GRASS CULTURE AND RANGE IMPROVEMENT 



45 



unmowed areas in the vicinity of Woodward following late summer 

 rains in 1937. 



Figure 23. — Typical infestation of snakeweed on a pasture near Woodward, Okla. 



GRAZING CONTROL 



All factors considered, some form of grazing management appears 

 to offer the surest means of improving badly damaged pastures. Al- 

 dous (3) stated in 1935 that in the western two-thirds of Kansas the 

 restoration of the native vegetation by the application of proper 

 grazing practices is the only satisfactory method to be used in the 

 improvement of pastures. At the Northern Great Plains Field Sta- 

 tion. Mandan, N. Dak., the Division of Dry Land Agriculture has 

 determined that deferred and rotation grazing has outstanding ad- 

 vantages over continuous grazing, as reported by Sarvis (o4 : - oo). 

 The cattle gained faster and the grass was maintained in better con- 

 dition by rotating than by continuously grazing similar areas with 

 the same number of livestock. The rotation pasture was divided into 

 three parts and the cattle rotated spring, summer, and fall in such 

 a manner that the fields received alternate rests in successive years 

 during each part of the growing season. The fields were grazed 

 in the order shown in table 1 during 6 of the years that the investi- 

 gation was in progress. 







Table 1. 



— Grazing pr 



ogram 









Period 







Fields indicated by letters 





First 

 year 



Second Third Fourth 

 year year year 



Fifth 



year 



Sixth 

 year 



Spring 



A 



B 



C 



B A C 

 A C A 

 C B B 



C 

 B 

 A 



B 



C 



Fall 



A 











