38 BULLETIN 367, U, S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTTJEE. 



cate approximately the increase in carrying capacity under the 

 treatment imposed. The factor of occasional insufficiency of stock 

 water has interfered with the stocking of the other pasture and 

 modified the results. In general, therefore, it may be said that, other 

 things being equal, the rate of recovery in this region varies with 

 the available moisture. With complete protection the better part 

 of this range recovered rapidly at first, large gains being made in 

 the first two or thre« j^ears, and approached complete recovery in 10 

 or 12 years. The poorer parts of the range are much improved after 

 11 years' protection, but are probably not yet completely recovered. 

 Light stocking of the better part of the range with horaes (approxi- 

 mately one-third of the stock it could carry) doubtless retarded the 

 rate of recovery, but after eight or nine years this animal factor was 

 negligible. Heavy stocking with cattle has not prevented but has 

 retarded recovery, so that after 11 years the grazed areas are but 

 j)artially recovered, though their carrying capacity has increased not 

 less than 30 per cent and possibly more in that time. 



ReseecUng operations. — Practically all attempts to introduce new 

 species of forage plants or to increase the relative abundance of 

 particular endemic species beyond their natural importance in the 

 plant associations of the region have resulted negatively. In a few 

 cases introduced plants like alfilaria or some aggressive annuals 

 have seemed to promise some returns, but in the course of a few 

 years the native perennials have crowded them out. By far the 

 greater number of the species tried have given nothing but negative 

 results from the first.^ The scattering of seeds of the local native 

 species upon bare ground has proved to be well worth the trouble, 

 since the practice has resulted in the more rapid recovery of such 

 areas. This procedure has also put a crop of grass upon some soils 

 where it was predicted that nothing would grow. The policy of 

 scattering the seeds of the best grasses of a region on the denuded 

 areas is to be recommended to stockmen generally wherever the seeds 

 can be had in any quantity at relatively small expense, as is always 

 the case where range hay is baled. On areas of large size which have 

 been denuded of their best native grasses a seemingly large expense is 

 warranted in order to get seeding plants of such grasses established 

 on the area. Generally speaking, the seeds of native species of this 

 region do not need to be covered, since they are mostly able to bury 

 themselves deep enough to cause germination, at least under favor- 

 able climatic conditions. 



Carrying capacity. — An attemjot is here made to work out an 

 expression representing the average carrying capacity of the whole 

 range reserve, in the belief that this result will apply to a large part 



1 See Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletins 117, p. 22 ; 177, p. 12. 



