INCREASING FORAGE YIELDS ON INTERMOUNTAIN WINTER RANGES 15 
grazing of these highly palatable species dropped sharply because little 
of the choice herbage remained to be eaten. At this time, utilization of 
bud sagebrush increased noticeably and that of winterfat and shadscale 
slightly. In the fourth interval, grazing of the highly palatable species 
continued low, that of bud sagebrush dropped, and consumption of 
winterfat, galleta, and sand dropseed increased. At the end of the 
40-day period the study area was considered to be about properly grazed 
although the globemallow and black sagebrush probably received more 
than a desirable degree of use. : 
TABLE 2.—Average herbage production, percent utilization of herbage by 
sheep, and forage furnished on seven moderately grazed range pastures 
at the Desert Experimental Range, 1935-45 
Herbage production Forage furnished 
iene sssiseet Herbage |__ Se 
Species utiliza- 
Quantity | Grtotal | | Quantity | SP total 
Shrubs: Lb. /acre Percent Percent Lb./acre Percent 
Wintertat 32s: ACT: 22.4 54.0 25.8 Byoaa 
Bud sagebrush______ 3.4 1.6 52.1 deez Ze 
Shadscale____-__2_- 60.6 28 .4 2135 12.9 17.6 
@ther «252 suas ee 23410. eel 12.2 2.9 3.9 
Alleshrubss 2-35) 135.4 63.5 32.0 43.3 58. 
Grasses: | | 
Indian ricegrass_____) 14.2 6.7 73.3 10.4 14.1 
Galletac2s ees 20.0 9.4 46.9 9.4 12.8 
Sand dropseed_____- Deeks 13.0 22.8 6.3 8.6 
Otheresas ie ees 4.8 2.2 6.8 Leo A 
All grasses_______| 66.7 31.3 39.6 26.4 35.9 
Forbs: | 
Globemallow _ -_ ____- 4.3 2.0 74.1 one 4.4 
Pherae eee 6.8 Die 9.2 6 8 
ANT forbs == Lid be 343 3.8) 5.2 
Totals, Pisa) 100 | 84-4 73.5 100 
In years when precipitation was favorable and winterfat made rank 
woody growth and produced good seed crops, utilization was lower 
than in years when it did not fully mature. In each of the winters 
1935-36, 1937-38, and 1938-39, when winterfat had made excellent 
growth, utilization of its herbage and tender twigs was only about 45 
percent. The average utilization was about 65 percent in years when 
it did not mature. 
Repeated observations on the moderately grazed ranges revealed 
that the shorter growth of winterfat, on the gravelly soils of the foothills 
and valley slopes was utilized more heavily than the more thrifty, 
coarser growth found on the finer soils in the drainages and valley 
bottoms. 
