86 NATIONAL FOBEST MANUAL GRAZING. 



singly or in groups as cattle do, graze quietly, and bed in any opening 

 where night overtakes them. Consequently, the forage is eaten 

 instead ol being destroyed, as it is on the range by close bunching, 

 stampeding, and trailing back and forth to camp. The more nearly 

 the former condition can be approached on National Forests the better 

 for the range as well as for the sheep. Herders should be induced, 

 wherever possible, to avoid quick massing with dogs, to bed the 

 band where night overtakes it, and to leave a camp in good condition 

 and return to it later rather than feeding it out to its full capacity in 

 one visit. 



Cattle. Cattle have a tendency to congregate and graze in areas 

 in the neighborhood of watering places and salt grounds. To offset 

 this, new water holes may be developed and salt distributed at a 

 distance from the water. 



Goats. Where goat herders maintain but one camp where the 

 goats return to bed night after night as is the custom, the entire range 

 about the camp is destroyed. Not only the grass and forage but the 

 shrubs and even small trees arc killed. 



Where goats graze upon National Forest ranges they will not be 

 allowed for more than six successive nights upon one bed ground 

 except during the kidding season. If goat herders can be induced to 

 handle their bands with a ^movable camp following the herd, the 

 damage done could be greatly reduced and much of the objection to 

 their presence on National Forests would be removed. The rapidity 

 with which feeding goats move over a range is another injurious 

 element. This may be prevented by the herder if he will hold the 

 herd and force them to scatter and graze more openly. 

 Natural Beseeding. 



One of the chief reasons for the slow recovery of impoverished 

 ranges is the fact that the forage is usually grazed each year before 

 the seed crop is mature. It has been found that a portion at least 

 of each range can be protected until the seed of the most important 

 forage species has matured and scattered with no serious inconven- 

 ience to the stockmen. The area that can be set aside for later 

 grazing will depend upon the time at which the seed crop ripens. 

 If, for example, one-fifth of the season remains after the seed has 

 matured, one-fifth of the entire range allotment may be set aside for 

 natural seeding each season. 



After the seed has ripened, the reserved area may be grazed in the 

 usual manner in order that the seed may be tramped into the ground. 

 It is advisable to make the same reservation the following year in 

 order to give the seedlings a chance to develop a strong root system. 

 Artificial Beseeding. 



On ranges so severely overgrazed that the desirable forage species 

 have been almost entirely destroyed and the lands are denuded, it is 

 evident that artificial reseeding must be resorted to. When such 

 work is undertaken two points must be remembered in selecting 

 species for planting. First, the soil and moisture requirements of the 

 plant itself and, second, the soil and climatic conditions of the area 

 to be seeded. Kedtop for example, should never be sown in dry 

 soils, or even on meadows which may become dry in the latter part 

 of the season. Smooth brome grass, which is one of the most drought- 

 resistant species known, would in all probability not succeed in a 

 moist locality. 



