sources in the highlands to the The -A Neglected Grazing north. Starting as swift mountain Resource torrents, they flatten out into sluggish, muddy streams, with the

C. LANGDON WIIITE and JOHN THOMPSON reduction in gradient in the low- lands. Professor and Instructor, respectively, Department of Geogra,- phy, Stanford University, Stanford, C’alifornia During the season of high rainfall these rivers swell tremendously, HE Llanos are unique in being in which the could support overflow their banks and inundate T lying within 10 de- more cattle in the future. huge areas along their lower grees of the Equator and at eleva- reaches. There is a difference of 43 tions nowhere exceeding 1,000 feet Regional Features feet between high and low water above sea level. The region is Terrain and Drainage in the . During the latter covered by a variety of plant asso- The Llanos comprise a huge level part of the heavy rainy season, it is ciations broadly termed . to undulating alluvial , slop- believed that more than a third of The word was apparently first used the Llanos is inundated. The in 1535 by Oviedo in referring to flooded lands have every appear- the . In this ance of swamps, being soon clothed paper are regarded as Perspective on a relatively un- with a rank vegetation and with whose dominant vegetation developed grazing resource in the water-plant growth (Fig. 2). is grass. However, when the rain- Tropics of -the Flooded for months at a time, fall is greater or the soils collect Llanos of and . travel by land becomes impossible and hold more moisture, the sa- Dr. White is Head of the Depart- and human beings must move vanna may support trees growing ment of Geography at Stanford about ill dugouts. close enough to form woodland. In University and a student of Latin Duri$g the dry season,*&>he flow some savannas the grasses are tall, America for many years. Mr. of water is so drastically’ reduced in others short, corresponding ap- Thompson was born in South Amer- that many of the rivers dry up parently to zones of greater or ica and lived part of his life there. into pools and swamps. Some lesser moisture. up co;;lpletely. In this huge natural landscape .. bounded by the Mountains ing south and southeastward from ,‘r Climate and the Orinoco River, the popula- the Andes to the Orinoco. As con- Rhythm . in the rainfall is the tion of both man and domestic sidered here, the region is divided’ outstand&g characteristic of the animals is small and the region is into the Eastern, Central and climate, the year being divided into not of great import. This is puz- Southern Llanos (Fig. 1). two seasons-the dry referred to zling, for superficial consideration The region is traversed by a locally as verano lasting from June of the map indicates that the number of streams having their to March inclusive and the wet- Llanos should be a truly great cattle country. It consists largely of , it is relatively near the sea, from its first occupation by white men it has been used pri- marily for cattle raising, it is served by the Orinoco-one of South America’s major rivers, and the populations of both Colombia and Venezuela are badly in need of meat produced at home. Further study, however, discloses that neither country is realizing the potentialities of the Llanos for cattle production. It is the purpose 0 200 400 of t)his paper to present the high- M\LEs lights of this great grassland, to point out the reasons for its eco- nomic neglect, and to suggest ways FIGIJRE 1. MRP of northern South Anericn showing the subregions of the Llanos.

