20 BULLETIN 791, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Of the bunch wheat grasses, slender wheat grass and blue bunch 
wheat grass are about equal in the amount of dry matter produced 
per unit of area, while violet wheat grass, occurring as it usually 
does in rather scattered stands, seldom produces as much forage as 
the other two species. Owing to the slightly higher palatability of 
slender wheat grass as compared with blue bunch wheat grass, the 
former supports slightly more stock per acre than the latter. 
The bunch wheat-grass areas, because of the class of plants which 
they support, are better suited to the grazing of sheep than are tlie 
turfed wheat-grass areas. The latter, on the other hand, are es- 
pecially well adapted to the grazing of cattle and horses ; for to make 
good gain these animals require less variety than sheep, and they 
consume, proportionately, a smaller amount of weeds than sheep. 
In general the most efficient range for cattle and horses is one 
upon which the palatable subclimax grass species have been pre- 
served. In the case of sheep the range which will afford the largest 
percentage of first-class feed and at the same time prove the most 
efficient from the standpoint of pounds of gain for the season is one 
upon which the grass stand has been sufficiently opened up to per- 
mit of a good admixture of grass, weeds, and even browse. The fact 
that sheep prefer a greater forage variety than is found on ranges 
where wheat grasses predominate does not imply that the climax 
grass type should be grazed destructively with a view of fostering 
the establishment of a large variety of more or less transitory weed 
species. As a rule by far the biggest returns will be obtained from 
the lands by grazing the class of stock upon them which will most 
fully utilize the forage crop. Sooner or later the original stand of 
palatable plants may give way to other species, a condition which 
may fully justify the grazing of both cattle and sheep. 
SUMMARY OF THE WHEAT-GRASS CONSOCIATION. 
"Wheat grasses constitute the potential subclimax type in the high 
mountain summer range of the Wasatch Mountains. That is to say, 
lands occupied by a maximum cover of wheat grass support the high- 
est and most stable type that the soil is capable of supporting. Ac- 
cordingly, this type, when in a maximum state of productivity, affords 
most reliable evidence of the fact that the range has not been over- 
grazed, at least within a reasonable length of time. 
The wheat-grass type is composed of two general growth forms; 
namely, turf-forming and Lunch-forming species. The turfed type 
is characterized by roots which feed in the upper few inches of soil, 
v hich tends to bind the soil firmly. The bunch type is characterized 
by deeply penetrating roots, and since the space between the bunches 
varies from a few inches to several feet, the stand is rather open. 
