INTRODUCTORY. 
Some years since (in 1894 ), a substation was organized 
at Cheyenne Wells, in Eastern Colorado, for the purpose 
of testing plants and methods adapted to that region. A 
report of the trials was given in the Annual Report for 
1899 . * 
During the past year a different plan of work was 
adopted, both because it seemed that greater results could 
be secured, and because the authorities at Washington had 
ruled that the maintenance of permanent substations was 
not contemplated by the Hatch Act. The work was less¬ 
ened so that the superintendent had fewer duties at the sta¬ 
tion; he was furnished with a team, and his time largely 
given to a study of the methods of those who have gained 
a foothold, and to derive therefrom lessons of greater value 
than could come from the tests of a single person. The 
work of the year has been preliminary, but was necessary to 
establish a sound basis for future investigation or discussion 
of the problems of the Plains.' 
The reconnaisance covers only a small part of the 
Plains portion of the State, and, therefore, the statements 
are not necessarily true for the region outside that con¬ 
sidered. 
The Plains portion of Colorado extends from the eastern 
border of the State to the foothills of the Rockies. 
Fort Collins, Boulder, Golden, Colorado Springs, Florence 
and Trinidad are at or near the western border. Along the 
eastern border the elevation is from 3,500 to 4,500 feet, and 
along the foothills from 5,000 to 7,000 feet, the latter eleva¬ 
tion being found on the Divide between the Platte and the 
Arkansas rivers. The Plains are thus an inclined plane, 
rising almost imperceptibly from ten to twenty feet per 
mile. 
Limitless in expanse, with scanty, though nutritious, 
grasses, the Plains form the natural home of the stock indus¬ 
try, as they once did of vast herds of buffalo. 
This is not the place to discuss the Plains problem. 
With an area greater than most of the states east of the 
Mississippi, the magnitude of the area justifies a serious 
examination. L.G.C. 
* Also issued as an excerpt. 