11 12 C. LASGDON WHITE ASD .JOIIN THOMPSOX

invierno-lasting from .June to Oc- ducrd firrs have yielded a wide clothed with in sparsr, short-grass t,obcr inclusive. April and hZlty, vnrirt,y of plant associat,ions “vu wgctatioo of low nutritional valor. Novcmhrr and Dwxmher are trnrl- t,hc Llaoos (Fig. 3). I~owver, Hew Trach//poyon appcxs to be &ion months. The arrival sod uniformity does not, cherartrrix t,he most rommol~ form of veget,a- duration of thr seasons \&es from t,he region; new should the Llanos tion. Palms, trwn and shrubs are year to year and from place to he rgsrded solely as #‘IL great thinly scattered in the eastern place. III general t,he xet ~ra.s”n monotonous sea of waving grass”. mesa country, while a considerable shortens and the annual rainfall Grass does hold sway in some parts area of monte or chaparral or open diminishes northward. Annual pre- but trees do in others. The grass is wrub forest, overlies the nort,hcrn cipitation varies from 39 inches at of the hunch type and is not, matted half of these plains. Ciudsd Bolivar to 52 inches st as are our prairie and strppe (knrrnlizing on the IAmos San Fernando dc . Nearly grasses. In the Central Llanos grasses, it may he said that thry all of this rain falls during the sir whew the water table is suficiently have low nutritional value. While months hlay to October inclusive. high, as along the Apurr and Portu- the succulent, glrcn ne\v growth at During the dry season the shade gucsa rivers, the grasses arc greeu the beginning of the wet season temperature3 approach maximas in and palatable for stork the year and following fires is eaten hy the the middle and low 90’s. Monthly round. Green meadow also may be stock, the large, coarse mature grasses become hard and unpalata- ble with progression of the dry season. Bwause t,hr Ilitneros believe that liring improves the vegetat,ion, they burn off large arcas during the dry witson. Art,ually this pruc- tier is partly rrsponsiblc for the poor quality of the forage, particu- larly in thr Eastern Llanos. Hcrc infwior grasses whirh are more resistant to elimination by fires, are replacing the better grasses. One of the biggest hurdles t,” range improvrmcnt t,o date has bern the difficulty in finding grasses other than the nat,ive variet,y t,hnt can stand the extremes of climate.

Causes of the Llanas Them is no agreement among averages arc 10’ to 20’F. lo\\w. m3en as concentric rings of vegeta- botanists, ecologists and geogra- During this season the northrast, tion about an evaporating flood or phers regarding the origin and trade winds blow almost, ~“11. senpagc-created lagoon, but t,he causes of the Llanos <:over. One stsntly making the period more shallow-root,ed plants dry UP school of thought considers the hearable to man than the wet quickly its the vatcr recedes. HOW savanna vegetation to be a climat,ic season. In the latter season, though ever, the coarse, hardy grasses WC climax formation; another as an monthly averages are 4’ to 9’F. able to endure the severe rondi- edaphic climax dependent on spr- lower, the combination of higher tions. cial soil conditions. Both views, relative humidity and of reduced Scattered throughout t,he grassy however, agree that the silwmna air movement results in higher area are swh trees as chaparro, landscapes WPR pre-Columhiall, but sensible tcmprraturrs. Even during IllWXy, alcornoqw and copaibn. that the grasses grew murh taller the hrief spells of dry weather that Streams are almost always borderd then than n”\v. interrupt the wet season, there is by gallery forests. In plavcs occur Schimpcr (1903) defines the cli- little relief from its discomforts. small forests called “matas” by t,he matic requirements of a savanna to natives and h&s of moriches be an annual precipitation of 35 to Natural Vegetatim which foIlox\- strramlets and which %59inches (90&1.50 rm.), an rffPctive The variations in climatr, soils the inhahitantri call “morichales”. 4- to 3.month dry seas”,, and a and terrain alone with man-in- Murh of the Eastern Llanos is range in t,hr mont,hly mean t,erw LL.ZSOP A SE(:LECTF,D GRAZING RESOURCE 13

