ARIZONA HIGHWAY COMMISSION NOTES

MAY 4, 1937 The Arizona State Highway Commission met in special session in their offices in the Highway Building at 1:30 P. M., May 4, 1937. Those present were: Chairman Dowell, Vice-Chairman Angle, Commissioners Langmade, Scott and Seale, also the State Engineer, the Secretary and Assistant Attorney General A. R. Lynch.

The State Engineer presented a letter signed by G. L. McLane, Senior Highway Engineer, Bureau of Public Roads, giving prior concurrence in awarding of the contract for the construction of Arizona W. P. G. S. 125, Mill Avenue Underpass, to Vinson and Pringle, of Phoenix, Arizona, the low bidder. Having received this letter of concurrence, State Engineer O'Connell recommended, subject to Bureau regulations of WPSG Projects, that the contract be awarded to Vinson and Pringle in the amount of $77,430.62. It was regularly moved by Commissioner Angle, seconded by Commissioner Seale, and unanimously carried, that the recommendation of the State Engineer be accepted.

After consideration of bids, it was regularly moved by Commissioner Angle, seconded by Commissioner Seale, and unanimously carried that the low bid submitted by Peterson-Brooke-Steiner-Wist, Phoenix, Arizona, in the amount of $3,-388.95, be accepted, subject to the installation of the Addressing Machine meeting with the approval of the Engineer.

A letter from John Cummard of Mesa requesting permission, in behalf of the Mormon Church, to erect a monument at Red Rock on the Tucson-Casa Grande highway, in memory of Mormon Battalion which passed through the state in 1846, was read. The Commission approved the recommendation of the State Engineer that the request be allowed, provided the approval of the Landscape and District Engineer is first secured on the type and architecture of the monument.

Mr. Mercer Hemperly, attorney for Mr. R. D. Heisler of Quartzsite, appeared before the Commission to settle the right of way controversy existing over land belonging to Mr. Heisler, located in Highway 60 in the vicinity of Quartzsite. After discussion it was regularly moved by Commissioner Langmade, seconded by Commissioners Angle and Seale, and unanimously carried, that the payment of $800 for right-of-way easement across the R. D. Heisler land, located on U. S. Highway 60, in the vicinity of Quartzsite, Yuma County, Arizona, be authorized.

The request of the Natural Gas Service Company, Coolidge, Arizona, to hang a two inch pipe line from the Gila River Bridge near Florence, Arizona, was again taken up. Because of the fact the granting of this request would be setting a precedent, it was regularly moved by Commissioner Seale, seconded by Commissioner Angle and unanimously carried, that the request be disallowed.

An application for permit from Mr. James Girand, City Engineer of the City of Phoenix, to install a four inch cast-iron water pipe line from 23rd to 27th Avenues on the Buckeye Road was presented together with a letter from Mr.

J. D. Sheley, Right of Way Agent, recommending against the granting of the application. The recommendation of the Right of Way Agent was sustained by the Commission and the application for permit denied.

After consideration of bids received, it was regularly moved by Commissioner Angle, seconded by Commissioner Scott and unanimously carried, that the low bid of F. Ronstadt be accepted in the amount of $3,390 less than two per cent 30 days, or a total of $3,322.20, for the purchase of one 12-foot Dual Motor Grader.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Langmade, seconded by Commissioner Scott and unanimously carried, that the resolution authorizing Mr. W. F. Clark, newly appointed Chief Accountant, in addition to Mr. T. S. O'Connell, State Highway Engineer, Mr. Sıd Smyth, Deputy State Engineer, and Mr. H. C. Hatcher, Statistical Engineer, to verify and approve claims for the expenditure of moneys from the Highway Fund, be adopted.

