STOCK ON RANGES IN NATIONAL FORESTS 225 



forests only ewes either with lambs or to lamb after 

 entering. Thus while an owner may have a permit for 

 1,500 ewes he may really take into the forest and graze 

 about 2,500 or 2,600 sheep, young and old. 



For lambing a slight fee is charged, commonly 2 cents 

 per ewe, and so as far as possible the lambing grounds 

 are protected from other grazing, so that they may be in 

 the best possible condition at this time. 



When one stops to consider the conditions under 

 which these animals were grazed, the various and con- 

 flicting demands on the Service for recognition either 

 for more stock or more range, and the necessity for con- 

 trolling men who had in the past been practically mas- 

 ters of the range by virtue of their might, it is surpris- 

 ing to find how few cases of error there have been on 

 the part of the forest officers concerned. There is no 

 doubt that as the stockmen become better acquainted 

 with the regulations and the forest officers more con- 

 versant with the needs of the stockmen and the ranges, 

 these complaints will be reduced to a minimum. 



