192 



CONTROL OF EROSION ON RANGE AND PASTURE 



mitted to develop its leafage — the laboratory for the production 

 of food — than early in the spring. A few days' delay in the 

 time at which the stock are admitted means very Uttle loss in 

 the way of pasturage, for herbage a week to ten days old has but 

 little substance and is deficient in sugars and other foods as 

 compared with forage which has grown twice as long. By 

 avoiding too early grazing the bad effects of trampling over the 

 loose wet soil are largely avoided, and the cover is not injured. 



The Practice of Deferred and Rotation Grazing. — Where 

 pastures have been overgrazed to the extent of thinning out the 

 cover of valuable forage plants, merely keeping the number of 

 stock down to the grazing capacity of the lands and preventing 

 too early grazing in the spring are not in themselves effective 

 means of reestablishing the desired vegetation. The deferred 

 and rotation grazing plan of reserving first one area for grazing 

 and then another, for a season or longer, until the seed crop has 

 ripened, should be adopted. On sheep range this plan can 

 readily be applied, as the animals are under perfect control. 

 On cattle range the deferred-grazing plan can be carried out if 

 the animals are controlled by riding or by the use of drift fences. 

 On fenced pastures division fences are invaluable. 



The Control and Distribution of Livestock. — Even if the 

 grazing capacity of the lands has been correctly determined, the 

 season of grazing adjusted, and the deferred and rotation sys- 

 tem of grazing adopted, erosion of pasture lands is frequently 

 brought about by poor distribution of stock. This is often due 

 to improper salting and faulty handling of the stock. 



The most eft'ective means of holding cattle and horses on the 

 portion of the range desired, as previously shown, are the suit- 

 able location of the salt grounds, the proper development of 

 watering places, and the right setting of drift fences. 



In addition to improperly estimating the grazing capacity of 

 the lands, three conditions are chiefly responsible for the de- 

 struction of the vegetative cover, namely, bedding too long in 

 one place, too close herding, and the excessive use of dogs. 



Terracing and Planting. — Areas which have been so seriously 

 depleted through the bad management of livestock that an 