Flood control of the Little Colorado River in Holbrook was brought up by Commissioner Scott, who stated the State Highway Department has made application to the W. P. A. for $250,000 to be used for state-wide flood control along highway right of way. Also that Messrs. F. N. Grant, District Engineer, and Ralph Hoffman, Bridge Engineer, have worked up a project which will protect the bridge approaches on Highway 260, south of Holbrook, coming within Flood Control classification. The state will put up $500 for jetties, $1,000 for equipment rentals and $500 engineering expenses; the Town of Holbrook has agreed to put up $500 and, the Governor, at the request of a Holbrook delegation, has agreed to put up $4,000 out of his relief fund, making a total of $6,500. The labor needed is estimated at $13,-500, which the State anticipates receiving from the WPA Grant. Commissioner Scott made a motion, which was seconded by Commissioner Seale, and unanimously carried, that the Engineers initiate and complete this flood control project on the basis outlined above.

Commissioner Langmade inquired of Attorney Lynch as to whether or not the services of Mr. A. I. Winsett were needed any longer by the Attorney Gen-eral, to which Mr. Lynch replied the only thing Mr. Conway has reported, is he could dispense with Mr. Winsett's ser-vices. The Commission was informed that a letter is on file crom Mr. Win-sett requesting the month of June for his vacation period, in view of the fact he has been with the Department since July 1, 1935, and received no vacation since the date of his employment. After discussion, it was regularly moved by Commissioner Langmade, seconded by Commissioner Scott and unanimously carried, that the recommendation of the Attorney General be accepted, and the services of Mr. A. I. Winsett be dis-pensed with as of June 1st; the period between now and June 1st, to be used by him as a vacation period.

There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 7:00 P. M., May 4, 1937, to meet again at 10:00 A. M., May 24, 1937.

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Arizona's Place In the Sun

(Continued From Page 5) Hardly dream of finding seventy-two out of seventy-five clear nights for uninterrupted work; yet Professor Douglass, of the University of Arizona, has such a record in his observatory. The fact that there have been established in this state two well-equipped observatories indicates that scientific men have recognized the superior advantages set forth above.

The geographical extent of Arizona is vast and diversified. The area of the state is 113,000 square miles, or 78,000,000 acres. Mr. Leo Crane, a veteran of the Southwest author of "Indians of the Enchanted Desert"-has figured out that the New England States could all be comfortably bedded down within Arizona's ample borders, and that room would still be left for mother Pennsylvania and baby Delaware. It is a pleasant fancy to think of these icebound, frigid states couched here for a few decades to warm up. Crane says that, without scaling a mountain peak, he has seen on the higher levels of the Apache Indian Reservation snow in June, and that twice in February he has known the thermometer to go 30 degrees below zero in the northeastern part of the state while roses in Phoenix were blooming in perfection.

On almost any day of the year, if one consults the report of the Weather Bureau, one will find that Yuma and Needles are the hottest cities in America and Flagstaff the coolest. The inhabitant of Arizona can choose his own climate at any given period of the year, and it is the custom of many people to migrate with the changing seasons-Tucson and Phoenix in the winter-Prescott and Flagstaff in the summer. Leading people of the state often find themselves almost continuously in each other's company as they flit from clime to clime to attend state conferences and conventions, or follow the regional fairs, rodeos,feasts, pageants, snake-dances and other ceremonials.

A remarkable aspect of the diversity of climate and topography is the dis tribution of plant life. In the south may be seen almost all the typical plants of northern Mexico that is, semi-tropical vegetation-while in the north most of the well-known species of Canada and the North Temperate states are to be found; and, more striking still, in the region about Prescott one finds a merging of the two the South impinging upon the North and North upon the South-resulting in a transitional flora made up of both northern and southern forms. Within an area of fifty miles, owing to the great range of altitude in Arizona, may be studied various zones of animal and vegetable life from the Sonoran to the Alpine. This includes in Northern Arizona a belt of vegetation called the Hudsonian. In the Alpine region no plant life is to be found. Professor J. J. Thornber, of the University of Arizona, informs me that he has identified and studied 3200 species of native plants. These include native trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and cacti. The legumes (members of the pea family) number upwards of three hundred species; there is about the same number of grasses; and the sunflower family, youngest of the families of flowering plants in Arizona, geologically, is yet the largest, embracing four hundred species. The cactus family is represented by about one hundred species. Arizona has more species of cacti than any other state, and about one half of all the species found in America. It may seem strange to the reader that I speak with such pride of the cactus; but after sixteen years residence in the state and many close contacts with the cactus, I have found that this plant has manyfine points about it. Particularly worthy of note are our examples of the saguaro, Pitahayo, cholla, prickly pear and night blooming cereus.

