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Bulletin No. 372 - The Nutritive Value Of Winter Range Plants In The Great Basin As Determined With Digestion Trials With Sheep, C. W. Cook, L. A. Stoddart, L. E. Harris

Christopher Cook

During the winter grazing seasons from 1946 to 1953, studies were carried on throughout the desert ranges of western Utah to determine nutritive content and digestibility of range forage plants.

These desert areas receive about 7 inches of precipitation annually and the vegetation consists, chiefly, of saltbush and sagebrush types.

The average floral composition of the desert areas studied was about 74 percent browse, 25 percent grass, and 1 percent forbs. However, on some areas there was more grass than browse and, on still others, large quantities of forbs were present, primarily Russian-thistle.

Digestion trials were carried out under normal …

Bulletin No. 385 - Comparitive Nutritive Value And Palatability Of Some Introduced And Native Forage Plants For Spring And Summer Grazing, C. Wayne Cook, L. A. Stoddart, Lorin E. Harris

Christopher Cook

From 1952 to 1954 studies were conducted on foothill ranges of central Utah to determine the forage production, palatability, and nutritive value of some of the more important native and introduced species used for spring and summer grazing.

Plants studied were four introduced wheatgrasses (crested, tall, pubescent, and intermediate) , four native grasses (western wheatgrass, beardless wheatgrass, squirreltail grass, and Indian ricegrass), and two introduced annual forbs (Russian-thistle, and smother weed).

Field digestibility trials were conducted to determine the nutrient content by the lignin-ratio technique. In addition, both sheep and cattle preferences were studied on areas where both introduced and …