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CIRCULAR 8 04, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



grass, threadleaf sedge, and needle-and-thread. Several less impor- 

 tant grasses are also present. Forbs, such as scarlet globemallow, 

 prairieclover, biscuitroot, several species of Indianwheat, and other 

 low- value annuals provide some forage during their growing season. 

 Big sagebrush is rather common, and fringed or pasture sagebrush is 

 frequently present. Because they produce a great amount and 

 variety of forage, these rolling grassy areas have the highest grazing 

 value. They are best adapted to summer and fall grazing owing to 

 the abundance of late-starting blue grama and the variety of her- 

 baceous plants which are green and succulent in summer. 



Figure 3. — The hilly areas, where coarse grasses are abundant, are most valuable 

 for early spring or winter grazing. 



The high proportion of perennial grasses which cure well on the 

 ground make these areas suitable also for late fall and winter grazing. 

 However, little protection from storms is provided by the gently 

 rolling topography, and the low-growing blue grama and threadleaf 

 sedge are likely to be unavailable because of snow. 



Sandy to gravelly loam soils and moderately steep topography 

 combine to characterize other parts of the northern Great Plains 

 range (fig. 3). These soils have a high water-absorbing capacity with 

 consequent low runoff but dry out rather rapidly. The vegetation 

 normally covers about a fifth to a quarter of the soil surface and 

 consists principally of coarse perennial grasses and grasslike plants. 

 Forbs are not conspicuous but one or more browse species may be 

 rather abundant. Some of the most abundant grasses are bearded 

 bluebunch wheatgrass, side-oats grama, needle-and-thread, bluestem 

 wheatgrass, stonyhills muhly, and blue grama. Scarlet globemallow, 

 lupine, and licorice, as well as skunkbush sumac and small soapweed, 



