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 
