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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



mediately he is seized with the desire 

 to stop in this pleasant place. His horse 

 is already cropping. He unsaddles and 

 seeks out the brook which he knows 

 must be running through the grass. 



The meadows are the favorite camp- 

 ing place of the Sierra tourist. Here 

 under the fringing Lodgepole pines he 

 may pitch his tent, build his rock fire- 

 place, and find abundant down wood. 

 His tired and sweaty pack animals find 

 rest and food, while the meadow stream 

 furnishes water for the pot and often 

 trout for the pan. So popular are 

 certain meadows as camping places 

 that the Forest Supervisor sets them 

 aside for Tourist Pastures, the Govern- 

 ment cooperating with the counties 

 and recreation clubs in fencing them. 

 Here the camper may for a number of 

 days rest and feed his stock, while he 

 enjoys camp life. 



As grazing grounds mountain mead- 

 ows are invaluable to the cattlemen. 

 When the California sim has made the 

 foothill pastures unbearable and the 

 first lush grass of spring is gone, the 

 cattle climb to the higher hills where 

 the meadows fiunish abimdant food 

 and water. Under the wise policy of 

 the Forest Service these sky scraper 



grazing groimds are proportioned out 

 among the cattlemen. Each permittee 

 has sufficient range for his cattle. For 

 this privilege he pays perhaps sixty 

 cents per head for the entire season. 

 From April to September his cattle 

 range through grass parks or over bushy 

 slopes where tender browse is found. 

 In addition he may for a moderate 

 rental hold a "special use" on a moun- 

 tain meadow. He may fence it, irrigate 

 it, and enjoy complete use of it so long 

 as he fulfills the simple requirements of 

 a permittee. These fenced meadows 

 where the grass is protected during the 

 early summer make wonderful fattening 

 pastures for the beef cattle. One often 

 sees bands of splendid horses in these 

 upland pasttires. From a standpoint 

 of beef and horse flesh, the moimtain 

 meadows are a very valuable asset to 

 the California cattlemen. 



At elevations below five thousand 

 feet, moimtain meadows, while of little 

 value for grazing, often prove valuable 

 for agriculture. The deep black silty 

 loam produces excellent rye, com, 

 potatoes, and garden vegetables. If a 

 little water can be led in from above, so 

 much the better. One thing must be 

 guarded against — rapid erosion of the 



J-M',^*^' 



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Photo by Neal T. Childs. 



Horses Grazing in a Mountain Meadow. 



FROM A STANDPOINT OF BEEF AND HORSE FLESH THESE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS ARE A VALUABLE ASSET TO SETTLERS 



AND CATTLEMEN. 