JUNE, 1937 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 23

"The grass family," writes Professor Thornber, "is characterized by a large number of highly nutritious forage plants, represented by curly mesquite grass, black grama and similar grasses. The large number of legumes in our flora is interesting inasmuch as the plants of this family utilize nitrogen from the air in their growth. Thus, by virtue of the growth of legumes, the ground is enriched. This is particularly fortunate in Arizona, since all of our soils are deficient in nitrogen.

"Our fern flora in Arizona is relatively large and probably larger than that of any other state in the Union, if the lycopods, or club mosses, are excluded. Among the ferns are found some very rare species, one in the Mule Mountains near Bisbee, which heretofore has been found only in the Himalaya Mountains, Southern Asia and in Abyssinia. It is one of the spleenworts, and is known to science as Asplenium alternans-a small fern with broad leaves growing flat on the ground, and, though green in color, resembling very much the spleen of an animal. Another species of fern which is very interesting has a distribution ranging from Arizona, California, the Hawaiian Islands, Southern China and Java."

There are one hundred native trees found in Arizona. It is a remarkable fact that fifty of these species grow within the limited area of the Santa Catalina Mountains within forty miles of Tucson. Members of the forest service stationed in the Coronado National Forest, in the eastern part of the state, have prepared a partial list of trees that grow within the limits of this reserve.

As is the case in all the wooded areas of the state, these trees represent varying levels, each inhabited by its own peculiar growth. First comes the desert level with mesquite, cacti and palo verde, then the oak belt and, highest of all, the region of the juniper and pinon, with the pine, the spruce and the fir at its extreme limit. The following trees are named: palo verde, various species of cacti, ironwood, mesquite, two species of catclaw, three of cottonwood, five varieties of willow, two of maple, two of cherry, walnut, box elder, ash, locust, china-berry, hackleberry, aspen, alder, mulberry, sycamore, ten varieties of oak, two of juniper, two of pinon, Mexican white pine, western yellow pine, Arizona cypress, Arizona long-leaf pine, western yellow pine, Apache pine, Chi-huahua pine, Engleman spruce, Alpine fir and the Douglas fir.

The fauna of Arizona is no less interesting than the flora. There are several hundred vertebrate forms of animal life two hundred and seventy-five of these being birds. Numerous forms of wild life are to be seen in their original habitat. Indeed, perhaps nowhere else in America are to be found in considerable numbers so many rare and interesting species of our vanishing wild life. Game birds and animals are, of course, abundant. In the Kaibab forest, north of the Grand Canyon, ranges the largest herd of deer on the American continent.

We have in this state, in addition to many animals common to all parts of America, not a few distinctive species. Here are the mountain lion, the peccary, the porcupine, the Desert Big Horn, the elk, the Lobo wolf (now seldom seen), the antelope jack-rabbit, the Kaibab squirrel, with tufted ears, white tail and black belly (found nowhere else in America), and the Gila monster-stout, sluggish, sometimes vicious, supplied with poison glands in the lower jaw, in color orange and black and in length sometimes two feet. Among unusual birds are the Arizona cardinal (a lovely brilliant-crested bird larger than the scarlet tanager) the vermilion fly-catcher-(a gem of fiery beauty)-the cactus wren, which inhabits the cholla cactus (much larger than the ordinary wren) and, sometimes, in the mountains of southern Arizona, the golden eagle. The gilded flicker, a wood pecker, is to be found, in general, wherever the saguaro is found, for in this it makes its home. In summer time the white winged dove visits Arizona.

