Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1907-10-18
Restocking THE RANGES.
Serious Problem as Viewed by State
Veterinarian of Washington.

during the past few weeks DIR. 5. b.
Nelson, state Veterinarian of Washing
ton has spent considera BILE time in
Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and
Asotin counties, examining many
bands of sheep that are kept in these
counties, as to their general health,
with particular reference to ''scab. I"
Recently, in discussing things Of in
terest he had observed in going from
one sheep camp to another, DR.. Nelson
came to the problem Of restocking
the ranges" which is now 80 absor b.
ing to stockmen.
Zone Of the serious problems now
confronting the stockmen of this state
lie the question of restocking the ranges
with the original bunch grass" he
said. "Old settlers tell US that when
they came here forty years ago, the
bunch grass was from two to three feet
tall, and very heavy. The promiscu-
GUS grazing Of the stock over the ranges
has put them In their present bare, Or
semi-bare, condition The reclaiming
OF these vast tracts OF grazing land is a
problem to which the agricultural de-
partments of various institutions have
given great deal OF attention.
Some seven or eight years ago l
rode over these same ranges and found
the bunch grass practically all gone in
many places. This condition could
be observed for miles and miles as the
ranges we're ridden over. Recently /
was very much astonished is passing
through these same regions to find that
thousands of acres had been fenced,
while equally large tracts WeTs not
fenced, but were held as summer range
by sheepmen who practically controlled
them. l observed that these ranges,
bare several years ago, were, at the
time Of my visit, covered with luxur-
liant growth Of bunch grass, standing
from eighteen to thirty inches high. In
places the grass was SO heavy that 1t
could not be moved for hay. l was
also much surprised to see that in
places that had been protected for a
less number of years, the heavy buIches
of grass were scattered, and between
the big punches, punches from two to
three years old were we'll started. 1t
was very easy to pick out q bunch Of
year-old grass from among a num-
Der of the older punches. In looking
into theis question discovered how it
was that these ranges had been re-
stocked.
"The sheep DE kept on these winter
ranges from the time they come out of
the mountains in the fall, during Sep.
tember and early October, until after
lambing, and short time the follow
ing spring. Early in the spring the
sheep eat the young, tender bunch
grass, but the sheep are we'll scattered
"a good herder nearly always keeps his
sheep scattered) the bunch grass as it
gets older becomes tougher, and the
sheep do not like it 80 we'll. By the
latter part of April and early in May,
the sheep prefer the many weeds. espe-
cially sunfowers, never touching bunch
grass at all. Many, many times dur
ing my trips through these counties, l
saw bands Of from fifteen to twenty
five hundred sheep grazing in bunch
grass from one foot to eighteen inches
high and never touching it. They were
picking out the little weeds in between
the punches Of grass, and wherever
there were areas Of sunhowers, they
would eat the flowers perfectly clean
wherever they went.
From the first to the fifteenth OF
June the sheep are taken into the
mountains and kept until the latter
part OF September. Now when the
sheep are brought back in September,
the bunch grass has seeded, the seed
being scattered over the ground. The
fall rains seem to soften the bunch
grass, making it tender so that the
sheep eat 1t greedily. In this way, by
eating the early shoots before the grass
goes to seed, and then eating this ma.
ture, semi-cured grass after it has gone
to seed. the seed is saved on the ground
and resown, and the stand Of bunch
grass is continually increased.
"1his has demonstrated to me very
strongly, that II men owning large
areas Of grazing land expect to keer
their ranges up to the present stand
ard, or even increase the stand O.
bunch grass, that they must Of neces'
sity protect the bunch grass at leas
every other year, during its seeding
time; that is. from the time the seef
begins to form until the mature seedl
ere shattered on the ground. an
convinced that the problem Of restock
ing the ranges may to very large ex
tent be solved by fencing the grain,
lands. and, at intervals, resting them.