40 BULLETIN 947, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



counted. Very little grass had come in, and the area, which was on a 

 slight incline, had been somewhat washed by the rains. 



On July 27, 1920, seventy-two flowering stems of H. hoopesii were 

 counted, and besides there was a considerable number of small plants 

 from which no flowering stems had grown. Nineteen bunches of 

 SympTioricarpos had come in, and there were a few grass plants and 

 dandelions, with considerable chickweed. On August 18 the H. 

 hoopesii plants were cut out with a hoe, the work requiring 16 hours 

 and 40 minutes per acre. A sharp hoe was used, so that many of the 

 plants were cut out rather than pulled out, the cutting being done 2 

 or 3 inches below the surface of the ground. When the ground was 

 examined again September 11, 1920, it was found that a few more 

 seedlings had started, and that there was a fairly vigorous growth 

 from the cut plants. In these cut plants the growth was generally 

 from buds which had started near the cut surface, but in some of them 

 adventitious buds were found upon the larger roots well below the 

 surface. Apparently buds may appear from almost any part of the 

 root which remains in the ground. 



Time at the rate of 30 hours per acre was spent in going over the 

 patch again with a hoe, especial pains being taken to remove the 

 plants so that the roots should be exposed upon the surface. Of 

 course, many of the smaller roots were torn off and left in the ground. 



The patch will be kept under observation for a longer time, but it 

 is evident that the destruction of the plant on the range by digging is 

 not likely to be a success. The plant grows so thickly that in order 

 to clear a given area it is necessary to dig up almost the whole surface, 

 so that if a range were to be cleared it would be necessary not only to 

 dig up the plant but to reseed the area, as after the digging it would 

 be left almost devoid of vegetation. The great expense of this work 

 would make this method of clearing the range a practical impossibility. 



Effect of Cutting Off with a Scythe. 



In order to determine what effect would be produced by repeated 

 cutting down of the aerial parts of the plant an area was staked off 

 July 25, 1918, and a similar area by its side as a control. On this 

 date the plants were cut with a scythe from the experimental area. 



An examination of the area, September 9, 1918, showed the plants 

 apparently in a more thrifty condition than those on the control patch. 

 More new leaves had been put forth on the cut plants than upon those 

 that had not been injured. Cutting off the tops appeared to have 

 a stimulating effect upon the plants. This is perhaps what should 

 have been expected, for, as stated above, adventitious buds readily 

 start not only from the crown but also from the roots, and these buds 

 doubtless grow more numerously because of the cutting off of the top. 