Another \-ir!v on the distrilmt,ion of SR\~RIIIIIIS holds that, n-e do llot know whether t heir oo~u~wn~! corre- spends to the real ecological UN- ditions. This school asserts that man, through periodic Inmrirrg and grazing, is the cause. A. Aubrevillr (19-19) doubts that, t,here iu a spr- rific savanna climate in the tropics. Myers (1933) regards the Llnnos vegetation as a fire-climax, although he h&eves soil conditions may also he involved. However, so litt,le is known scirnt,ificnlly regarding South American soils t,hat it is unsafe t,o speculate regarding this fnrtor. The authors believe that, the chief d&ermining fact,ors for the savanna cover of the Llanos are not always the same; t,he evidencr of climatic dominance is not rvery- x-here decisive. The range of cli- Occupancy of the Llanos Missionaries first entered the matic conditions under which the Colonial Per,od Llanos near the end of the sixteenth savanna occurs in this part of When the Spaniards arrived in century. They encouraged the In- South Amcrirn, the abrupt bound- this part of the , they dians to grow native and intro- ary hetwren forest, and SBV&IIIIR, found the Llanos (particularly the dwed crops, to raise livestock and and t,he presence of savanna eastern half) occupied hy small to develop crafts. Their success is pockets betwren zones of for& all numhrrs of Indians cngngcd in at,tested to by the results-the t,cnd to rhallengc the thesis of patch farming, hunting, fishing and Capuchins had herds numbering climatic theory. It would seem that gathering. Lacking any large her- 50,000 head of cattlc in the Eastern human interference, particularly hivomus animals, however, they Llanos hy 1759, the Jesuits 80,000 fire, has been a major causal factor made virtually no use of the great head by 1767. on this relatively flat,, wind-swept grassy expanses. Even the close The comparatively small effort (dry season) landscape. There can grazing effects of the small Llanos attendant upon animal husbandry bc no doubt that the saranna deer and, on river margins, of the resulted in expansion of secular vegetation has heen much modified capyharas, scarcely had any effect ranching. As white and mestizo by fire. According t,o Myers (1936): ecologically. The Spaniards intro- (mixed h&d) settlers moved into duced close-grazing horses and the Central and Eastern Llanos, cattle. According to reasonably the missions and Indians gradually accurate reports, the first livestock disappeared. Many ranches had were taken into the Central Llanos from 10,000 to 12,000 cattle in the ahout 1550 when n amall herd of early 1700’s as well as many horses horses and cattle became the nu- and mules. Herds in the Fires undeniably play a dominant &us of a ranch in t,he GuBrico area hecame so large that their role in giving sharp houndaries to ratershed. A decade later the owners knew not how many animals the savannas and have thus favored Gu&rico-Apure x&x-shed was sup- they owned. grasses and herbaceous vegetation porting some 12,000 to 14,000 Rustling and illicit slaughtering at the expense of woody plant,s. cattle and half as many horses. for hides, tallow and dried beef 14 C. LANGDON WHITE AND ,JOHN THOMPSON became serious in the Eastern sands of emaciated animals from the frequent burning of the vegeta- Llanos. Trade in these products the Llanos were fattened, especially tion on the Llanos. Burning is an passed through Barcelona, Santo in and around Valencia and Mara- annual affair and the do it Tomas de Guiana and other ports cay-gateways to the Llanos. When to improve the quality of the vege- destined for the Lesser, Antilles and Gomez began his political career he tation (they believe burning results the Guianas. Lives&k and their was in comparative poverty; when in palatable young grass) and to products from thee Central Llanss he died his personal fortune was kill ticks. There seems to be some destined I for the I Greater Antilles valued at $200,000,000. grounds for both theories. Accord- moved through’ ’ Puerto Cabello, During recent years cattle num- ing to Bennett et al. (1942), new Coro and Maracaibo. La Guaira, bers in Venezuela have been esti- grass appears within 10 or 12 days though an active port, had ‘too mated at 5,000,OOO head, divided following a fire and the cattle head rough a roadstead for loading live- equally between the Central Llanos out of the old grass towards the stock. and the adjacent half of the Eastern tender grass in the burns. Llanos. The estimate for all of Llanos cattle face more than Nineteenth Century Colombia is 14,500,OOO head and their share of hardships and In 1812, Venezuelan cattle were for the Llanos 750,000. dangers. During floods the herds estimated at 4,800,OOO and horses must be driven to higher ground- and mules at 430,000 and 270,000 ?res&day Ranching to the margins of the foothills and respectively. The herds were seri- The’ ‘plains’ were gradually di- to the low mesas that stand like ously reduced in , size, however, vided ’ into vast estates-cattle islands above the flood. Obviously during the bitter ‘,@ampaigns for ranches r known as hatos. To this the area available for grazing is independence from %$bain : when day most ‘of the hatos remain un- restricted since so much of the private ownership of , Llanos @- fenced and are so huge that the region is flooded. Alligators, electric stock was to all intents atid pur- half-wild cattle roam over them eels and the ferocious and voracious poses disregarded. After Bolivar almost without care. Boundary little fish, the Caribes, all exact established himself ’ at Angostura lines between grants are “notori- their toll. During the dry season, (now Ciudad Bolivar) the livestock ously vague”. These holdings were the tall grasses virtually become on the Llanos were largely rounded organized as feudal units. Since inedible, water is scarce and the up by his agents and sent to the population was sparse, towns few cattle have to move southward to to pay for the exorbi- and transportation with the outside the damper areas near the Orinoco. tantly priced war supplies pur- world almost lacking, the hatos At this time insects are at their chased on credit from American, had to become as nearly self-sus- worst. The takes his toll and British and Dutch merchants. The taining as possible. Therefore, countless vultures prey on new-born cattle population dropped from besides cattle and horses, the lands calves. Thus Llanos cattle are 4800,000 head in 1812 to a mere were made to provide crops such as forced to wander far and wide, 250,000 eleven years later. From plantains, corn, beans, yuca (cas- just to remain alive. the termination of this struggle to sava) and native fruits. Some Annual and biannual round-ups the beginning of the Five Years’ villages, usually little more than interrupt the independent existence War (1866-1870), the number of “crossroads,” and a small number of the cattle to permit branding and cattle rose to 6,000,OOO head only of towns sprang up at strategic castration. Many steers are set to toboggan to 3,500,OOO head as a points. Several of these are today aside for trailing to pre-market result of hostilities. In the .1880’s small cities of considerable re- fattening pastures. Sometimes the the number climbed to 8,500,OOO gional importance. stock are rounded up into managea- only to fall again as a result of Cattle ranches on the Llanos are ble groups every week or so and frequent revolutions. A major large, averaging around 3,000 acres. brought into corrals for salt. This factor affecting cattle production For the most part proprietors take practice, together with dipping, is in Venezuela was General Juan little interest in improving their quite recent. Vicente Gomez, who was Venezuela property, pastures or stock. Some Most of the cattle of the Vene- from 1908 until his death in 1935. have installed wells, windmills and zuelan Llanos are raised in the While the number of cattle on the watering troughs but many have states of Apure and Guarico, the Venezuelan Llanos increased during done nothing; it is by no means a two accounting for about two-fifths his regime, he controlled the in- rarity for some animals to walk as of the total. The Colombian Llanos dustry. He and his friends and many as six miles in search of is much less important to the family gradually gained possession water. country’s total cattle production of the lands where tens of thou- Reference was made earlier to than is the case with Venezuela, LLANOS-A NEGLECTED GRAZING RESOURCE 15 for Colombia has several much the very highest quality rather than general, consumption of meat, in better -the the leggy, late-maturing, weak- both Colombia and Venezuela, is Coastal Plain, the Sabana de Bo- hipped type introduced by many limited chiefly by high prices. The gotit, and the Cauca Valley. stockmen in recent years. masses of the people in neither The criollo is an excellent founda- country can afford costly meat. The Livestock tion animal upon which to build Trails and market centers of The early Spaniards brought with crossbred types. The cross-breeds today are largely those of the past. them to the New World their yield a higher percentage of edible Herds from as far away as the European livestock. The descen- meat when dressed. This is im- Orinoco, Arauca and Apure rivers dants of these European cattle as portant, for the reproductive effi- may be driven for many weeks over found today in the Llanos are ciency (the number of calves raised the braiding grassland