Nov. i6, 1914 



Revegetation of Range Lands 



103 



Table I. — Annual progression in the flower-stalk production on closed areas and open 



range 



After the first year of protection mountain bunch-grass produced its 

 flower stalks both earlier and more luxuriantly than on the adjacent 

 range open to grazing. This was also true of other forage species. 

 Though the advance in the time that the flower stalks appeared (4 and 7 

 days in 1908 and 1909, respectively) was not very great, the stalks were 

 developed more uniformly, the total period required for the function on 

 the protected area being 37 and 28 days in 1908 and 1909, respectively, 

 and on the open area, 43 and 38 days. 



To compare flower-stalk production on areas grazed in the usual way 

 and on others protected from grazing until the seed crop can ripen, Sev- 

 eral small plots of mountain bunch-grass, i meter square, were clipped 

 with shears just above the ground for three successive seasons. On half 

 of the quadrats the herbage was clipped once each month, or three times 

 during the growing season, while on the remaining plots cutting was not 

 done until after seed maturity — about September i. During the fourth 

 and fifth seasons the herbage was undisturbed. 



The results showed that in the case of the plots clipped monthly the 

 vegetative growth decreased in abundance each successive season. In 

 the fourth year the undisturbed herbage was exceedingly weak, short, 

 and sparse. No flower stalks were produced until the vegetation had 

 been given one full season of rest, and then only a few late weak stalks 

 were sent up. On the plots clipped after seed maturity, however, the 

 flower stalks were produced fully as early, as uniformly, and as profusely 

 as in the case of the plants which had remained unmolested during the 

 5-year period. Herbage production was also equal to that on the pro- 

 tected areas. 



On the open range, grazed early in the growing season, the flower 

 stalks were produced at irregular periods, a few appearing early in July, 

 the majority coming in August. On yearlong protected areas and on 

 those protected until the seed crop had ripened, the stalks appeared 

 early, practically all being in evidence before August 10. 



Early and abundant production of llovver stalks is of the utmost 

 importance in seed production. Ordinarily from three to five weeks are 



