and factories, this phase should have a deep personal interest.

There is no section of this continent where nature gives so much to the conscientious health-seeker in so comparatively short a time, where the restorative value of the air acts so quickly. No one who needs its benefits and has the necessary means should hesitate because of the remoteness, or from preconceived ideas. as to the roughness of the life. "Roughing it" is unnecessary and undesirable for city-bred men and women. It is there, however, if one wants it, to any degree which their strength will permit.

First Impressions

The fly-by-night tourist who "does the West" is usually appalled by the first sight of the Desert. It seems a weary waste of semi-colored sand, rock and sagebrush with only the eternal blue sky to relieve it. It is so far removed from the handmade smugness of his accustomed eastern view that he can not quickly adjust his mind to it and therefore shuts his eyes.

It is the eastern man who is consigned to this climate willingly or unwillinglythis climate which God must really have

intended to give to the whole world-who learns in time to love the Desert, to love it for its own peculiar beauty as well as for its health-giving value. Coming as he usually does, under compulsion, from business, home and friends, and facing the lack of many things to which he has been accustomed, his heart sinks into the bluest of blues. This is largely due to his total ignorance of this side of nature.

The mind is wonderfully quick in its capacity for readjustment, however, and if he has a fair amount of common sense and a grain of philosophy in his make-up he will soon begin to comprehend the contrasts in the surrounding nature and become absorbed in its study. To him, if he is clear-minded, it will never again be "the God-forsaken country."

There are, of course, vast stretches of unbroken, sandy wastes (the railroads usually traverse these) which few can admire, but there are far greater distances over every mile of which the lover of nature will find hitherto unknown beauties to charm him at every turn. If he has breadth of mental make-up he will learn to know that there is as much beauty in the severe, stately lines of the giant

comes a city or town dweller much of this will be lost to him, but for the healthseeker and the nature-lover the Desert is the place to live and the tent house the place to sleep.

Flora

The flora of the Desert is of great variety and is just beginning to be scientifically studied. Of cacti alone there are several hundred varieties, more probably than in any other section of the continent, from the "Little old man of the Desert" to the giant sahuaro which grows to great heights and into fantastic shapes. Some species have blooms of brilliant hue strangely in contrast to the surroundings.

Nor is this section a profitless waste, for when water can be obtained, it produces with wonderful prodigality. On the Desert proper there are many trees growing along the arroyos: the mesquite, the ironwood and the palo-verdé, while along the irrigation ditches or near water holes cottonwood trees produce shady places.

The Desert roads are usually smooth and on occasion each man makes his own. The horseback rider in studying the buttes or valleys usually follows blind trails made by previous pleasure-seekers.

fearful loss of time, strength and money. Improper, location as regards humidity, altitude or temperature, the absence of intelligent instructions regarding proper food or personal habits, often overcome the benefits to which others more fortunately placed so easily respond.

Town-living is both undesirable and unnecessary-undesirable on account of faulty sanitation and the necessary irrigation, and unnecessary for the reason that adequate accommodations can be obtained on or near the Desert where the air is purer.

Then, too, it is invariably the towndweller who complains that time hangs heavily on his hands. These western towns present as many or more forms of temptation as do the eastern cities and any one with money and time is always sure of a warm welcome. Gambling games of every variety are licensed in most of them and thousands of lonely. "boys" make easy, good-natured victims for the ever-cordial, seemingly generous keepers. Much of this temptation is avoided by living miles away on the Desert where there are far more profitable ways of filling idle hours.

Tent Life

If a man or woman has a trifle of independent initiative, if, for instance, they have had the courage at some time to seek out the home of the brook trout with the trials that often implies, they need have no fear of tent life.

One must, of course, remember that in leaving town environments the luxuries are left behind. The tent house will not have decorated walls, the furnace will be a small, sheet-iron stove, the electric light will be exchanged for an oil lamp and the dainty meals will

be replaced by plainer fare. But if these things and friends are more than the sweetest, most health-giving air on earth they should remain at home and die among their gods. In tent life, aided by horse or pony, a dog, books and perhaps a gun, it is surprising how quickly and pleasantly the days will pass.

Tents vary in size, usually 12 by 14 feet, but if one is fortunate enough to have a companion, three-room tents from thirty to forty feet long by about fourteen feet wide can be found. In this there will be only the bare necessities as to furnishings, and the appearance of the place will depend on taste and thoughtfulness in arranging fittings of one's own. A tent can be plain and barren or cozy and tasteful according to one's desires.

