6 BULLETIN 749, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



und summer." It is not necessary to have very much water on winter 

 ranges if snow is available. Pure, fresh water should be provided 

 wherever possible, but in the Southwest it is often necessary to 

 utilize rain water caught in large storage reservoirs. The goats 

 drink this readily when once accustomed to it. 



Deep wells must sometimes be drilled on southwestern ranges if 

 there is to be a supply of water throughout the year. The cost of 

 such operations is often prohibitive considering the amount of forage 

 available in the locality. When this is true such areas are some- 

 times used only during the rainy seasons and when stored rain water 

 can be used. 



MANAGEMENT OF THE GOAT RANGE. 



Most goat ranges are used throughout the year. This and the 

 general practice of driving the goats out from a corral at the ranch 

 headquarters and back every day for months or throughout the 

 year have been largely responsible for such a deterioration of the 

 range as to cause a widespread belief that any grazing by goats is 

 extremely destructive to range. The fault is largely in the method 

 of management, which with large herds is sure to concentrate graz- 

 ing to the point of overstocking and to cause continued premature 

 grazing. "Where a similar practice has been followed in the manage- 

 ment of cattle and sheep, the range has been similarly depleted. 



The remedy lies in working out a plan of grazing which will give 

 the vegetation a chance to grow sufficiently to maintain itself. To 

 do this on an area which is grazed throughout the year necessitates 

 light stocking, at least during the main growing season of the impor- 

 tant forage plants. Investigation and practical tests have shown that 

 a better plan is to divide the range into three areas, one for spring, 

 another for summer and fall, and a third for winter. Dividing 

 the range for seasonal use so as best to meet the needs of the forage 

 and of the goats and distributing the grazing more evenly over the 

 range make possible the maintenance of the forage under heavier 

 grazing and the reservation of suitable feed for the most critical 

 periods of the year. 



DIVISION OF THE RANGE. 



Spring range. — During the period of kidding and immediately 

 afterwards more than during any other period of the year the does 

 and kids need plenty of green, tender feed and plenty of water. For 

 this reason there should be an abundance of grass and weed forage 

 on the kidding range, but there should also be some browse to pro- 

 vide tender, green twigs in case drought or a late season prevents 

 a sufficient growth of grass. 