trails that known as “native” or “criollo” annually per 100 cows) of Llanos lead in Colombia to (Fig. 2). These early importations cattle is extremely low-less than and lesser pasturing centers at the soon reverted to a semi-wild state 50 percent. foot of the highlands and to Valle but they throve and reproduced Unlike the Argentines of the de la Pascua, Calabozo, San Carlos, rapidly. Some authorities believe Pampas, the Colombians and Vene- , , that the stock has degenerated over zuelans of the Llanos have shown Valencia, Maracay and elsewhere in t)he past several hundred years be- no interest in Herefords, Shorthorns Venezuela (Fig. 4). In the streets cause of the marked seasonal or Aberdeen-Angus breeds. of Villavicencio one sees herd after changes, the many pests and dis- herd of emaciated cattle which eases, interbreeding and ihe lack of Marketing Activities have just finished their gruelling scientific care and feeding. The There is considerable variation in march and are &&‘ing before beiqg s* early cattle industry here amounted the age, weight and size of marketed driven to Bogot& over a mountain to little more than the periodic cattle. Most animals ready for range approximately 10,000 feet rounding up and slaughtering of a slaughter are 4 to 6 years of age high. Annually some 35,000 head, certain number of animals mainly and carcass weights average 375 perhaps 3 percent of the national for hides and tallow. pounds. annual slaughter, make the six-day Actually the criollo cattle have Most llaneros, not yet con- climb to Bogot&. Feed is so scarce adapted themselves quite eff ec- vinced that it is wise to slaughter along the way that as much as 20 tively to the physical environment, younger animals, fail to realize percent shrinkage occurs. Similar becoming relatively resistant to the that by so doing they would reduce results occur with the smaller an- pests and local diseases that flourish the number of cattle on halos nual flow of cattle which enters largely uncontrolled. They have thereby enabling the youngest ani- more northerly areas from the learned the ways of the wild ani- mals to get more feed, gain weight Llanos. mals that prey upon their calves. faster and render greater profit to A similar situation holds for They appear to sense the appropri- their owners. Venezuela. Depreciations in weight ate time during floods to leave the The animals destined for slaugh- resulting from difficult drives into lowland for high ground. And they ter come from the Llanos without the Venezuelan highlands result in are able to subsist wholly on what any special fattening. They are 20 percent weight loss. These losses nature provides. Possession of such lean, their dressing percentage is are in addition to the estimated 5 self-reliance and hardiness is a low and their meat is of low quality percent through straying and genuine asset in a region where. -tough and fibrous. drowning. Some animals are lost to survival is as difficult as it is in the Changes are taking place, how- alligators, and electric eels tropical Llanos. ever, in the manner of marketing as the herds cross rivers. Another Mature criollo cattle are small, cattle. Some animals are hauled by 10 percent of the herd possibly long-horned, slow-maturing and truck from points where good high- reaches the end of the trail lame or vari-colored (Fig. 2). Crossing with ways meet the trails and some are sick. It is little wonder that such Zebu stock is resulting in larger, shipped by river steamer on the inroads occur, for the treks are hardier and generally more vigorous Orinoco. One-fourth of the meat made over rough and dusty trails animals. Zebu cattle have a higher consumed in Caracas is now flown where forage is meager and water heat tolerance than European cattle in as sides of beef. The cost of in short supply. and this characteristic carries over living in this boom city is the Not only are the drives costly in to the progeny. They also show highest in the world and many of terms of depreciation in the animals greater resistance to insect pests. the people living there can afford but a number of men must be em- Imported Zebu bulls should be of to pay a high price for beef. In ployed for a week or more before 16 C. LANGDON WHITE AND JOHN THOMPSON the market is reached. On the incentive for producing meat. On ment, for control then would be Llanos herds are managed in groups the other hand, the ranchers seem possible. of 300 to 400 head but those driven to share a traditional disinterest in The incidence of diseases and