THE FORESTER. 183 



vegetation and gradually depletes the range. Results under prac- 

 tical application have convinced both Forest officers and permittees 

 wherever the system has been practiced that it is to the advantage 

 of both range and stock. 



Five years ago most Forest officers were unable to identify the 

 various plants making up the forage crop. This made it difficult 

 to secure use of each range by the class of stock to which it was best 

 suited, to apply deferred and rotation grazing, and to eliminate 

 losses from poisonous plants. This obstacle to efficient range man- 

 agement has been overcome by a system of plant collection and iden- 

 tification. Some 23,000 specimens of 3,000 different species have 

 been collected on various National Forests, identified by specialists, 

 and the collector informed as to the value of each. Last year about 

 5,000 specimens were collected. The majority of the National For- 

 ests upon which grazing is important now have collections of im- 

 portant forage and poisonous plants, and the information is being 

 extended to the range users — an essential if improved management 

 is to be quickly introduced. Both Forest officers and permittees see 

 the value of the work. 



The studies on the Coconino, Payette, and Shasta Forests to de- 

 termine the effect of grazing upon reproduction of conifer forests 

 were continued, and plans of grazing management to secure the 

 maximum use of all resources were worked out and are now being 

 applied, especially in the yellow-pine forests. The management of 

 grazing on aspen lands was studied on the Manti Forest. The 

 studies initiated in 1912 to work out grazing management of Alpine 

 land subject to erosion and floods were continued. They have shown 

 that the management of sheep grazing on these lands is a problem 

 of no small importance. Experiments in checking erosion and im- 

 proving mountain meadows by damming gulleys and diverting small 

 streams so as to distribute the water indicate a possibility of check- 

 ing serious meadow erosion and improving the forage crop. 



Adoption by stockmen of the bedding-out system of handling 

 sheep was furthered through demonstration tests and other educa- 

 tional work among permittees. As nearly as can be estimated, ap- 

 proximately 50 per cent of the sheep on the National Forest summer 

 ranges are now handled under this system. The gain in weight and 

 selling price of lambs thus handled have substantiated the experi- 

 mental results and aided materially in extending the system. 



Results of the experiments to determine the practicability of small 

 coyote-proof inclosures and sheds in connection with range lambing 

 now justify the belief that 7 per cent is a conservative estimate of 

 the increase in lamb crop which can be saved in this way. This 

 more than justifies the outlay required. The plan has been adopted 

 by a number of sheepmen in New Mexico. 



In the last half of the fiscal year the Jornada and Santa Rita 

 Range Reserves, located in New Mexico and Arizona, were trans- 

 ferred from the Bureau of Plant Industry to the Forest Service. 

 These reserves were established to provide for the better study 

 of grazing problems. Investigations on an enlarged scale relating 

 to methods of handling and feeding range cattle are under way. 

 Study of the carrying capacity of the National Forest ranges secured 

 results of marked value for the development of intensive grazing 

 management. 



