22 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS. 



ing the summer season. When not pastured too Late in the spring, 

 these were in good condition. Very often they appear overstocked, 

 with the result that the weedy plants predominate to a remarkable 

 degree. A collection of plants made in one of these mountain pastures 

 in ( lamas Prairie will illustrate the effectof too close grazing, especially 

 when the frost is going out of the ground in the spring. This was an 

 open, rocky meadow, with stiff clay soil. There was here originally 

 a good pasture of Sandberg's bluegrass, hunch wheat grass, sheep 

 fescue. Wheeler's bluegrass, Nevada bluegrass, and prairie June grass. 

 These are now very thin and scattering, having been trampled out to 

 a large extent in late May and early June when no stock should have 

 been allowed in the fields on account of their soft, and miry condition. 

 The following species were the abundant and conspicuous plants in the 

 pasture: Yarrow {Achillea millefolium), black sunflower {Wyethia 

 (impli ,ri<-mi/!s), arnica {Arnica <il/>Imi) % engeron {Erigeron aphcmactus), 

 gaillardia {Gaillardm aristata), balsam root {Balsamorrhisa incana). 

 lupine {Lupinus sulphur eas), Clarkia pidc/iella, onion {Allium madi- 

 cktm), Navarretia ireweri, phlox {Phlox gracilis), gilia {Gilia aggre- 

 gata), eriogonum {Eriogonum heracloides), geum {Geum trifolium), 

 Pentstemon attenuatus, Scrophularia orihocarpus, Deschampsia <-<ih/- 

 cina, knot weed {Polygonum douglasii), Lomatium leptocarpum, calo- 

 chortus ( Calochortus nuttallii), and Sedum douglasii. Practically all 

 of these were in bloom when the collections were made, and the field 

 had the appearance of a, flower garden rather than a pasture. 



A similar substitution of native plants of little or no forage value 

 for the true grasses is common in the region, as well as in similarly 

 treated areas in the more moist regions of Washington. Such substi 

 tutions are usually more noticeable in humid mountain areas than on 

 the lower deserts, for, in the latter, when the scattering bunches of 

 grasses are killed out, there is often nothing to take their place. One 

 of these overgrazed native pastures in the wheat region west of Ritz- 

 ville. Wash., is shown in Plate IX, figure 1. For a list of the shrubs 

 grazed by sheep the reader is referred to subsequent pages, which 

 discuss the conditions in the Warner Mountains of California, and to 

 Bulletin No. L5 of the Bureau of Plant Industry, l T . S. Department 

 of Agriculture. It may be stated that no black sage was seen in the 

 Blue Mountains, except small patches of Artemisia arbuscula on the 

 north slope, until Bear Valley, near tin 1 Great Basin drainage, was 

 reached. 



As far as general vegetation is concerned the Warner Mountains of 

 ( Jalifornia do not differ materially from the Blue Mountains of Oregon: 

 at least the main features are the same, and the general topographical 

 features are very similar. The water suppry, however, is much better 

 in the mountains lirst mentioned. Indeed, il would be difficult to find 

 an open range region where water is better distributed than in the 



