PASSING OF THE FEDERAL PASTURE 



creased or destroyed. The rains which fall 

 upon it, instead of being, as formerly, re- 

 tained in great part upon or beneath the sur- 

 face, roll off forthwith. Commonly they 

 produce torrents, plowing great furrows or 

 gullies, which deepen each year, and by and 

 by are yawning gulches or canyons. 



In these various ways, it has come to pass 

 that extensive plateaus, once rich as gardens 

 of the gods, are now in effect deserts. As 

 the vegetable covering is destroyed the 

 wilderness advances, the pasture retreats, 

 the vicinity becomes more arid, springs dry 

 up, and streams remit their flow. Presi- 

 dent Roosevelt's first message well describes 

 the deadly effect of over-grazing in the for- 

 ests, and the process is still more rapid and 

 fatal on the shadeless plains. Some think 

 that not less than 5,000,000 acres will thus 

 be lost from the nation's range this year 



(1903). 



Where desolation is not so complete you 

 may yet be able to graze but 10 cattle to a 

 square mile. A range of which 20 acres 

 will feed an ox, is now considered rather 



45 



