244 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES 



vitality. This is easily done at home by taking a shal- 

 low tin pan like a milk pan and placing an inch of clean 

 sand in the bottom. Wet the sand and in it plant any 

 number of counted seeds. Cover it with a wet cloth 

 and set in the sun or some warm place and see how 

 many seeds sprout. One can very easily get a close 

 estimate of its vitality. Seed that will not show a per 

 cent above 70 is not of first-class grade. 



Overgrazing vs. Close Grazing. One of the most 

 difficult things which the forest officer is called on to 

 determine is whether or not a certain range is being 

 overgrazed or overstocked. In such cases the best pos- 

 sible key to the situation is the condition of the stock. 

 An overstocked or over-grazed range and fat cattle or 

 sheep cannot be found in one and the same place. 



If the stock is fat and in good condition at the close 

 of the season, it is safe to say that the range is not 

 over-stocked, for that season at least. If the season is 

 an abnormal one, with more than the usual average 

 precipitation and plant growth, then an allowance must 

 be made to make a fair average for a series of years. 



On the other hand, a range may be over-grazed 

 through having such a number of stock upon it at all 

 times that the plants are given no opportunity to get 

 their full development. Plants must not only obtain 

 food from the soil but from the air, and if kept eaten 

 down continually their growth is weakened, their vital- 

 ity lowered and they not only die out, but what food 

 they do furnish lacks the necessary fat-producing qual- 

 ities. This is best illustrated by considering an ordi- 

 nary meadow. After the crop has been mowed there is 

 nothing left but the short stubble, and if one judged by 

 that one might say the field had been injured. But 



