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7,000 to 8,000 feet or more. This ability of timothy to establish itself 

 and thrive at comparatively high altitudes makes it of special value 

 for a large i)ortioii of this region. Speaking' in this connection Mr. 

 W. S. Coburu, of Delta County, Colo., says "timothy grows to perfec- 

 tion up to an elevation of 9,000 feet," and Mr. T. P. McDonald, of Carbon 

 County, Mont., says "alfalfa aud clover do well below the 4,500-foot 

 level, but above that altitude timothy is the most successful." 



RBDTOP. 



Af/rostis alha. 



This grass stands very close to timothy in its importance as a 

 meadow grass for this region. Its cultivation is less general than that 

 of timothy, however, being more strictly confined to the lower mountain 

 valleys and better irrigated localities, and it is much more generally 

 grown in Montana than in either Wyoming or Colorado. Like timothy, 

 it is becoming well established in the native meadows and waste places. 

 It thrives best on quite moist bottom lands, and is especially valuable 

 on meadow lands liable to overflow. It is a common practice to sow 

 this grass in irrigated native meadows to supplement the native spe- 

 cies. It occupies the low marshy places and resists. the encroachments 

 of sedges and rushes better than timothy or the common native grasses. 

 Though usually grown in connection with other grasses or with clovers, 

 it makes a fine meadow when grown alone under proper irrigation. 

 One of the finest redtop meadows ever seen by the writer was on a large 

 horse ranch on the Gray Bull Eiver, Wyoming. About 80 acres of the 

 grass were standing at the time of the visit (August, 1897), and some 

 had already been harvested. The land was the common sage-brush 

 land of the valley, and had been given but little cultivation before being 

 seeded down, but was well irrigated. The field was " as even as a 

 floor," and as the mower passed along, it was noticed that the grass 

 came well up along the sides of the horses. Almost all the cultivated 

 land on this ranch was devoted to this crop, which is fed to fine-bred 

 horses. 



KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS. 

 Foa pratensis. 



The principal use of Kentucky blue grass in this region is for lawns. 

 With irrigation fine lawns can be made almost anywhere, if the land is 

 not too strongly impregnated with alkali. The great difficulty often 

 experienced in getting a good stand of this grass is one of the chief 

 drawbacks to its culture here. The seed as sold in the markets is too 

 often so poor that the farmer fails to get a good stand for his first sow- 

 ing and gives up in disgust. Then, again, it takes some time for the 

 grass to form a good sod, and the average Western farmer is too impa- 

 tient for immediate results to wait for it. ifevertheless this grass is 

 becoming quite abundant in many of the older settled localities and is 

 gradually working its way into the meadows and pastures. Together 



