42 STOCK RANGES OF NORTH WESTERN CALIFORNIA. 



relatively less abundant, and at the same time weedy species, such as 

 small fox-tail and squirrel-tail, less liked by cattle, came in, grad- 

 ually monopolizing the ground left vacant by the destruction of the 

 wild oats and alfilerilla. 



Exactly the same process of introduction and eradication is taking 

 place at the present time under our own eyes. Soft chess has, 

 within recent years, taken possession of the hills in some parts of the 

 State, much to the disgust of stockmen. Sooner or later the cattle 

 have taken such a fancy to the new forage, either from necessity or 

 choice, that it, in turn, has been almost eaten out, enough being left 

 to show that it was once there, and other species not yet liked by 

 cattle are taking its place. 



So this process of elimination or natural selection goes on. Species 

 which are liked by stock, but which are unable to retain their hold on 

 the soil when grazed or trampled, disappear or become scarce, and 

 other species come in and take their place. These, in turn, must pass 

 away if unfitted to maintain the struggle for existence. Only the fit- 

 test survive — the fittest from the standpoint of the plant — the least 

 fit (the weedy, useless species) from the standpoint of the rancher. 



Bunch grasses. — The fact has already been alluded to that the 

 so-called "bunch grasses " are not as well adapted for grazing as are 

 running and turf -forming species. On account of their tuft-forming 

 nature the former are more easily pulled out than are species which 

 spread by means of underground rootstocks. 



Sheep versus cattle. — Cattlemen think that the great depreciation in 

 carrying capacity is due to sheep, claiming that sheep do far more 

 injury to a range than do cattle. This is only partially true, however, 

 and while it may be true that a range overstocked with sheep will 

 suffer more on account of their close biting than one overstocked with 

 cattle, which do not graze so cloely, it is equally true that a sheep 

 range carrying only the optimum number can be kept in better con- 

 dition than a cattle range which carries the maximum number. Sheep 

 do no more damage than cattle if properly handled and not crowded, 

 and they can be kept without injury to the range; in fact, it was 

 claimed by intelligent stockmen, accustomed to handle both sheep and 

 cattle, that certain sheep ranges in Mendocino County were at the 

 time of this investigation in better condition under sheep after three 

 years of comparative drought than they were thirty years ago. 



It is an indisputable fact that some men have made a financial suc- 

 cess of sheep raising on the open range, and that at the same time 

 their ranges are in as good condition, and in some cases better, than 

 adjoining cattle ranges. 



It is not improbable, however, that sheep do more damage than 

 cattle to perennial "bunch-grasses." 



Summary. — The cause of range deterioration, therefore, is over- 

 stocking, and it is the animals themselves that do the damage. Fur- 



