Arizona republican., 1911-01-24

year. This small range reserve has been under fence for ten years and
 during this time no stock of any kind | has grazed upon il. SO that these an
 nual plants have grown from year to year. whenever there was sufficient
 rainfall, dropped their seed to come up the following favorable season.
 These are all the classes of plants that STOW upon this land No peren- rial or root grasses. a large number of winter and summer annual species. besides shrubs of creosote bushes. cacti and scrub mesquite Now. after ten years of rest we find that one
 short-lived perennial grama grass has | increased considerably over the more | favorable parts of this and that is all that can be said for the native | perennial grasses. The black grama
 which formerly grew SO ahundantly among shrubs and of which the early settlers spoke so we'll has increased very little. and there are few more
 punches of galleta or cracker grass now than formerly The species of cacti known as chOllas l. e.. the tree like cacti. have much larger loads of fruit now than similar plants Lave which are growing just outside of the fence where the range cattle can get at them. In few instances some of the cacti have multiplied notably in numbers. The mesquite is about the same as on the outside of the fence The winter annual plants and the summer annual plants are no
 more abundant now inside the fence
 after ten years protection than they
 are on the outside of the fence under open range conditions. Of course. if you should walk over this range you
 would find more dead matter on the
 protected area than on the open
 range; as a matter of fact the open
 range is destitute of any plant cov-
 ering. But at the close of the next
 growing season there will appear
 about as much annual growth on the
 outside of the fence as within.
 Clearly the carrying capacity of
 this range has not materially in
 creased with ten years rest. and it
 would not pay tO fence such a range as this under any conditions. And
 believe this is true in general or all ranges of this class. Such land as
 this requires about 75 acres for every head of stock. I mean cattle. not sheep. l should have told you that the annual rainfall for this range is about r inches. divided equally between the winter and summer sea sons. And this is a good rainfall for the lower mesas. Now We have found that six inches of summer rain
 fall is not enough under seasonable conditions on the lower mesas to sup port growth of perennial or bunch grasses. except. of course. over the lower parts where inore or less storm weter collects from the higher ridges during tine torrential summer show CTS. Now this is the reason why the ShGIt-iiScd jeremiah grass which i spoke of som~ minute. ago increase oyer tne more favorable parts of this enclosure. My conclusions for hand ] ling this class of range country are ! the same as those of practical stock ! men of years experience. only II had tn learn from experiments and | they found out by practical experi- | ence with grazing animals. They are simply this. to graZe this land as 1 closely as possible each year. after | the seed crop has matured. but not | before. These annual plants can be i eradicated wholly by continuous close |