236 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES 



the grass will not be eaten off each growing and seeding 

 season and Nature will take care of the rest, and, ex- 

 cepting in rare cases, the old grasses and forage plants 

 will return. 



Ride along any western railroad whose right-of-way 

 is fenced and note the difference between the range 

 inside the fence and that outside. Naturally there are 

 certain regions where foreign weeds and plants have 

 to a great extent taken the place of the original grasses. 

 It has been demonstrated, however, that the old grasses 

 are their equal in a fight for their rights, if given a 

 chance. The trouble heretofore has been that the grasses 

 were eagerly eaten by the stock, while the weeds were 

 left alone. 



There is no doubt another reason : that the old 

 grasses under such heavy attacks have lost some of 

 their old strength and powers of reproduction, and that 

 they are not so aggressive as of old. Careful observa- 

 tion has established beyond doubt that with nearly all 

 grasses the continued close-cropping of the plants tends 

 greatly to reduce the vitality and germinative power 

 of the seeds. 



In the southwest and on some of the ranges in the 

 northern regions there is a little green weed (Guttier- 

 rezia) known locally as snakeweed, fireweed, turpentine 

 weed, and possibly by other names. It has taken large 

 areas of range that were once the pride of the country. 

 It is something that no animal is known to eat, even 

 under the most pressing conditions. It generally grows 

 to a height of ten inches, and is a bushy plant with 

 small yellow flowers. At times the prairies will be yel- 

 low with the blossoms and always, at a distance, it 

 looks green and beautiful. 



