The West 15 
In this table it must be remembered that the carrying 
capacity of the Reserves is figured on the basis of the 
total area and no deductions are made for those parts 
which are so rough or so heavily timbered that no graz- 
ing is possible. The heaviest timbered areas are found 
toward the North Pacific Coast where the rainfall is 
greatest. The Washington Reserves are nearly all in the 
rain belt, hence the comparatively low grazing capacity 
shown in the table. The roughest Reserves are found 
in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, as in Montana. 
The carrying capacity of the various sections is illus- 
trated in the following tabulation concerning the Re- 
serves of Oregon. The Coast Mountains are in a region 
of excessive rainfall and very heavy timber. The Cascade 
Mountains are partly in this belt, but extend over into 
the semi-arid section. Eastern Oregon, on the other 
hand, is in the typical semi-arid region of ten to twenty 
inches of rain and so has much less timber and much more 
grass. 
Outside of the heaviest timber and roughest mountains, 
about thirty to forty acres of mountain or forest range 
will be required for each cow. This is summer range only. 
In addition, grazing on the lower hills and plains or “ win- 
ter ranges’’ must be provided for spring and fall. In the 
regions of fifteen inches or more rainfall, ten to fifteen 
acres will support a cow during this season, while twenty- 
five to fifty acres will be needed where the rainfall is only 
ten inches. If no hay is used for winter, another twenty- 
five to fifty acres is needed. Under favorable conditions 
one ton of hay and a total of forty acres of grass will 
support a cow. Selected tracts might do a little better 
than this. On the other hand, there are thousands of 
cattle in the West that require more than one hundred 