The word Arizona does not mean arid zone. It comes from the Papago "arisonac" and means little spring. It is true that Arizona is dry-very dry. The Arizonian prizes this quality of dryness, together with the eternal sunshine that accompanies it, as his chief possession. We have come to think that in order to bring the whole world to our doors all we have to do is to sit here in the sun and look pretty. And, in a measure, this has proved true. Every winter the wise, the great and the good come to bask in the sunshine and commune with the stars. Yet it must not be thought that because Arizona is arid it is unproductive. In reality it does rain pretty regularly in certain sections at certain seasons, and when the rain comes it frequently descends in torrents. Occasionally, even old timers journeying across the desert barely escape with their lives as they attempt to cross some arroyo after downpours of rain in the mountains. The water at such times suddenly descends, flooding the banks of the dryest water courses, and catches the unwary traveler in mid-passage. So rapid is the absorption of moisture, however, that within five minutes there may be no water in the channel that carried a raging torrent. But Arizona looks almost wholly to irrigation for her crops, and irrigation projects in the state have proved more profitable than any other Federal irrigation project in the nation. The Salt River Valley farmers, when the Roosevelt Dam undertaking shall have been consummated, will receive their water for nothing, by virtue of the returns on power generated at the dam. Over 300,000 acres in this valley have been made to bring forth abundantly; yet it is hoped that eventually through the selling of power the project will both pay for itself and bring a profit to the water users. Through irrigation Arizona has brought more than a half million acres under cultivation, and a million more can be redeemed and made immensely profitable when all available water is fully utilized.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JUNE, 1937

the unwary traveler in mid-passage. So rapid is the absorption of moisture, however, that within five minutes there may be no water in the channel that carried a raging torrent. But Arizona looks almost wholly to irrigation for her crops, and irrigation projects in the state have proved more profitable than any other Federal irrigation project in the nation. The Salt River Valley farmers, when the Roosevelt Dam undertaking shall have been consummated, will receive their water for nothing, by virtue of the returns on power generated at the dam. Over 300,000 acres in this valley have been made to bring forth abundantly; yet it is hoped that eventually through the selling of power the project will both pay for itself and bring a profit to the water users. Through irrigation Arizona has brought more than a half million acres under cultivation, and a million more can be redeemed and made immensely profitable when all available water is fully utilized.

No other state can equal Arizona in the number and extent of its National Forest Reserves. And within the bounds of these immense forests one does actually meet what we so often see in the movies and read about in our popular novels those big, clean men of the wide, open spaces. Within the four borders of Arizona there are nine of these Federal reserves, aggregating 12,266,923 acres.

Scenic charm, natural wonders and ancient examples of the imposing handiwork of man are nowhere else in America to be found in like number and proximity. In the southern part of the state, on the Gila, one sees the Casa Grande Ruins, the most ancient and impressive monument in America erected by the hand of man, and in the northern part the Grand Canyon, the most awe-inspiring expression in the world of God's work as an artisan and artist. Almost as marvelous and equally enthralling is the Painted Desert, southeast of the Grand Canyon and north of the Santa Fe railway; and, in the same region, as if Nature feared she might be accused of parsimony, she has thrown in the Petrified Forest, Meteor Crater, the Canyons of Oak Creek and the magnificent escarpment of the northern plateau fronting the Verde Valley, north of Jerome and Clarkdale. The Colossal Cave near Tucson is an underground cavern that has been explored for many miles, yet its limits are unknown and its mystery unfathomed. Nine miles south of Tucson is San Xavier Mission, the foundations of which were laid by Father Kino about 1700, the structure being completed by the Franciscans almost exactly a century later. The ancient Hopi pueblos on their grim, impregnable mesas north of Flagstaff and Winslow, the loneliness and majesty of Canyon de Chelley at the northeastern corner of the state, and Boulder Dam, add still further to the remarkable list of Arizona's wonders.

And all of these architectural and scenic attractions are interlaced with modern highways and forest roads unsurpassed in picturesqueness and grandeur.

