8 BULLETIN 790, U. S. DEPAKTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



as the average grazing unit to suit the requirements of exckisive 

 grazing by one class of stock. 



To obtain full utilization of the forage and maximum grazing 

 capacity one, two, or more classes of stock may be grazed in numbers 

 corresponding to the quantity of forage which can be used best by 

 each class. Where the range supports a variety of plant species, in- 

 cluding a good deal of grass forage, or where there is an appreciable 

 area of meadow range, cattle grazing, if not overdone, is a benefit 

 rather than a detriment to the sheep interests. In heavy feed cattle 

 will trample down some of the weed feed suited to sheep, but the 

 use of the coarse grasses by cattle will prevent the grasses from 

 crowding out the weed forage, as they are doing on many ranges 

 which have been grazed exclusively by sheep for a number of years. 

 On the other hand, sheep grazing on a cattle range where there is a 

 good deal of weed feed, or on small areas difficult for cattle to 

 reach, not only is economy, but aids in maintaining the cattle 

 feed by keeping down the weeds. A few horses may in some cases 

 be grazed to advantage on sheep range, cattle range, or range used 

 by both sheep and cattle. The horses will use to advantage 

 grass range not well suited to sheep and too far from water or too 

 rough for full use by cattle. And it is not improbable that in locali- 

 ties where goats are produced a few goats may be grazed to advan- 

 tage on cattle or sheep ranges to keep brush stands open enough 

 for the growth of vegetation suitable for the other classes of stock. 



The main reasons then for common use of range are to prevent 

 waste of forage and to maintain a normal balance between the dif- 

 ferent kinds. Success in common use depends upon establishing the 

 right proportion between the different classes of stock to correspond 

 with the proportion of the forage which should be used bj" each class. 

 This must be done to avoid overgrazing of the range as a whole and 

 to avoid unwarranted encroachment of one class of stock upon 

 another. 



There usually is sufficient forage suit-ed to both shgep and cattle 

 to admit of considerable variation in the ratio between the two. 

 Where the forage is 50 per cent weeds and 50 per cent grasses sheep 

 and cattle might be run in ratios of 3 to 1 to 6 to 1, depending 

 upon the amount of range the cattle will not use because of 

 ruggedness or distance from water and upon the character of the 

 grass and weed forage. At best, then, careful study of the range 

 is essential to the establishment of the proper ratio, and very often 

 the desired balance between sheep and cattle can be worked out only 

 by observing the utilization of the range and readjusting the num- 

 bers of stock from season to season until the forage crop is utilized 

 as it should be. If a considerable quantity of grass feed is left at, 

 the close of the grazing season, it would seem reasonable to consider 



