3 
above the alkali line, but at its lower limit a few scattered speci¬ 
mens are often found, in the salt-sage belts, in a mixture of 
gravel and clay, with some alkali. Mr. Snow found "a few scat¬ 
tering live bushes” growing on soil containing .45 % of salts, or 
108,000 lbs. per acre, in 6 ft.; it rarely occurs in such places, how¬ 
ever, and then only sparingly and in stunted form. Its presence 
under such adverse conditions may perhaps be traceable to the seepage 
or rise of alkali into that spot after the bushes had become established. 
This theory finds partial confirmation in the occasional occurrence of 
small alkali spots in the heart of a large area of excellent loamy land, 
such spots being indicated by the presence of "alkali weeds,” partic¬ 
ularly Saltwort (Suceda ), Hop-sage (Atriplex canescens) and Scrub 
Salt-sage {Atriplex sp.), associated with the Creosote-bush. 
Wherever Creosote-bush occurs abundantly and luxuriantly it is 
probable that alfalfa and many other crops can be raised satisfactorily. 
Wherever it occurs mixed with alkali weeds greater care must be 
exercised in the manipulation of the soil, either on account of lesser 
permeability of the irrigation water or the presence of larger amounts 
of alkali. 
The entire absence of, or poor growth of, Creosote-bush on lands 
producing other vegetation, generally speaking (and with a few 
exceptions doubtless), indicates that the soil is compact, clayey, and 
hard to work, and usually contains from .6 to over 1 % of salts. 
Such soils will probably require to be leached and possibly to be tile- 
drained in order to make them respond to cultivation. 
It has been suggested that the tracts absolutely free from all 
vegetation, which are found in some sections on the heavy clay lands, 
owe their lack of vegetation to the standing of water on the surface 
for a long period; that they are, in fact, dry lakes, "sinks,” or 
evaporation basins, such as are commonly met with in all desert areas. 
Without having been able to study the contours of these barren areas, 
it is impossible to state definitely that this is the case, but the explan¬ 
ation seems a probable one. If this view is correct, then it will 
follow that the entire absence of all vegetation from an area does not 
necessarily mean either that the soil is too heavy or that it is too 
strongly charged with salts for vegetation to flourish, but that the 
long continued standing of the water has prevented the germination of 
seeds. Mere seasonal flooding has an entirely opposite effect, moist¬ 
ening the soil for some depth, but drying off the surface in time to 
allow seeds to germinate. 
THE SALT-SAGE LANDS. 
The presence of the Salt-sages (shrubby species of Atriplex ), 
better known, but erroneously, as "Sage-brush,” is invariably indica- 