Among the most famous routes are the highway from Nogales through Patagonia and the Empire Ranch to Tucson; that from Superior to Miami through the Pinal Mountains; the Apache Trail from Globe to Phoenix by way of Roosevelt Dam and Fish Creek; the road from Roosevelt Dam up to Payson and Pine and through forest and mountain to Winslow; the Coronado highway from Clifton through the White Mountains to Springerville; the Oak Creek highway; the Mountain Forest road from McNary to Springerville; the White Spar between Prescott and Congress Junction, and the mountain highway from Jerome to Prescott.

JUNE, 1937 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS Arizona Grasses

(Continued From Page 17) And unfortunately, he counts a few of them among his worst weeds.

Botanically, grasses are distantly related to the lily-type of plants, though they are far removed from lilies. Their flowers are not large nor showy and rarely do they have fragrance. Their nearest relatives are the Sedges and Rushes, which are quite similar plants. The roots of grasses are fibrous, often very abundant, and under favorable conditions, penetrate to a depth of 4 or 5 feet in the soil, which makes them quite drought-resistant. The stems are jointed, mostly hollow, and often branched; the leaves are linear, or many times longer than broad, and pointed. They are two-ranked, growing from opposite sides of the stem, one above another; and they are composed of a sheath which enfolds a portion of the stem, and a blade a few inches to a foot long. All grass leaves, however, do not grow from the stems, most of them come from the base or crown of the plant and are called basal leaves. Grasses with a heavy growth of basal leaves are best for practically all purposes for pasture and meadow, as hay plants, since the leaves are the most nutritious part of the plant, and quite naturally best for lawns.

The flowers of the grass plant are arranged in a head in the form of a panicle or spike, and consist of only the essential parts the stamens, usually 3, and one pistil for each flower. They are wind-pollinated, and are small and difficult to see, without a hand lens. Theyare covered by green bracts or chaff, which overlap like the shingles on a roof. The so-called seeds of grasses, often minute, are correctly spoken of as gra'ns or kernels and correspond to the fruits of other flowering plants.

Some grasses grow in bunches or clumps, particularly those of our arid plains and prairies, and are known as bunch grasses; while turf or sod forming grasses grow in moist, deep soils and so are better suited for pastures and meadows. All grasses are not equally valuable for grazing purposes, and some of the desirable qualities of a good range grass are: (1) abundance on the range, (2) plants with a firm crown and stout deep roots, that are not easily injured by trampling and close grazing, (3) a heavy growth of basal leaves, (4) palatable and nutritious forage, (5) a long season of growth and seed production, (6) natural curing of the forage on the range for winter pasture, and (7) heavy seeding and good reproduction. Of the 351 grasses in Arizona about 15 or 20 have essentially all of these qualities to a high degree, and perhaps as many as 32 or 33 fall within a list designated as "most valuable range grasses." This list of valuable grasses contributes 65 to 75 per cent of the feed on Arizona grazing ranges over a large part of the year. They are the main support of the range livestock industry of the State which is valued at somewhat more than $70,000,000. From this investment Arizona stockmen derive an income annually of about $16,200,000.

Among this list of grasses are included seven grama grasses, four brome grasses of our mountains, two mountain muhly grasses, three bluestem or beard grasses, two dropseed grasses, two tripleawn grasses, also mountain rye, alkali sacaton, June grass, western wheat grass or bluestem, curly mesquite, galleta grass, mutton grass, Arizona fescue, Texas timothy, mesquite or hoe grass, Indian ricegrass, and plains love-grass.

AUTO REGISTRATIONS REACH HIGHEST POINT

More motor vehicles are now on United States streets and highways than in any other previous year. Federal bureau of public roads figures for 1936 reveal that an all-time record was established with 28,221,291 registrations. This figure exceeds 1935 by 2,000,000 registrations, and the former record year, 1930, by 1,700,000.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS Commission Notes

(Continued From Page 20) MAY 19, 1937 The Arizona State Highway Commis-sion met in special session in their of-fices in the Highway Building at 11:15 A. M., May 19, 1937. Those present were: Chairman Dowell, Vice-Chairman Angle, Commissioners Langmade, Scott and Seale, also, the State Engineer, the Secretary and Assistant Attorney General A. R. Lynch.