Tent life must of necessity include some exposure due to changes of temperature and occasional rains. For this reason persons in a weak condition should build up their strength before attempting it. The temperature in southern Arizona and New Mexico usually varies from thirty to forty degrees in the twenty-four hours. During January and February the thermometer may show as low as twenty-eight to thirty-two degrees, but this is infrequent. The days are, almost without exception, gratefully warm, mild and dry in winter.

To insure comfort during this season one should take with him fine, heavy wool blankets for the bed, and have heavy

underwear and a light-weight overcoat handy. Equipped in this way one can spend many pleasant months in a tent, and with care and good behavior can feel every day that one has gained in health and broadened in mental sympathy and the appreciation of nature.

The newcomer will soon find himself looking appreciatively at the big, rugged "painted" buttes and mountains, the picturesque growths of cacti and the everchanging charm of scenery as he moves about the Desert. There are many highly cultivated, widely traveled city men in this country who would not exchange a week on the Desert for a month near Broadway. To them the many-tinted lights at sunrise, the golden glory of the sunset, the ever-present blues of the shaded distances, the intense brilliance and stillness of the starlit nights count for more than the day and night in a crowded city.

Even if he is foolish enough to carry worry with him a man will find it insensibly melting away.

Weather Values

Practical experience has proved beyond a doubt that dry, warm air is essential to the recovery of several of the organs of the body when they have become impaired. This is specially so in the case of throat and pulmonary disorders. With rare exceptions it is impossible for weak or infected throats and lungs to do well in

moist climates at any temperature. It is easy for one accustomed to studying disorders of this nature to notice the marked improvement or retrogression of the affected part when the humidity in the air is low or high. Every one living in locations where the atmosphere is affected by the proximity of large bodies of water must be aware of the injurious effects of moisture-laden air.

Humidity of the sort felt in most sections of the country is totally unknown here. Sunstrokes do not occur even in the hottest weather and heat prostrations are rare. There are vast stretches of desert in the Southwest on which there is not enough water under ordinary conditions to fill a hat. On this account the heat during most of the year is not disagreeable, but on the contrary is decidedly healthful and pleasant up to ninety degrees. In the lower altitudes during the months of June, July, August and September the heat will often become intense during the daytime, frequently one hundred and ten degrees or more, and then this region is not a fit place for a white man with nerves.

During the fall, winter and spring months the humidity will register in the daytime from ten to twenty-five per cent. When rain falls, at rare intervals, the dry sand drinks in the water and the hot sun causes instant evaporation, leaving the air dry in a short time.

On the Desert adjacent to towns, and far enough removed to overcome any effect from irrigation, dews at night are very rare, thus the humidity is low during the entire twenty-four hours. On this account, also, the few cold days during the winter, seldom cold enough to produce frost, do not chill one as they do in other climates.

It is impossible to describe the tonic. quality of this atmosphere. It is a pleasure to breathe and with every breath there is healing to the weak or diseased membranes, and peace for the tired and throbbing nerves. If one is removed from the center of town the air is sweet, pure and in every way undefiled. Doors and windows should be thrown wide open. Care should always be used, either in tents or in houses, to disinfect everything that can produce odors or in any way vitiate the air.

Altitudes

Within the territories of Arizona and New Mexico there is a wide range of altitude. The Desert proper is but little above sea level, being about at sea level at Yuma, eleven hundred feet at Phoenix, twenty-five hundred feet at Tucson, and thirty-five hundred feet at Roswell, New Mexico. well, New Mexico. On this account, as well as on account of the latitude, the winters are warm and the summers extremely hot.

But a short distance further north in the mountains the altitude varies from forty-five hundred to seventy-five hundred feet. For this reason the winters are usually very cold, with much snow and wind, while the summer months are delightfully cool and comparatively dry. The desirability of living in this varying altitude must be determined by the individual. For some who are naturally strong and in good physical condition the increased heart and lung action is beneficial, while for others less favored it is decidedly undesirable, and for such the winter months in these high altitudes should be absolutely avoided.

Cost of Living

This section of the Southwest produces little to supply its own wants with the exception of a few food staples. Therefore the cost of living is higher than it is in the East. Manufactured articles of merchandise are all brought from long distances at considerable cost. But comfortable accommodations and wholesome food can be found in plenty at from ten to twenty-five dollars per week. Housekeeping is more expensive and good, welltrained servants are exceedingly scarce.

No one should go (or be sent) to this region unless they are amply provided with means for their wants, according to their tastes or previous habits of living. Remunerative employment can not be obtained and hundreds of men are always waiting for employment at any occupation within their strength which will afford them the bare necessities of life.

One of the unpleasant features to be met with frequently in this part of the country is the large number of people without the necessary means for proper existence. Hope is a fine thing, but no one should hope to live in the Southwest with