The  forests  have  existed  for  decades  and  so  have  the  flocks  and  herds,
and  not  until  the  present  day  have  they  been  thought  to  interfere
with  each  other

The  sheep  and  goats  have  been  the  protectors  of  the  forest.  By
nibbling  short  the  grass  and  undergrowtn  they  have  created  barriers


KKPORT   OF   THE    GOVERNOR    OF    NEW   MEXICO.  341

against  forest  fires.  Trees  on  the  reserves,  with  some  notable  excep-
tions, are  not  at  all  dense  in  their  growth,  and  forest  fires  could  not
spread  unless  by  the  grass  and  undergrowth.  In  addition,  the
presence  of  herders  on  the  reserves  aids  in  the  quick  detection  and
extinguishing  of  any  incipient  forest  fires.  The  herders  know  that  it
is  to  their  interest  to  assist  in  preserving  the  forest  growth  and  extin-
guishing fires.  They  can  be  of  great  aid  in  that  respect  to  the
force  of  i-angers,  which,  even  if  it  were  ten  times  its  present  number,
would  still  Ixi  inadequate  for  reserves  so  vast  that  tney  cover  6,000
square  miles.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of  getting  as  much  material  ben-
efit out  of  the  forest  reserves  as  possible  without  interfering  with  the
purpose  for  which  they  were  created.