over the mountains are broken up stJock and range improvement. This pests in the Llanos of Colombia into units of 80 and 100 head. A is indeed unfortunate in countries probably is somewhat higher than mounted corporal and three or four characterized by rapidly growing in Venezuela. Control of infesta- peons on foot are required to handle industrial and urban populations tions such as aftosa and tick fever each of the smaller groups (Fig. 4). with increasing requirements for and general improvements of range These cattle may be given a chance beef. It is believed that both Co- and stock will occur as the govern- to fatten near market towns but a lombia and Venezuela have suffi- ment restores order to the region. I- or 2-day wait before killing is cient cattle to supply domestic Here, as in Venezuela, improved common. Cropland and dairy re- needs; the big problem is to get the roads, trails and watering facilities quirements near urban centers are animals from the remote Llanos to would be beneficial to the beef tending to eliminate some of the the consuming centers. cattle industry. beef-fattening areas, particularly in The government road-building Improvement of the transporta- the Valencia Basin of Venezuela. programs and the work of experi- tion network would also be a real One of the principal fattening areas ment stations and agricultural col- benefit to commercial agriculture along the margins of the Llanos. Improved irrigation facilities in certain favored areas and the preparation of new cropland would facilitate commercial agriculture. However, the costly mechanized operations required are beyond the means of the private land holders. Then too, the ’s preferred position astride a horse will be hard to exchange for a job behind a mule or on a tractor.

FIGURE 4. Criollo cattle arriving in Maracay, a principal fattening area, after the Conclusions long drive from Apure in the Central Llanos. They have travelled only a short dis- It has been shown that though (Photograph by James H. Kempton) tance on a hard surface road. the Llanos do furnish forage for a considerable proportion of Colom- in Venezuela is the area south of onies are steps in the direction of bian and Venezuelan cattle, the Lake Maracaibo in the State of greater production and improved number supported is relatively Zulia. quality of beef. However, there small considering the size of the Large, modern meat-packing es- could be and should be more vigor region. The authors do not foresee tablishments are lacking. In fact, in the governments’ efforts. The a bright future for the cattle industry few facilities for refrigeration exist creditable campaign that has been for a long time, if ever. The main except in the large cities. In Vene- waged against aftosa (foot-and- reasons for this pessimism are: (1) zuela the largest number of animals mouth disease) might be extended the tropical location and low alti- handled at one point in a 24-hour to the elimination of other common tude of the region; (2) the marked period is 200. The bulk of the beef infections and the control of pests. rhythm in drought and rainfall is killed, cooled and quickly de- The governments could assist which imposes a serious handicap livered to market in ventilated greatly in improvement of watering by forcing cattle to the higher trucks. In both countries the con- facilities (ponds and wells) in areas during floods and to water sumer prefers fresh-killed beef. ranching areas, particularly along Wastage obviously is appalling. holes and river banks during dry the cattle trails. Many cattle die of seasons; (3) the pestiferous insects Current Problems Affecting thirst during the dry season and which, at times and in certain areas, Llanos Economy yet water could be had at a reason- make life almost unbearable to man Ranchers claim that government able depth by drilling. Perhaps the and beast alike; (4) the widespread price-fixing and regulations so inter- enforcement of fencing laws will distribution of the cattle tick, fere with the movement of stock to lead to required forage conserva- screw worm and guano de monte; market as to have almost killed the tion, pasture and stock improve- (5) the poor transportation facilities LLANOS-A NEGLECTED GRAZING RESOURCE 17

