'RANGE RENEWAL. 47 



rest at one and the same time. Mr. Bentley, in his report a on the 

 forage plants of central Texas, tells us that in that region, where over- 

 stocking has resulted in serious range deterioration, " some of the lead- 

 ing stockmen are now dividing up their holdings into several pastures, 

 one being held exclusively for winter use, another for spring, another 

 for midsummer or autumn. This practice will, in the case of the winter 

 pasture, enable the early grasses to ripen and shed their seeds." 

 Such a course may not prove as practicable or as beneficial, however, 

 on the annual ranges of northwestern California, where the majority 

 of the forage plants start growth together and mature at almost the 

 same time, as it may be in central Texas, where, as Mr. Bentley says, 

 "there is a great variet}^ of native forage plants and grasses, com- 

 prising species that appear in succession from February to Novem- 

 ber." The practice may prove more adaptable, however, to the 

 ranges of the coast-bluff belt. 



Instead of resting the whole range at once and thereby, perhaps, 

 missing a season of exceptionally good prices or of more than the usual 

 quantity of feed, a portion of the range, say one-seventh part, could 

 be fenced off and rested each year, the herd being weeded out at the 

 same time, so that it will not exceed the optimum for the remainder 

 of the range. At the end of seven years the rotation should be 

 repeated, and there is little doubt that by some such method the c *•- 

 rying capacity could be gradually raised. 



Where injurious weeds, such as tacalote (Centaurea melitensis) 

 abound it will be found worth while to mow them off before they 

 head out. 



There are two questions to be answered in deciding the policy of 

 range holding and stocking. First, is it good policy to allow the cash 

 value of the range to deteriorate, if there is a way to prevent it? It 

 is a true proverb which says "you can not both eat your cake and 

 have it; " and overstocking is, as we have endeavored to prove, equiv- 

 alent to living upon both interest and capital, a sure way to diminish 

 both. 



The stockman who owns his range will see the force of this point 

 more quickly, and will be more willing to act accordingly, as far as 

 he is able, than the renter. He will realize that as long as he can 

 make a living off his range he can not do better than invest any sur- 

 plus in improving the condition of both range and herd b3 T weeding 

 out and keeping the number down to the optimum. The stockman 

 who rents his range, however, acts on a different principle. His sole 

 object is to make the most out of the range and to invest his surplus 

 in more stock or in other lines. Naturally he does not care anything 

 about maintaining the value of the real estate, as it does not belong 

 to him, and as a result the rented range usually suffers most severely. 



a Bentley, H. L. : A Report upon the Grasses and Forage Plants of Central Texas; 

 U. S. Dept. Agric, Div. Agros., Bull. 10: p. 10, 1898. 



