2 CIRCULAR 17 8, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



the weakening of the forage plants and of their powers of repro- 

 duction. Some range lands naturally support a stand of vegetation 

 of inferior value for grazing. These, if better forage species were 

 introduced, would be materially increased in grazing capacity. The 

 owners and users of range lands are continually seeking information 

 on the practicability of artificial reseeding as a means of increasing 

 the grazing capacity. To such queries no unqualified answer can 

 be given. Success in reseeding depends primarily upon the climate 

 and soil characteristics of the locality where it is tried out, as well 

 as upon the species of plants used. On a large proportion of the 

 western range land reseeding is entirely impracticable by any meth- 

 ods or plant species thus far tested, mainly because of the low 

 rainfall. There are, however, more or less local areas of considerable 

 acreage in the aggregate, characterized generally by moisture con- 

 ditions above average and by ample length of growing season, where 

 artificial reseeding adequately undertaken will justify the expense 

 involved. 



* Serious erosion and washing away of the soil is occurring on much 

 of the range land in the West as the result of thinning out of the 

 plant cover by overgrazing or repeated fires, or both. Such de- 

 pletion of the soil, if not arrested, will reduce the land to a barren 

 waste. On areas where erosion has reached an advanced stage, even 

 the exclusion of grazing may not result in sufficient revegetation to 

 check erosion and restore the land to economical production within 

 a reasonable time. Artificial reseeding offers considerable promise 

 not only of arresting erosion but also of restoring the grazing 

 capacity on these lands. 



The purpose of this circular is to bring together the best available 

 information regarding the conditions under which artificial range 

 reseeding may be justified, the species that will give best results, 

 and the methods that may be employed with the greatest success. 



These suggestions will be of value chiefly in the improvement of 

 land with superior growing conditions. Even on these lands, how- 

 ever, because of the wide range of conditions in different localities, 

 and because of the many important points on which range investiga- 

 tions have thus far produced but scanty information, it is recom- 

 mended that wherever artificial reseeding is contemplated in untried 

 localities, the operator at first should undertake the work on a small 

 scale or trial basis. The information in this circular will assist in 

 the selection of the sites to plant, the species to use, and the prac- 

 tices to follow, and will at least make it possible to conduct the 

 trials in a more intelligent manner. 



Although the selection of suitable planting sites, the kinds of seed 

 to sow, and methods to employ are of primary consideration, the cost 

 of the seeding operations and of handling the land while the new 

 crop is getting established must compare favorably with the value 

 of the benefits to accrue, if the artificial reseeding of range lands is 

 to be justified. A satisfactory stand of vegetation must be estab- 

 lished at a cost that will be offset within a reasonable period by the 

 resulting increased returns from the livestock. The average moun- 

 tain range lands susceptible of artificial reseeding will rarely yield 



