26 Bulletin 827, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 
Without the destructive annual fires the soils of the cut-over lands 
and the distribution of grasses would have presented a different 
aspect; and since the damage done is apparent, immediate steps 
should be taken to prevent fires. However, occasional fires under 
proper control may be used to remove accumulations of wire grass 
and to check the growth of brush. 
SEMI-IMPROVED PASTURES. 
For convenience of discussion in this report, stump land which has 
been fenced, cleared of underbrush or down timber, and protected 
from fire, is spoken of as semi-improved pasture, since these are the 
first steps for pasture improvement in the logical order in which 
they should come for natural improvement of the range. Very little 
work toward improving pastures has been done until the last few 
years. Owners of large tracts of land who have started in the 
cattle business have begun some pasture- improvement work, but, ex- 
cept in very few instances, they have not made progress enough to 
demonstrate its final value. On cut-over land, stumps ranging from 
10 inches to 2 feet in diameter average about 50 to the acre, and 
these stumps, together with the crowns and unmerchantable timber 
left after logging operations, occupy much space on which no grass 
can grow. Land not closely grazed immediately after the removal 
of the timber is quickly taken up by a second growth of blackjack 
oak, scrub oak, and pine saplings, which shade the ground and also 
occupy considerable space. 
The cost of removing stumps is prohibitive for cheap pasture on 
large areas, but " down " timber is cleared from the land by piling 
and burning or by marketing as firewood in near-by towns. Second- 
growth timber is removed by cutting with axes, but the oaks sprout 
immediately and require recutting the second or third year. In 
some cases goats and sheep have been used successfully in checking 
the growth of sprouts. Land fenced and cleared of down timber 
and second growth is usually protected from fire by burning around 
the edges or by keeping watch for fires and extinguishing them. 
These methods effect an immediate improvement in the pastures 
by reducing waste space and shade. In addition, volunteer lespedeza 
and carpet grass make their appearance and improve the pasture 
rapidly. Confining the cattle by fencing means closer grazing, and 
with close grazing and trampling wire grass and broom sedge are 
checked and carpet grass and lespedeza take their places. Eapid 
improvement in the carrying capacity and quality of the pastures 
has been observed in many places on limited areas when these 
methods were used, and the improvement of the pastures, especially 
by protection from fire, shows great future promise. 
