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especially at tlie Walla Walla station, seemed to endure the hot, dry 

 weather perfectly. In addition to being one of the best native sand- 

 binders of the coast region, this grass gives promise of being of great 

 value for forage. Seed sown on the sand dunes of the Great Lake 

 region the past season made a good showing, indicating the possibil- 

 ity of introducing this grass into the sandy regions of the interior. 

 Indian millet {Eriocoma cuspidata), although not coining very 

 well from the seed, shows indications of being valuable as a sand- 

 binder, especially on relatively high and dry situations. Although 

 the forage is rather harsh, it is often eaten by stock which are espe- 

 cially fond of the rather abundantly produced seeds. 



Mr. A. B. Leckenby writes to the Agrostologist, under date of 

 December 11, 1899: 



I am delighted to tell yon that the Elymus arenarius is a grand siTccess, where 

 the water does not remain on it too long, as is also Elymus arenicolus and Ely- 

 mus flavescens. You would be delighted to see the grasses growing through seven 

 feet of drifting sand. The Elymus arenarius is particularly pleasing because of 

 its luxuriant growth. I planted about one acre with Elyiiius flavescens, Thurs- 

 day and Friday, with roots ijrocured from the Dalles. I am sending you by 

 same mail some roots of this same grass. 



Of the various saltbushes tested, Australian saltbush {Atriplex 

 semibaccata) has given the best results of any of the introduced 

 sorts, and white or sweet sage {Eurotia lanata) is most promising 

 of the native series. The latter grows naturally on the dry, sterile 

 soils of the ranges and adapts itself readily to cultivated conditions 

 producing an abundance of seed. It will undoubtedly prove of great 

 value for use in reclaiming the worn-out ranges. 



In November some very interesting observations were made at the 

 Walla Walla station regarding the behavior of different grasses and 

 forage crops toward the early frosts. A variety of brome grass 

 secured at Portland, Oregon, was not at all injured by the early 

 frosts and remained fresh and green, while nearly related varieties 

 from the Rocky Mountains suffered quite severely. Seaside blue 

 grass and other of the Poas, or blue grasses, showed little, if any, 

 effects of the frosts, while the grama grasses and the blue-stems 

 early became dry and brown. Bearded wheat grass {Agropyy^on 

 caninum) remained fresher and greener than either slender wheat 

 grass or western wheat grass. Giant rj'-e-grass {Elymus conden- 

 satus) was injured while other rye-grasses, such as Canadian rye- 

 grass and Terrell grass, were very slightly affected. Turkestan 

 alfalfa was not injured at all, while Oasis alfalfa from Africa suf- 

 fered considerably and the commonly-grown variety of alfalfa was 

 slightly injured. Such annuals as bur clover, lentil, and gram were 

 not injured, indicating their possible value for fall and early winter 

 grazing. Smooth brome and Oregon brome were not at all injured; 

 and were growing finely. 



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