EANGE MANAGEMENT ON THE NATIONAL FOKESTS. 6 



DETERMINATION OF CLASS OF STOCK TO WHICH RANGE IS BEST 



SUITED. 



Classification of the range to determine the areas best suited to the 

 different classes of stock is the first important step toward the best 

 use of the grazing resources. The classification should be based upon 

 the character of the range, the grazing habits of the different classes 

 of stock, and the relation of grazing to timber growth and other 

 resources, and should be made without regard for the local needs of 

 a given class of stock. The need for administrative discretion in the 

 final division of the range between different classes of stock is recog- 

 nized, but the importance of grazing the class of stock to which the 

 range is best suited must not be unduly subordinated to other factors. 



MAIN FACTORS DECIDING SUITABILITY OF RANGE. 



The main factors which, combined, determine the class of stock for 

 which a range is best suited are: 



1. Character of forage. 



2. Topography. 



3. Distribution of watering places. 



4. Animal pests. 



5. Protection of timber growth, wa- 

 tersheds, and game. 



CHARACTER OF FORAGE. 



In general, cattle and horses use a grass range to better advantage 

 than sheep. Sheep relish tender green foliage and the grains of many 

 grasses, but they eat sparingly of coarse or dry grass foliage. Cattle 

 consume a much larger proportion of the coarse grass forage. 

 Horses, even more than cattle, prefer grass to weeds and browse. 



On the whole, weeds are much more palatable to sheep than to 

 cattle or horses. Only a small percentage of weeds are palatable to 

 cattle, and even fewer are palatable to horses. Sheep show discrimi- 

 nation in their choice of weed forage, but they wall eat parts or a all 

 of most weed species on closely grazed range. 



Both sheep and cattle eat considerable browse; but sheep have a 

 tendency to browse more than cattle, and more of the browse species 

 on range lands appear to be palatable to them than to cattle. How- 

 ever, cattle reach higher than sheep and get more forage from high- 

 growing browse species, such as scrub oak, service berry, and ma- 

 hogany. Horses browse but little. For sheep to use brush range of 

 large area readily the brush should be in open enough stand to enable 

 the sheep and herders to move about through it. Sheep will gradu- 

 ally work their way through and fully use small areas, however dense 

 the brush, if it is palatable, unless the area is too wet, as is sometimes 

 the case where willow browse occurs in wet meadows. Cattle will use 

 dense brush range, but prefer open grass range or open grass and 

 brow T se range. 



