44 



Giant rye-grass is a tall, coarse species, growing in large clumps, 

 found in sandy or gravelly soil of meadows and hillsides. It is too 

 harsh and woody to be relished by stock, and is seldom eaten except 

 when young, or in winter, when other forage is scarce or when the snow 

 is deep. Owing to its habit of growing in such dense bunches it is 

 difficult to cut for hay. However, when better grasses are scarce it is 

 fre(iuently cut early, and the hay is said to be of fair quality. When 

 a meadow becomes thickly seeded to this grass and is cut or burned 

 closely for several seasons a fairly even sod is produced, and such a 

 meadow is of considerable value, particularly when, as is usually the 

 case, the be.tter grasses can not be grown because of adverse soil or 

 climatic conditions. Such meadows are much more common on the 

 west side of the Continental Divide than on the east. During the sum- 

 mer of 1896 a number of such meadows were seen in southwestern 

 Montana and eastern Idaho, and in 1897 several were seen in north- 

 western Wyoming, This grass usually ripens a large amount of seed, 

 and stock gets a great deal of nonrisliment by eating the seed-heads in 

 fall and winter. Horses are said to be particularly fond of them. 



On the eastern edge of this region Virginian lyme-grass {Elymus vir- 

 giniciis) is quite common in some localities, but is more valuable for 

 early pasturage than for hay. 



Among other native grasses that may be mentioned as of value in 

 native meadows, but which only occasionally occupy any prominent 

 place in them, are bearded wheat-grass (Af/rajn/ron rivhard.soni), in 

 rather dry meadows; the cord grasses {Spartina cynosuroliles and 8. 

 gracilis)^ in sloughs and low places, the latter in alkali situations, par- 

 ticularly; slough-grass or wild timotliy {Beckmannia erucaformis), 

 along sloughs and irrigation ditches and in wet meadows, becoming 

 very abundant in many parts of the region; and reed canary-grass 

 {PhcUaris arundinacea), abnmhmt in places, and particularly valuable in 

 wet meadow lands and sloughs, 



MOUNTAIN MEADOWS. 



The mountain meadows, so numerous in portions of this region, differ 

 considerably in tiie composition of their vegetation from those of the 

 lower valleys and plains discussed in the previous pages. Here th^ true 

 meadow-grasses form the predominating element, replacing the wheat- 

 grasses of the lower jneadows; the brome-grasses {Bromus spp.), seldom 

 seen at the lower altitudes, are here abundant; the tussoclc-grasses 

 {DeHchampsUi spp.) are plentiful everywhere in wet, boggy situations; 

 and the blue joints {Calamagrostis spp.), alpine timotliy {Phleum alpi- 

 num), mountain foxtail {AJopecurus occiclenfaHs), the wild oat-grasses 

 {Danthonia spp.), rough-leafed bent {Agrostis asperifolia), and red fes- 

 cue [Festuca rubra) are all valuable members of the vegetation of these 

 meadows. 



Of the blue grasses (/'oa spp.) several of those mentioned in tlie lore- 

 going discussion are common in the mountain meadows, namely, Wyo- 



