The West 19 



harm, since the community is deprived of much of the 

 homesteader's labor, while his children are deprived of 

 the social and educational advantages to which they are 

 justly entitled. 



Range improvement. 



Most of the range grasses reproduce by seed and if 

 eaten down so close that they never mature seed, they are 

 finally killed out. On the other hand, if they have a- 

 chance to grow and produce mature seed, they will hold 

 their own indefinitely. Fortunately, after the seed has 

 matured and shattered out, the remaining dry grass 

 makes a good feed, and thus no grazing need be lost. 

 The Forest Service and the various state experiment 

 stations have conducted many investigations into the re- 

 establishment of the ranges and have obtained splendid 

 results from what they call the "deferred grazing" sys- 

 tem. This is simply holding the stock off until after the 

 grass has made seed and then turning them on and letting 

 them eat the grass and tramp the seed into the ground. 

 In order properly to take care of the stock, the range 

 is divided into four parts and grazing deferred on one 

 part this year, on another the next, and thus rotating so 

 as to defer the grazing on each part once in four years. 

 There is no loss of feed by this system and the ranges are 

 greatly improved. Results are not only cheaper but better 

 obtained by this method than by artificial seeding or by 

 keeping stock off for a whole year. 



Legal difficulties. 



Cheap and effective as the deferred grazing system is, 

 it cannot be applied to the government lands. With 



