26 



CIRCULAR NO. 115, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



ern wheat-grass, slender wheat-grass, meadow fescue, tall fescue, 

 red fescue, redtop, orchard grass, Canadian bluegrass, and alfalfa, 

 both singly and in various mixtures. A few species have given good 

 results in pure stands, though the best results have come from certain 

 mixtures. The value of the different species is discussed in the fol- 

 lowing pages. 1 



BROME-GRASS. 



Brome-grass (Bromvs inermls) has been used with good success, 

 whether planted alone or in mixture with other species. This grass 

 is well adapted to the climatic conditions of the Northwest, and on 



Pig. 1. — A canal bank, showing western wheat-grass in the foreground and brome-grass 

 and western wheat-grass in the middle of the picture. 



account of its habits of growth it is well adapted to the particular 



purpose of soil binding. The initial growth is fairly rapid, so that 



the grass gets well established the first season. It endures drought 



well and is quite resistant to alkali. 



The growth of brome-grass is unhindered where the alkali is of the medium 

 grade (0.5 per cent). In fact, this grass can make excellent growth and seed 

 production where the alkali is medium strong (0.7 per cent), and it has been 

 observed to ripen some seed in the presence of very strong alkali (1.5 per cent). 1 



1 It should be understood, however, that the results here reported apply only to the con- 

 ditions under which the experiments were made and do not necessarily indicate that the 

 same species would behave similarly in other parts of the country. 



2 Kearney, T. II. The choice of crops for alkali land. D. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Farmers' Bulletin 446, p. 19, 1911. 



[Cir. 115] 



