The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1907-10-19
RESTOCKING The RANGES.
Serious Problem as Viewed by State
Veterinarian of Washington.

Serious Problem as Viewed by State
Veterinarian of Washington.
During the past few weeks DR.. 8. B.
Nelson, state veterinarian of Washing
ton has spent considerable 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."
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 SO absorb
ing TO stockmen.
zone Of the serious problems now
confronting the stockhnen of this state
il 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
bunck srass 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, CT
semi bare, condition The retaining
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 were 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 were not
fenced, but were held as summer range
by sheepmen who practically controlled
them. / 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. was
also much surprised to see that in
places that had been protected for a
less number of years, the heavy burches
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 a bunch Of
two-yesr -old grass from among a num-
Der OF the older punches. In looking
into theis question discovered how 1t
was that these ranges had been re-
stocked.
'The sheep are kept on these winter
ranges from the time they come out Of
the mountains In the fall, during Sep.
TENDER and early October, until after
lambing, and o 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 il
gets older becomes tougher, and the
sheep do not like it 30 well. By the
latter part of April and early in May
the sheep prefer the many weeds, espe
j ciaiiy sunfoweIs, never touching bunch
grass at all. Many, many times dur.
ing my trips through these counties,
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 we're areas of sunhowers, they
. would eat the flowers perfectly clear
, wherever they went.
"From the first to e~fifteenth o
June the sheep are taken into tn,
] mountains and kept until the latte
, part OF September. Now when til,
i she ~ are brought back in September
. the bunch grass has seeded, the seet
being scattered over the ground. TIL,
fall rains seem to soften the buncl
grass, making 1t tender so that tn
sheep eat 1t greedily. In this way, b,
! eating the early shoo.s before the gras
goes to seed, and then eating this ma
ture, semi-cured grass after 1t has gon
to seed, the seed is saved on the groun,
and resown, and the stand of buncl
grass Is continually increased.
"1his has demonstrated to me yer,
Q strongly, that II men owning larg
a areas OF grazing land expect to kee
Q their ranges up to the present stand
9 ard, or even increase the stand {
I bunch grass, that they must Of necef
a sity protect the bunch grass at Leaf
a every other year, during its seedin
d time; that is. from the time the see
begins to form until the mature seed
are shattered on the ground. / al
convinced that the problem Of restocl
ing the ranges may to q very large 9,
: tent be solved by fencing the grain
lands. and, at intervals, resting them.