INCREASED CATTLE PRODUCTION. g 
under protection from yearlong grazing as under protection by light 
stocking during the main growing season. 
The fact that the middle portion of the Reserve is made up largely 
of tebosa-grass flats, which are primarily summer range and stand 
heavy grazing during the growing season, has made it possible to 
remove most of the stock from the grama-grass range while the forage 
there is making its growth. The summer range, however, may need 
some protection during the growing season if it is to be kept in the 
best condition. To this end, additional fences and watering places 
are being provided as rapidly as possible. The biggest problem on 
this class of range, however, is believed to be the proper distribution 
of stock to secure full, even utilization. 
For either light stocking during the main growing season or deferred 
grazing to be successful, there must be enough good forage plants 
remaining on the range to bring about the improvement desired by 
natural seeding or by vegetative development. Where the valuable 
forage plants have been killed out and the soil fertility reduced by 
water or wind erosion, many years of protection or light stocking 
would be required to bring about marked improvement. This con- 
dition is found frequently around watering places on unfenced range. 
Figure 1 shows, for example, that there is very little vegetation of 
any kind and practically no good forage plants within the first half 
mile out from water on the unfenced range. 
There is believed to be no doubt as to the advisability of hght 
crazing of the grama-grass range during the growing season. In the 
case of the Jornada Range Reserve, the protection of Pastures 2 and 
10, for example, aside from improving the range with little loss of 
forage any year, has made possible the production of steers which 
brought $2.50 per head more than was paid for the same age and 
class of stock from unfenced range. Further than this, the reserved 
feed has made possible the avoidance of loss among poor cows during 
the spring months and has at the same time been a form of insurance 
against loss in case of prolonged drought. 
Where the whole of a range unit 1s made up of grama grass or 
similar grass range, about one-third of the area should be grazed 
lightly during the growing season two years in succession. Each 
third of the unit in its turn should then be given as nearly as possible 
this amount of protection. 
WATER DEVELOPMENT. 
The importance of a well-planned water supply for cattle ranges 
of the Southwest can hardly be overemphasized. Where watering 
places are from 6 to 15 miles apart, the range near water is overgrazed 
and denuded, while that away from water is undergrazed. Loss from 
starvation increases as the distance from feed to water increases, 
5546°—17—Bull. 588——2 
