10 



BULLETIN H9, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



range being given protection from grazing until after seed maturity 

 two years in every five. 



Table 1. — Part of summer-and-fall range to oe used during eaeh month through 

 a series of sir gears under the deferred and rotation system of grazing. 



[Letters indicate parts of range.] 



First year. . 

 Second year 

 Third year. 

 Fourth year 

 Fifth ye'ar.. 

 Sixth year. . 



June. 



July. 



Aug. 



Sept. 



Oct. 



A 



B 



C 



D 



E 



B 



C 



I) 



E 



A 



C 



D 



E 



A 



B 



D 



E 



A 



B 



C 



E 



A 



B 



C 



D 



A 



B 



C 



I) 



E 



Winter range. — Under the present methods of management the 

 goats on many ranges often lose much in weight during the winter, 

 and occasionally many of them die. Where the range is grazed by 

 large herds throughout the year or even throughout the entire 

 winter, from the corral and shed at the winter ranch the browse in 

 the vicinity of the camp is killed out or is weakened to such an extent 

 that it provides very inadequate forage. When heavy snow comes 

 the feed is still more scarce and goats must be fed if they are to 

 maintain their weight. 



To reduce the extra feeding required and to decrease the liability 

 of loss, the winter range should be situated low enough to be out 

 of the range of severe storms. It is also essential that enough forage 

 be protected at other times of the year so that the goats may obtain 

 ample feed during the winter without excessive traveling. The 

 browse areas at the lower elevations generally furnish the best win- 

 ter forage. Practice has shown that it is best to reserve the feed 

 close to the shed for use during heavy snows and after shearing in 

 the fall or late winter. In order to preserve this feed and prevent 

 overgrazing, and still have the goats close enough to the shed to be 

 brought in if a storm threatens, the goats may be bedded at a number 

 of places about half a mile in different directions from the shed. 



PREVENTION OF OVERGRAZING. 



The most prominent signs of overgrazing arc a reduction in the 

 quantity of palatable forage, an increase in the nonpalatable plants, a 

 stubby appearance in the browse species, an increase in the number 

 of rocks showing above the soil, and a thinness in the goats due to 

 insufficient nourishment. Signs of overgrazing which are not so 

 readily noticed, but which should be watched for, are the failure of 

 palatable species to flower and fruit, the removal of most of the leaves 

 of important palatable browse species before fruiting, and the cover- 

 ing of considerable grass on slopes with sliding soil brought down 

 by trampling. 



