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DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, WICHITA, 1914 



believed, would involve closing the areas to grazing and consequent serious 

 interference with the stock industry of the West, if attempted on a large 

 scale. 



The results from artificial reseeding tests conducted by other Bureaus 

 of the Department of Agriculture, however, convinced the Forest Service 

 that seeding, even with the most promising species, should be further, 

 established as economically possible, by experimental tests before seeding 

 of range on a large scale was under taken. Between 1907 and 1912 over 

 500 seeding tests, distributed over 86 National Forests, using the more 

 promising available forage plants, were initiated and observed until de- 

 clared successful or failures. The essential conclusions were: that arti- 

 ficial seeding of range with species at present available can be accom- 

 plished economically only on mountain-meadow areas of good soil and 

 moisture, alluvial bottoms along creeks, or on small dry meadow or mesa 

 areas where water can be diverted over them at a cost not prohibitive. 



Even on such lands one year's protection against grazing is necessary 

 after seeding in order that the seedlings can establish a good root system 

 before subjected to grazing. 



The area of land meeting these requirements is limited to perhaps 5 

 percent or less of the total area used for grazing within National Forests. 



Range improvement on Western natural grazing lands, either within 

 or outside the National Forests, by seeding to cultivated species, can be 

 but comparatively unimportant until seed of species which are more re- 

 sistant to drought and grazing than those at present available, can be 

 secured at a cost not prohibitive to use on lands naturally of low pro- 

 ductivity. It is not probable that such species will be found for a few 

 years at least. 



Improvement on approximately 95 per cent of the area used for grazing 

 within the National Forests and on almost all of the remaining public 

 domain range must, then, come in the near future as a result of protectnon 

 and natural reseeding of the native forage plants. The problem is to ac- 

 complish this in the shortest time possible without serious interference with 

 the stock industry. 



Grazing management, which will do this, must take into account the 

 important forage plants and their requirements of growth and perpetua- 

 tion, and it must be practical from the standpoint of profitable meat pro- 

 duction. 



With a view to developing a plan of using the range which will har- 

 monize the requirements of the vegetation and the requirements of the 

 stock to the greatest degree possible, studies were started in 1907 to 

 determine the growth requirements of the important range forage plants 

 and the essential factors, including grazing, which are primarily responsible 

 for the success or failure of these plants in their growth and perpetuation. 



The conclusions reached to date, relative to the requirements of plant 

 growth, under range conditions, may be summarized as follows: 



1. Removal of the herbage year after year during the early part of 

 the growing season weakens the plants and results in delayed resumption 



