prairies, plains, or mesas. 
They range in elevation from about 3,500 to nearly 7,000 feet above 
sea level, a few, like Johnsons Mesa, reaching 8,000 feet. Such plains 
are usually covered with a more or less dense covering of grasses, 
which in the northern part of the State forms a tolerably thick sod. 
(Pl. II, fig. 1.) In the southern part of the State the grass covering 
is always less dense and rarely, if ever, forms a true sod (PI. III, 
fig. 1), while in many places the ground is absolutely bare over areas 
many acres in extent (Pl. III, fig. 2). Over large sections, often of 
many thousands of acres of these plains, the soil consists of loose sand 
and is covered with a more or less scattered growth of sand, bunch, 
and sage grasses (Pl. IV, fig. 1) or a scrub oak known as shinry 
(Pl. IV, fig. 2). Often the tight soils of the southern part of the 
State carry a growth of shrubs which are valuable browse plants, of 
which mesquite and shadscale (locally called sagebrush or coarse 
sage) are the most important. (PI. V, fig. 1.) 
Besides the grasses and shrubs already referred to, there is a long 
list of herbaceous annuals and perennials that appear in the growing 
season. The spring growth is fairly constant where some winter rain 
or snow may be depended upon, but in the southern part of the State 
these spring weeds only appear abundantly when three favorable — 
conditions occur in sequence. There must be enough rain in the fall 
to germinate the seeds; the winter must be wet enough and warm 
enough to produce good root growth; and the spring must not be so 
1A detailed treatment of the forage plants of New Mexico will be found in New Mexico Experiment 
Station Bulletins 66, 78, 81, and 87. 