State Engineer O'Connell presented a letter from Mr. G. L. McLane, Senior Highway Engineer, Bureau of Public Roads, giving prior concurrence in awarding of the contract on the Super-ior-Miami Highway, F. A. 16, Lee Moor Contracting Company, the low bidder. The State Engineer therefore recom-mended that the contract be awarded to Lee Moor Contracting Company, the low bidder, in the amount of $75,199.44, subject to Bureau regulations. It was regularly moved by Commissioner Seale, seconded by Commissioner Angle, and unanimously carried, that the recommendation of the State Engineer be accepted.

State Engineer O'Connell presented a letter from Mr. G. L. McLane, Senior Highway Engineer, Bureau of Public Roads, giving prior concurrence in the awarding of the contract on the Holbrook-St. Johns Highway, F. A. 6-B, to Geo. W. Orr, the low bidder. The State Engineer therefore recommended, subject to Bureau regulations, that the contract be awarded to Geo. W. Orr, the low bidder, in the amount of $70,043.34. It was regularly moved by Commissioner Seale, seconded by Commissioner Scott and unanimously carried, that the recommendation of the State Engineer be accepted.

The State Engineer read a communication from Mr. W. R. F. Wallace, Highway Engineer, Bureau of Public Roads,in which he quotes a letter from Mr. C. H. Sweetser, District Engineer, concerning the request of the State for the addition of one per cent to the Federal Aid Highway System, stating that Dr. Hewes requested Mr. O'Connell to include in his presentation a statement as to the State's intention regarding the construction of approach roads to the west of the Chiricahua National Monument. Also, that inasmuch as the proposal to cross the Colorado at Needles is involved in the consideration of the status of completion of the Seven Per Cent System, a statement of the State's intentions regarding the time when the construction of the Needles cut-off is likely to come up, should be included.

Mr. Wallace stated the letter from the State Engineer under date of April 1, 1937, requesting approval of the Sunset Highway as a Federal Aid Route, contained a statement regarding the State cooperating in the construction of an approach road to the Chiricahua National Monument, but since separate action will be taken on the two requests and approval of the one per cent addition must be secured first, he believed it would be well to furnish a separate letter outlining the State's intentions in regard to the Chiricahua Approach road and the Kingman-Needles cut-off.

The State Engineer said he had called Dr. Hewes in regard to the matter. In talking to him, he informed him that a survey crew is on the Needles-Kingman Highway now, and the State's idea of an orderly program on this road is to have the survey finished and include in the ensuing budget money for design and a bridge, and had asked Dr. Hewes if he considered this an orderly program. Dr.

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Hewes thanked the State Engineer for calling and stated he would advise him further on the matter.

The Secretary read a petition which Chairman Dowell had received from Senator J. A. Harrison of Santa Cruz County requesting that the fence on both sides of the Nogales-Tucson Highway between the City of Nogales and the north boundary line of Santa Cruz Coun-ty, be repaired and replaced wherever necessary in such a manner that the highway may be kept clear and free of livestock.

The Secretary read a letter from Mr. H. L. Walsh, City Manager, of the City of Phoenix, stating the City Commission at their special meeting held May 15, 1937, unanimously passed a resolution requesting the State Highway Depart-ment to appropriate sufficient funds in its ensuing budget to construct a single barrel underpass on South Central Ave-nue, Phoenix. It was regularly moved by Commissioner Langmade, seconded by Commissioner Seale, and unanimous-ly carried, that the Commission approve the request of the City Commission for the inclusion in next year's budget of an appropriation to construct a single barrel underpass, as recommended, provided Federal funds earmarked for this purpose are obtained.

It was regularly moved by Commis-sioned Seale, seconded by Commissioner Angle, and unanimously carried, that the Commission reconsider and rescind their action awarding the contract on the Superior-Miami Highway-F. A. 16, 1st Reo. (1937) A. F. E. 7002, to the Lee Moor Contracting Company in the amount of $75,199.44.

The Commission adjourned at 12:15 P. M., May 19, 1937, to meet again at 10:00 A. M., May 24, 1937.

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