INSPECTION OF RANGE AND FARM PASTURE 335 



grazed (i) too closely and (2) not closely enough? ^ Such ques- 

 tions can best be answered by consulting the type maps if a 

 reconnaissance has been made. If such data are not available, 

 grazing-capacity estimates must be made ocularly in the field. 



5. Is any portion grazed too early, and is any visited by stock 

 so late that the herbage is not palatable? If so, how may such 

 mismanagement be remedied? 



6. Is there ample supplemental feed, such as silage, hay, or 

 other roughage, reserved for feeding in the spring in order that 

 injury to the pasture caused by too early grazing may be avoided? 

 If not, cannot supplemental feed of some kind be provided with 

 good results to both the stock and the pasture? 



7. Is each class of stock properly handled? Close herding of 

 sheep, the excessive use of dogs, and the use of estabhshed bed 

 grounds should be discouraged ; cattle should be well distributed 

 at all times. 



8. Are there adequate salting grounds for cattle, and are 

 they located properly with respect to water and forage? Do the 

 sheep get all the salt they will eat as often as every ten days? 



9. Is the tree reproduction on any area appreciably injured 

 by stock browsing upon it? Would a change in the class of 

 stock or a decrease in the number of the present class remedy 

 the evil? 



10. Are any areas particularly in need of reseeding, and is 

 any portion denuded to such an extent that erosion is starting? 

 What is the most economical and expedient means of reestab- 

 lishing the stand? 



11. If there is a gradual decline in the grazing capacity of an 

 area, is it due (i) to overstocking, (2) to too early grazing, (3) to 



^ The extent of the utilization of a pasture area by one or more classes of stock 

 is best expressed in percentage. For the sake of uniformity, 100 per cent is con- 

 sidered full but not destructive utilization, the forage preferences of the class of 

 stock grazed being considered, so that the growth in future is fully maintained. 

 Accordingly, any grazing beyond 100 per cent, or full utilization, may be classed 

 as overgrazing. However, it is exceedingly difficult to determine the extent to 

 which the grazing may be declared 100 per cent or complete utilization, or no 

 per cent, let us say — that is, 10 per cent overutilization. The test of over- 

 utilization, however, is seen in the decline in the forage production in subsequent 

 seasons. 



