36 BULLETIlSr 1031, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table 12. — Grazing capacity of pasture 10, 1915 to 19i9. 



[Area of pasture, 



1,805 acres.] 









Period, July 1 to June 30. 



Average 



acres 



per head 



per year 



(365 days). 



Estimated 

 per cent of 



available 

 forage 



utilized. 



Estimated 



grazing 



capacity 



in acres, 



per head. 



Condition 

 of range in 

 per cent of 

 condition 



on pro- 

 tected area. 



1915-16 



32.5 

 43.2 

 20.1 

 33.5 



85 



90 



1183 



100 



27.6 



39.0 



36.8 



2 33.5 





1916-17 





1917-18 





1918-19 









1 64,500 pounds of cottonseed cake were fed in this pasture during winter and spring of 1918, which in- 

 creased utiUzation 83 per cent. 

 2 Mostly short-age yearUngs in the pasture. 



Table 13. — Estimated grazing capacity of outside range, 1914 to 1919. 



Period, July 1 to June 30. 



Average 



acres 



per head 



per year 



(365 days). 



Estimated 

 per cent of 



available 

 forage 



utihzed. 



Estimated 



grazing 



capacity 



in acres, 



per head. 



Condition 

 of range in 

 per cent of 



condition 



on pro- 

 tected area. 



1914-15 



26.3 

 26.3 

 32.8 

 8L1 

 98.5 



125 

 125 

 125 

 125 

 100 



32.9 

 32.9 

 41.0 

 10L4 

 98.5 





1915-16 



45.4 



1916-17 



40.0 



1917-18 



34.2 



1918-19 



17.6 



1919-20 



27.1 







r : 





A comparison of these tables shows that estimated carrying ca- 

 pacity of the four areas was approximately the same for the annual 

 period ending June 30, 1916. Pastures 2 and 10, with an average of 

 27 acres per head per year, were probably at their maximum aver- 

 age carrying capacity in 1915-16, having had the opportimity to 

 reach this condition through very light grazing during the grow- 

 ing period for several seasons previous. Pasture 5 and the outside 

 range were slightly below their maximum on account of overstock- 

 ing yearlong with no opportunity for recuperation during the 

 growing season for several years previous. 



Table 10 shows that the average grazing for each year in pasture 

 2 exceeded the estimated grazing capacity for the respective year onlj^ 

 in 1918, and that the excess in 1918 was due mainly to the feeding of 

 80,900 pounds of cottonseed cake to stock in the pasture. It is prob- 

 able that the average grazing for the year was slightly in excess of 

 the amount of forage. This slight excess, however, does not account 

 for the depreciation of pasture 2 from 108 per cent of the pro- 

 tected areas in 1915-16 to 34.6 per cent of the same protected areas 

 in 1918-19. As pointed out in the last chapter this seemingly un- 

 warranted depreciation was attributed primarily to the failure to 

 reduce grazing during the growing season, July to October. 



