41 



hay, but with a proper supply of water all afford good yields of excel- 

 lent Lay. In the valleys Kentucky blue grass, in either its native or 

 introduced form, is perhaps most commonly seen, and is becoming more 

 and more abundant as the country is settled up and the native meadows 

 brought under irrigation. 



Of the "bunch-grass" Poas, P. hucMeyana (fig. 10) is apparently the 

 most widely distributed, being, if anything, more common on the dry 

 uplands than in the valleys, and hence x)erhaps more properly to be 

 regarded as a pasture grass. 

 However, under irrigation it be- 

 comes less densely tufted, the 

 leaves are broader and more 

 luxuriant, and the yield of hay is 

 good. Smooth bunch-grass (P. 

 Uevigata) and pale bunch-grass 

 (P. lucida) are more often found 

 in the lowlands and are excellent 

 meadow grasses. They are most 

 abundant in the middle Rocky 

 Mountain region. 



Wyoming blue grass is often 

 found with Kentucky blue grass 

 in moist meadows and along 

 banks of streams, but it ascends 

 higher uj) the mountains, where 

 it is frequently abundant in open 

 pine and spruce woods, some- 

 times occurring in dry situations, 

 but generally where the soil is 

 well supplied with moisture. It 

 is especially abundant in parts 

 of Wyoming and central Mon- 

 tana, usually occurring at an al- 

 titude of from 0,000 to 8,000 or 

 9,000 feet, but sometimes ascend- 

 ing to 10,000 feet. In the rich 

 moist soil of "burnouts" in 

 pine and spruce woods it makes 

 a magnificent growth. 



Bench-land spear-grass (see fig. 11) is quite generally distributed 

 throughout this region. It usually occurs in rather dry meadows, 

 often in patches of considerable extent, but never forming a close sod, 

 as does Kentucky blue grass. The forage is of i)oorer quality than that 

 furnished by the latter and the yield is lighter. However, the grass is 

 one of the earliest of the native species and thrives better on dry soil 

 than Kentucky blue grass. Under cultivation it would probably be 

 more valuable for pastures than for meadows. 



a -J, 



Fig. 10. — Buncli-grasis {Poa huckleyana) 



