Circular No. 21.— (Agros. 58.) 



United States Department of Agriculture, 



DIVISION OF AGROSTOLOGY. 



[Grass and Forage Plant Investigations.] 



COOPERATIVE RANGE GRASS AND FORAGE PLANT EXPERIMENTS AT 



HIGHMORE, S. DAK. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



In the early part of the present year the Secretary of Agriculture 

 received a communication from Director Shepard of the South Da- 

 kota Experiment Station, asking the cooperation of the Department 

 with that station in a series of experiments with drought-resisting 



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grasses and forage crops with a view to finding varieties suitable for 

 use in the range regions. Through Professor Shepard the South 

 Dakota authorities made a proposition to furnish land for the experi- 

 ments and properly equip the Station, asking the assistance of the 

 Department of Agriculture in planning, instituting, and carrying on 

 the experiments. 



The proposition meeting the approval of the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture, Mr. Thomas A. Williams of the Division force was sent to 

 South Dakota with instructions to complete the arrangements for 

 cooperation and to assist the authorities of the South Dakota Station 

 in planning and instituting experiments for testing such drought- 

 resisting grass and forage crops as seem likely to be of value on the 

 northwestern ranges. 



The results of the work for the first season are most satisfactory 

 both as to the plan of cooperation and the tests undertaken. The 

 authorities of the South Dakota Experiment Station and also of the 

 State Agricultural College are doing all in their power to make the 

 work a success. The same can be said of the people of that section 

 who are interested in the question of forage supply. The cordiality 

 with which all parties have entered into this work, the representa- 

 tive character of the site selected for the Station as to both soil and 

 climatic conditions, ^d the practical nature of the experiments, give 

 every promise that the results accomplished will be of great value to 

 the people of the northwestern range region. 



Mr. Louis W. Carter, a graduate of the South Dakota Agricul- 

 tural College, was appointed special agent on the rolls of the Divi- 

 sion and placed in charge of these cooperative experiments and the 

 results of the work of the present season are appended. 



The grounds of the Highmore Cooperative Grass and Forage 

 Plant Experiment Station consist of one hundred and seventeen 

 acres, being that part of section eleven, town one hundred and twelve 

 north, range seventy-two east, lying north of the Chicago and North- 

 western Railroad. This land was deeded to the South Dakota Ex- 



