94 Journal of Agricultural Research voi. iii. No. i 



approach it as similar problems in farm practice are approached — that 

 is, (i) by a careful study of the vegetation making up the forage crop, 

 (2) by a study of the natural factors upon which depends the success or 

 failure of the forage crop and its perpetuation, and (3) by a study to find 

 a method of grazing which will both fully utilize the forage and at the same 

 time protect it from deterioration. 



Such studies were undertaken by the Forest Service in cooperation 

 with the Bureau of Plant Industry during the spring of 1907 in the 

 Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon. While the intensive 

 investigations were confined in the main to this one grazing region, the 

 results have been applied elsewhere with success, notably in the Hayden 

 National Forest in Wyoming. It is possible, of course, that the repro- 

 ductive capacity of various forage plants may v&ry in different localities 

 and also that there may be a difference in the behavior of plants on 

 ranges grazed by sheep and those grazed by cattle and horses, any of 

 which may affect the measure of success obtained by deferred grazing, 

 but not the principles involved in the system. 



The purely experimental studies were continued throughout the 

 seasons of 1907, 1908, 1909, and 1910 and were followed by a practical 

 application of the principles evolved to range management on lands within 

 the Wallowa National Forest. 



The system developed as a result of the studies — a combination of de- 

 ferred and rotation grazing — is now being applied with minor variations 

 to range lands throughout the National Forests, and promises to be of the 

 greatest value in bringing about the efficient utilization of the forage re- 

 sources. 



This article gives in full the data upon which the new system is based. 

 The area where the intensive studies were carried on is first described. 

 Following this are given the life histories of the important forage species, 

 including growth requirements and the factors influencing the establish- 

 ment of reproduction. This in turn is followed by a discussion of the 

 relative merits of different systems of grazing. Finally there is presented 

 a rational and economical grazing system based upon the requirements of 

 the forage plants and of the stock industry 



TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL 



The Wallowa National Forest, within which the studies were carried 

 on, is a region of high mountains, very irregular and broken. From the 

 Grande Ronde and Wallowa Valleys, which bound the forest at about 

 3,000 feet elevation, the mountains rise to from 6,000 to 9,500 feet. On 

 the upper reaches of the numerous domes, above the limits of forest 

 growth, snow often remains throughout the summer. In this group of 

 high, snowy peaks, within a radius of about 3 miles, rise nearly all of the 

 streams from which the stock of the region are watered. 



