Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-02-11
RANGES ARE DECLINING
SERIOUS FALLING OFF IN CARRY
ING CAPACITY OF WESTERN
GRAZING LANDS,

That serious decline in the carrying
capacity of vast areas of western graz
ing lands, due largely to the fact that
stockmen fail to give the range plants
a chance to keep growing can be rene
died without closing these areas to
cattle and sheep, is the statement made
by the department of agriculture in a
bulletin recently issued ON range i'm
prOvement. Excessive grazing in the
spring before the forage crop is mature,
and such grazing in continued year af-
ter year, says the department, are the
main causes Of range deterioration.
On the national forests, the depart
ment points out, where the government
is doing away with these evils and
stock is handled under government
regulation, the range lands have i'm
proved to point where it is again
possible to market large numbers OF
beef and mutton animals directly from
the range,
In the "free for all" period of early
days, the department goes on to say,
the most palatable forage plants were
so closely cropped that they were un-
able to develop the necessary plant
food, and so literally starved In ad.
dition, the roots were frequently in
iured by trampling or killed by expo
sure. AS a result the best kinds of
vegetation grew weaker from season to
season, and where the practice of early
and close grazing was continued, the
range at last became practically de-
nuded.
The vegetation which furnishes the
grazing crop has much the same growth
requirements as farm crop. No far
mer who hopes to realize the best re-
turns from a permanent hay meadow,
III is stated, would think of harvesting
the crop as soon as it is tall enough
Ito cut, regardless Of whether or not it
is mature. Nor would he Craze perm.
anent pasture closely from the time the
growth begins until it ceases, for he
knows that this will result finally in
killing it out And since climate and
soil conditions over much Of the west
em grazing lands are less favorable to
plant growth than those on the average
farm, even greater care must be exer.
cised in utilizing the range crop than
is necessary with that on the farm.
The remedy suggested for range de-
terioration is system Of deferred
grazing. Under such plan an over.
grazed portion of the range sufficiently
largo to supply the forage from the
time of seed to maturity until the end
Of the grazing season, is protected from
stock until the seed crop has matured.
Upon maturity Of the seed crop the
forage is grazed during the first sea.
son, but not to the extent of injuring
seed plants, The same area is pro
tected in the same way during the sec
ond and, if necessary, subsequent sea
sons, or until the new plants have been
securely established When the area
has been thoroughly reseeded II can be
again grazed early in the season, and
second area, large enough to accommo-
date the stock from the time Of seed
ripcniug to the end of the season, is
protected until the forage is mature
BY this method of alternating late
grazing from one area to another, weak
eucd vegetation can recover its vital.
hout the need of having the land
closed to grazing the entire year
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