80 



DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, WICHITA, 1914 



grazed after seed maturity than on the areas totally protected against 

 grazing and the reproduction of good forage species was infinitely greater. 



These two allotments, each carrying about 1400 sheep, in addition to 

 lambs, and three other allotments on the same forest, mainly grass ranges, 

 were examined after five years's management under deferred and rotation 

 grazing and the estimates of increase in carrying capacity varied from 

 300 percent for one range where the forage at the beginning consisted of 

 scattered tufts of grass, to 25 per cent for an allotment which was in good, 

 though not maximum condition, when the deferred and rotation manage- 

 ment was put into practice. 



The estimated increase on the other three allotments were 100 percent, 

 50 percent and 40 percent. 



Further to test the merits of the deferred and rotation system and aid 

 in working out a system of management for badly overgrazed sheep range 

 on the Hayden Forest in Wyoming, a typical area of 20 acres was selected 

 within an allotment of perennial grass range used each year from May 10 

 to September 15. 



The 20 acres was divided into a 19 acre field and a 1 acre field, each 

 fenced with sheep proof fence in the spring of 1911. 



During the grazing season of 1911-12-13, the outside range was 

 grazed from May 10 to September 15, but not overstocked; the one acre 

 plot was totally protected against grazing and the 19 acre field was grazed 

 by . a band of sheep between August 20 and September 1, each year. To 

 check the report based on ocular observation, that the 19 acre field was in 

 far the best condition in 1913, plots 6 feet square as nearly comparable in 

 topography, soil and moisture as could be selected were laid out and 

 charted to determine accurately the difference in condition and make up of 

 the vegetation on the three areas. 



The number and size of each species was determined on each plot. 



The results may be summarized as follows: The total number of plants 

 on the area under deferred grazing was 2.1 times the number on the totally 

 protected area and 1.3 times as great as on the area regularly grazed; the 

 number of good perennial forage plants on the area under deferred grazing 

 was 2.05 times the number on the totally protected area, and 2.5 times the 

 number on the area grazed under season-long grazing; seed of the more 

 valuable species showed the average germination for the area under the 

 deferred grazing and the area protected for three years to be about equal, 

 approximately 50 per cent, and for the area grazed season-long only ap- 

 proximately 30 per cent. 



The examples given are for sheep range. I have recently made a 

 critical examination of a cattle range on the Plumas Forest in California. 



It is made up of well-drained meadow extending up through a fringe 

 of sage brush into pine timber. 



Four years ago it was barely carrying 175 cattfe, running at large 

 over the whole range. 



Three years ago the area was divided into two parts by a drift fence, 



