The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-01-10
TO RESEE]Dl THE RANGES

Move Of Railroads For the Good
of Western Plains.
MATTER OF VAST IMPORTANCE.
Plan to BE Tried II to sow Three
Thousand Acres to Different Gra..e.
Proposed to Begin the Work EARLY
Next Spring.
It has just been given out by railroads
with headquarters in Omaha, Neb., that
q plan is now on foot which contem-
plates the ultimate r%eseeding of all the
western ranges, says the st. Louis Post
Dispatch. The preliminary portion Of
the scheme, itself a work Of great mag
nitude, involves extensive experiment.
Ing with the cultivation Of different
range grass seeds with a view to deter
mining those best suited to the purpose.
This proposition is one of great sig
n1fcance and many qualifications.
Should it be carried to a successful is
u the ranges of Utah, Nebraska, WV
oming, Montana, Nevada and Idaho
will be vastly affected. If the proper
grass plant can be found, the different
railroads interested in these states will
go to great expense to further the
plant.
The railroads expect the government
to help promote the scheme as soon as
they show the natter to be practical.
The different states to be benefited will
also be asked to contribute a share of
the general expense incurred in carry
ing the plans to maturity.
The men who are at the head of the
plans declare the scheme for reseeding
the ranges to be of more Importance to
the country than irrigation, because the
former will if carried out be far more
extensive in it's scope and in the bene-
fits resulting from it's adoption. The
territory which can be benefited by ir-
rigation is limited because of the inabil-
1ty to secure more than a certain
~ VI "uLCl llOIu CClld1u SlEGdulS.
The territory to be benefited by reseed-
ing is only limited by the extent of the
ranges of the west.
The entire plan is said to be so we'll
mapped out hat the actual working
out of the first step will begin with the
early spring. r. G. Judson, industrial
agent of the Oregon Railway and Nav
igation company. is said to be slated
for the experimental part which will be
Of the experimental farm of his road
at Walla Walla, Wash, and is already
making careful preliminary tests along
the line suggested.
Western ranges have been very much
impoverished and injured by over
crowding Of herds in the past few
years. Sheep particularly have been
the cause of the trouble, as they are
very destructive to grasses. What they
do not dig out with their sharp teeth
they punch in with their equally sharp !
hoofs, and if punched beyond a reason
able limit they can entirely destroy all
growth except the sage grass.
AS a result Of the deterioration of the
range in many places it now requires
two and three times as many acres to
provide for a given number of cattle
as formerly. The railroads expect by
.reseeding to so improve these ranges
that they will provide for a larger num-
Der than, originally.
For the conduct of the experimental
part of the work the following plan has
been determined upon. A spot contain
ing some 5000 acres will be fenced off
in som centrally located range. This
will be divided into thirty plots for the
trying out Of as many different grasses.
The central idea will be to find some
grass which will be permanent, luxu-
RANT and hardy. Seeds from all over
the world will be used, and many from
Africa and South America have al
ready been received.
When the correct grass is found,
the government and states will be cali
ed upon to actively cooperate with the
railroads to reseed the plains. The gov
eminent will be asked to make a large
appropriation for the purchase and
sowing of The seed throughout the
range country and the state will be
asked to provide for state lands every:
where. i
All Of this will mean an enormous
work, but each passing year renders
it more imperative. The greatest part
of the work will be the protection of
that part of the country reseeded until
the new grass has sufficient start to
maintain itself. This is q vast nroh.
lem, and the government will be called
upon to bring it's authority to bear in
the matter.
Saved by Her Poodle.
Miss Margaret Tolle of Litchfield.
III mos tho m.,na4 ~ IL n..a:a ~