30 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS. 



risky to plow the ground, for in narrow bottoms through which large 

 volumes of water now at certain seasons of the year the breaking of 

 the land would result in all loosened portions being carried away by the 

 first freshet. After this, gullying- would follow very rapidly. In a 

 state of nature the sedges ( ( 'art x spp.) and the native clovers form very 

 effective soil binders in these places, and to disturb them without at the 

 same time introducing other plants which serve the same purpose would 

 be hazardous. The feed produced by these sedges, however, is rather 

 small in quantity and often poor in quality, especially when hay is desired. 

 The rancher therefore introduces timothy and redtop and supplants 

 the native forage plants and soil binders without disturbing the soil. 

 There appears to be no established time for seeding. Often the seed 

 is scattered on the snow. Sometimes it is sown in the fall and at 

 other times in the spring, apparently with equally good results. 

 Along the Okanogan River and Cow Creek, in Washington, as well as 

 in the Warner Mountains, in California, many fields of timothy were 

 seen which were established in this way. (PI. VII, fig. 1.) Some 

 fields yield as much as two and a half tons per acre. Along the Okan- 

 ogan and other streams in north central Washington there is a great 

 deal of brush, especially willow, alder, and wild rose. The practice 

 is to cut and grub these out, burn the brush, and scatter timothy and 

 redtop seed at the first favorable opportunity. Of course much more 

 seed is required when the land is not plowed, and it usually takes 

 several years to secure a good stand. Along Cow Creek some meadows 

 established twenty years ago on sod are in reasonably good condition 

 to-day, although they have been cut for hay and pastured during the 

 winter every year. The Grundlach Live Stock Company, whose hold- 

 ings lie between Smoke Creek and the Black Rock deserts, in Nevada, 

 follows the practice of running a clod crusher over its meadows in the 

 spring after the cattle are taken off, in order to break up the manure 

 which would otherwise be raked into the hay the following season. 

 Alsike clover sown with redtop and timothy here seems to thrive 

 better than red clover, and timothy is in time run out by redtop. 

 Neglected and improperly drained meadows are injured very much by 

 the encroachment of sedges and rushes, with salt grass and small cord 

 grass {Sparti/na gracilis) appearing in the more alkaline portions. 



The amount of timothy and redtop seed scattered on uncultivated 

 land in this region is very great, some large holders, such as the 

 French-Glenn Live Stock Company, on the Dunderand Blitzen River, 

 and Babcock & Benson and P. H. Schnebly, in the AVenatchee Moun- 

 tains, using seed in ton lots. The two last-named holders are just 

 inaugurating their experiments and have secured no results, but the 

 first has much hay land established in this way. and its operations in 

 draining swamp lands will result in a very large increase in its 

 meadows in the near future. 



