NOTES ON THE BRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS OF 

 IOWA, NEBRASKA, AND COLORADO. 



FIELD NOTES AND GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



One of the most important industries in tlie States of Iowa, Nebraska, 

 and Colorado is that of stock raising, and couse<{iiently the forage and 

 the conditions of the native forage plants are subjects of vital interest 

 to the farmer. In order to study these conditions several of the more 

 important points in Iowa west and northwest of Ames were visited at 

 various times in 1895 and 189G, and in the latter year collections and 

 observations were made in the vicinity of Omaha, Lincoln, Crete, Hast- 

 ings, and ]\IcCook, in Nebraska, and also in northern and central Colo- 

 rado in the vicinity of Fort Morgan, Greeley, Fort Collins, Golden, 

 Denver, and Colorado Springs. Some time was spent in the foothills 

 and mountains west of Fort Collins along the tributaries of the Cache 

 la Poudre, at Clear Creek Canyon west of Golden, at Cheyenne Canyon 

 not far from Colorado Springs, and on Pikes Peak. 



IOWA. 



GENERAL FEATURES OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN IOWA. 



West of Ames there are several important valleys — the Des Moines, 

 Coon, and Boyer; northwest of Carroll there are the Little and Big 

 Sioux, the Maple, and the Floyd. Along the Coon and Des Moines 

 rivers the country is rough, and but little hay is cut, though nuich of 

 the timber land is used for pasture. Along the Boyer, Maple, and 

 Floyd rivers the immediate banks contain some timber, but the flood 

 plains are open and covered with a luxuriant growth of grasses. 



The forage question in central Iowa is very different now from wha4; 

 it was fifteen years ago. At that time considerable areas of unbroken 

 sod still remained. Now the wild prairies have almost ceased to be a 

 factor in the production of hay. The extensive prairies have given way 

 to cultivated fields and pastnres. Small unbroken areas occur here and 

 there, but these are chiefly confined to the small drainage basins 

 between hills, and exist largely because in times of considerable pre- 

 cii^itation these depressions are too moist for proper cultivation. The 

 Boyer and Maple valleys are noted for the large croi)S of wild hay 



