26 Bulletin 827, U. S. Dept of Agriculture. 



Without the destructive annual fires the soils of the cut-over lands 

 and the distribution of grasses would have presented a different- 

 aspect; and since the damage done is apparent, immediate steps 

 should be taken to prevent fires. However, occasional fires under 

 proper control may be used to remove accumulations of wire grass 

 and to check the growth of brush. 



SEMI-IMPROVED PASTURES. 



For convenience of discussion in this report, stump land which has 

 been fenced, cleared of underbrush or down timber, and protected 

 from fire, is spoken of as semi-improved pasture, since these are the 

 first steps for pasture improvement in the logical order in which 

 they should come for natural improvement of the range. Very little 

 work toward improving pastures has been done until the last few 

 years. Owners of large tracts of land who have started in the 

 cattle business have begun some pasture-improvement work, but, ex- 

 cept in very few instances, they have not made progress enough to 

 demonstrate its final value. On cut-over land, stumps ranging from 

 10 inches to 2 feet in diameter average about 50 to the acre, and 

 these stumps, together with the crowns and unmerchantable timber 

 left after logging operations, occupy much space on which no grass 

 can grow. Land not closely grazed immediately after the. removal 

 of the timber is quickly taken up by a second growth of blackjack 

 oak, scrub oak, and pine saplings, which shade the ground and also 

 occupy considerable space. 



The cost of removing stumps is prohibitive for cheap pasture on 

 large areas, but " down " timber is cleared from the land hj piling 

 and burning or by marketing as firewood in near-by towns. Second- 

 growth timber is removed by cutting with axes, but the oaks sprout 

 immediately and require recutting the second or third year. In 

 some cases goats and sheep have been used successfully in checking 

 the growth of sprouts. Land fenced and cleared of down timber 

 and second growth is usually protected from fire by burning around 

 the edges or by keeping watch for fires and extinguishing them. 



These methods effect an immediate improvement in the pastures 

 by reducing waste space and shade. In addition, volunteer lespedeza 

 and carpet grass make their appearance and improve the pasture 

 rapidly. Confining the cattle by fencing means closer grazing, and 

 with close grazing and trampling wire grass and broom sedge are 

 checked and carpet grass and lespedeza take their places. Rapid 

 improvement in the carrying capacity and quality of the pastures 

 has been observed in many places on limited areas when these 

 methods were used, and the improvement of the pastures, especially 

 by protection from fire, shows great future promise. 



