THE RESEEDING OF DEPLETED GRAZING LANDS. 6 



range to recover. Under this system marked improvement in the 

 carrying capacity has taken place. Nevertheless, there is evident 

 need for bringing about improvement more rapidly. 



This need has led the Forest Service to undertake, in cooperation 

 with the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture, a series of grazing studies dealing with the various phases of 

 the whole range problem. Publications setting forth some of the re- 

 sults of these studies have already been issued. 1 One line of experi- 

 ments has studied the methods of handling stock, with reference 

 especially to the value of inclosed pastures as a means of preventing 

 waste of forage through trampling, of lessening losses, of increasing 

 the number of stock which can be grazed on a given area, and of 

 improving the condition of the range. Another line of studies has 

 sought information concerning the various species of range plants, 

 their forage value, the conditions necessary for their growth and 

 spread, and the nature of the interference produced by grazing use — 

 in other words, the things which must be known in order to under- 

 stand why and how grazing has reduced the supply of forage and 

 how range regeneration may best be brought about. The third line 

 of studies has consisted in experiments to ascertain to what extent 

 range improvement can be brought about through artificial sowing. 



It is a matter of common knowledge that much of the seriously 

 overgrazed range, such as mountain meadows and well-drained parks, 

 have exceedingly fertile soils and originally produced a large native 

 forage crop of high quality, but now support few or no valuable 

 range plants. It is evident that natural revegetation can not be 

 brought about where the original vegetation has been completely 

 destroyed and the land left in a denuded condition. If such land is 

 to be restocked within a reasonable length of time, seed from forage 

 plants adapted to the local conditions must be introduced. 



These seriously overgrazed lands differ so widely in soil and 

 growth conditions that before doing any great amount of seeding it 

 was necessary to obtain in much detail, through carefully planned 

 experiments, information concerning the natural factors which limit 

 the successful application of artificial reseeding, the adaptability of 

 various species of plants to the various sets of conditions, the methods 

 which will procure the best results, and the question of cost and 

 returns — in other words, to find out where artificial revegetation can 

 be brought about, what are the most effective means, and whether 

 they will pay. 



1 The following are the titles of these publications : Jardine, James T., The Pasturage 

 System for Handling Range Sheep, Cire. 178, U. S. Forest Service, 1909. Sampson, 

 Arthur W., The Revegetation of Overgrazed Range Areas, Circ. 158, U. S. Forest Service, 

 1908. Sampson, Arthur W., Natural Revegetation of Depleted Mountain Grazing Lands, 

 Circ. 169, U. S. Forest Service, 1909. 



