io8 Journal of Agricultural Research voi. in. no. j 



The essential conclusions regarding seed germination are : 



1. Even under the most favorable conditions the viability of the seed 

 of practically all the forage species is low, especially on the high mountain 

 lands. 



2. Late resumption of growth in the spring and low plant vigor, both 

 of which can be traced directly to premature grazing, result in a decrease 

 in the amount of seed produced and in the germinative power of the seed 

 itself. 



3. If viable seed is to be produced, the vegetation must not be habit- 

 ually deprived of its leafy foliage during the critical growing and food- 

 storing period. 



SCATTERING AND PLANTING OF THE SEED 



But little time elapses between seed maturity and dissemination. This 

 fact is highly advantageous, in that grazing may begin almost immediately 

 after the seed matures without danger of having the crop consumed. 



The distance the seed is carried from the parent plant depends chiefly 

 upon the species and the wind. Grasses and grass-like plants, such as 

 sedges and rushes, drop their seed near the parent plant. Those of plants 

 hke fireweed {Epilobium spp.) and Crepis spp., which are provided with 

 bristly capillary hairs and pappus, and those of false hellebore, which are 

 winged, are carried relatively great distances by the wind. Fireweed and 

 dandelion do not grow in as dense stands as the grasses, but, as a rule, 

 are more widely distributed over the range. About 90 per cent of the 

 forage species depend primarily upon w'ind and water for the distribution 

 of their seed. The remaining 10 per cent, of which huckleberry is an 

 example, depend very largely upon animals for dispersal. 



To insure reproduction of the forage plants, the seed must in some way 

 get itself planted. Though nearly all seed will germinate on the surface 

 of the ground where there is abundant moisture, the resulting seedling 

 plants in a localitv where the soil dries out early in the season are unable 

 to extend their limited root systems deeply enough to reach the moist 

 lower strata and consequently die from drought. 



The size and character of the seed play an important part in the natural 

 reproduction of range plants. The seed of some of the most important 

 species, such as mountain bunch-grass, short-awned brome-grass, and 

 wild celery, are large and light, and even though dropped promptly upon 

 maturity in the autumn, months before germination takes place, are 

 usually found uncovered on the ground in the spring. On the other hand^ 

 the seeds of wild onion and some of the sedges and rushes are smaller 

 and heavier and have less difficulty in working into the soil. Among 

 the valuable grasses observed, only one had become planted through 

 natural means. This one exception was western porcupine grass, which 

 is becoming securely established on the range not only in localities where 

 it is abundant, but often on the tightly packed soils of denuded trails, 



