of native plants have been discovered which promise to be of great 

 value as sand-binders, and some of them also as sources of forage. 

 Among the more important of these native sand-binders are sea- 

 side, or Astoria, blue grass {Poa macrantha) ; sand blue grass {Poa 

 leckenhyi) ; sea lyme grass {Elijmus arencunus) ; yellow lyme grass 

 {Elijmus flavescens); small sand lyme {Elymiis m^enicolus), simi- 

 lar to the preceding; and a sand-binding sedge {Car ex macro- 

 cephala). Other grasses that are being tested as to their value as 

 sand-binders in this region are big sand grass {Calamovilfa longi- 

 folia), Marram grass {Ammophila arenaria), Bermuda grass (C^w- 

 odon dactylon), and Johnson grass {Sorghum halapense). 



EXPERIMENTS AT NORTH YAKIMA AND WALLA WALLA. 



In the experiments undertaken at North Yakima and at Walla 

 Walla, a large number of grasses and forage plants have been tested 

 as to their ability to withstand drought, and, in many cases, also 

 have been grown under irrigation. As far as possible these stations 

 have been used in the production of seed to be distributed to the dif- 

 ferent points in the region where their value under existing conditions 

 can be tested. At North Yakima the land used in these experiments, 

 although rich, is quite rocky, and hence difficult to cultivate, and 

 the general conditions are much less favorable than those which pre- 

 vail at Walla Walla. At the latter place, the soil is a rich, volcanic 

 ash, and in fine condition for the various operations connected with 

 cultivation, and is so graded that irrigation may be resorted to when 

 necessary. During the present year a considerable amount of seed 

 has been pi'oduced, particularly at the Walla Walla station, and this 

 will be used in our investigations for the coming year. 



VARIETIES. 



In the experiments made at Walla Walla during the past year 

 about 150 varieties of grasses and forage crops have been tested. 

 These include most of the commonly cultivated sorts, varieties 

 recently introduced by the Department of Agriculture through its 

 special agents in foreign countries, and many native species, partic- 

 ularly those of the Rocky Mountains and the region east of the Cas- 

 cades. Most of the seeding was done during the first half of April. 



Of the varieties tested some 25 or more have shown themselves to 

 be adapted to the conditions which prevail in the Northwest and 

 have in most cases given excellent results without artificial watering 

 of any sort. These include varieties adapted to all the various uses 

 in feeding stock ; varieties suitable for the ordinary meadows and 

 pastures and also those adapted for use on the drier uplands. They also 

 include annual varieties suitable for use in short rotations and varie- 

 ties adapted to soils strongly impregnated with alkali. The common 