(there are few good roads, no rail- uality, his philosophy of accepting towns. Should these hurdles ulti- ways, and even the Orinoco was what comes and making the best of mately be surmounted, cattle rais- not a good highway until recently it, and his lack of progressiveness. ing on the Llanos might become a dredged to Puerto Ordaz); (6) the What improvement in the situa- business enterprise rather than just inferiority of native grass pastures tion is possible? The cattle industry a way of life. and the difficulties encountered in could be made more productive and planting such introduced grasses as profitable by: (1) improving pas- LITERATURE CITED Guinea, Para, Napier, Guatemala tures (difficult and costly but not AUBREVILLE, A. 1949. Anciennetb de la and Natal, which can be grown only impossible) ; (2) supplying nitrogen destruction de la couverture fores- t&e primitive de 1’Afrique tropicale. on fertile, well-watered soils of and other essential minerals to the Bull. Agricole du Congo Belge small valleys ; (7) governmental soils; (3) introducing more fencing; 40(2) : 1347-1352. interference and civil strife; (8) (4) installing more windmills; (5) BENNETT, H. H. et al. 1942. Land con- ditions in Venezuela and their rela- the un-scientific methods of han- reducing fires, particularly in the tions to agriculture and human wel- dling the range and cattle with Eastern Llanos ; (6) growing feed fare. Soil Conservation Mission to consequent unsatisfactory results; crops adapted to local conditions Venezuela, U. S. Soil Conservation Service, Washington, D. C. (9) the uncontrolled fires which for fattening the range animals; (7) MYERS, J. G. 1933. Notes on the vegeta- annually destroy the better soils building more and better highways tion of the Venezuelan Llanos. Jour. and vegetation, fences and houses; into the Llanos; (8) improving the Ecology 21: 335-349. ----. 1936. Savannah and forest vegeta- (10) the difficulty of securing credit quality of the livestock and giving t>ion of the Interior Guiana Plateau. on livestock; (11) the antiquated the animals better care; (9) con- Jour. Ecology 24 : 162-184. methods of handling meat; and (12) structing more slaughter houses in SCHIMPER, A. F. W. 1903. Plant geog- raphy upon a physiological basis. the llanero himself-his individ- the vicinity of strategically located Oxford. 839 pp.

AnA pproach to the Study of grasses, the (tribes, genera, and species); and (3) the knowledge of the distribu- “Tribal Triangle” tion, habitat preference and eco- nomic importance of the major FRANK W. GOULD range grasses. Associate Professor, Department of n”(_;ngeand I orestry, A. k This paper is concerned primarily M. C allege of Texas, C allege Station, Texas with the second phase, specifically,

GROSTOLOGY, the science of The Gramineae not only is one of the taxonomic relationships of the A grass classification, is an essen- the largest of the families of flower- subfamilies and tribes. According tial prerequisite to the study and ing plants, but it also is one of the to the system of the great American practice of range management. Of most highly specialized in floral agrostologist, Dr. A. S. Hitchcock, prime importance to the range man- characteristics. The familiar grass the genera of grasses are grouped ager is a basic understanding of the spikelet is a greatly reduced and into 14 tribes. Ten of these tribes kinds, characteristics and qualities of contracted flowering branch bearing are placed in the subfamily Festu- important range grasses. For proper minute, reduced flowers protected coideae and four in the subfamily assimilation and retention of in- by scale-like floral bracts. The Panicoideae. The tribes are com- forrriation about grasses, it is ad- nature of the spikelet and of its prised of morphologically similar visable that the range manager parts, and the arrangement of the and supposedly closely related gen- undertake more of a study of agros- spikelets in the inflorescence are era. Due to lack of knowledge of oology than the mere memorization the principal bases for classification actual relationships, and because tf names and recognition of speci- of grasses. continuous evolutionary processes mens. He should become well ac- As a systematic science, the study have produced grasses that do not quainted with the basic framework of range agrostology includes three fit nicely into any taxonomic niche, of grass classification and should phases: (1) the recognition of vege- the placement of some genera in one obtain satisfactory concepts of tative and reproductive structural or another tribe is controversial. Dr. tribes, genera and species, and the units; (2) the learning of names and Hitchcock realized that his system interrelationships of these groups. characteristics of the important taxa was not entirely natural nor com-