36 



Twenty-eight packages of the seed of short-awned brome grass were 

 distributed in the spring of 1899. It is, as yet, too early to receive 

 reports from the experimenters. Two, however, have been received, 

 recording very promising results. 



Mr. Thomas Ashcrof t, Ashcroft, Harding County, S. Dak. : 

 A loamy soil was plowed and harrowed. The seed was sown with a few oats about 

 the end of May, 1899. The oats were cut in September, but the grass was not high 

 enough to add anything to the bulk of the hay, although it was nice and bunchy. I 

 was well pleased with it. 



Prof. D. A. Saunders, Brookings, S. Dak.: 



The seed was sown in drills in April, 1899. Only a few rows were planted. It 

 made a good growth and stood the drought perfectly. 



SIDE OATS GRAMA (Bouteloua curtipendula) . 



(Plate IV, fig. 1.) 



A tall, stout-stemmed, tufted native grass, 1 to 3 feet high, with 

 tough, perennial, fibrous roots and long pointed leaves. The inflores- 

 cence consists of a number of short reflexed spikes which are arranged 

 along the upper portion of the stem. Its range extends from New 

 Jersey westward to the Rocky Mountains and southward, through 

 Texas, into Mexico. AVhere abundant, it is said to make good hay and 

 pasture which is readily eaten by stock. Side oats grama has not yet 

 been extensively introduced into cultivation. In the grass garden of 

 the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, this grass made a 

 luxuriant growth all through the dry summer weather of 1899, pro- 

 ducing excellent hay. An aftermath T inches high, of fair quality for 

 pasturage, was produced, which was not injured until severe frosts on 

 November 28, when the leaves all dried up. Our special agent at 

 Walla Walla, Wash., reports that it has done well there, producing 

 an abundance of seed, and that it is quite as valuable as the blue 

 grama. In the hills of central and western Iowa and parts of Nebraska 

 it is highly valued by farmers for hay, as it cures readily, and even 

 when cut late in the season the leaves retain their freshness longer 

 than many of the other wild grasses in those regions. The growth of 

 this grass should l)e encouraged, as it will withstand long periods of 

 drought, and is so deeply rooted that it is not easily injured by graz- 

 ing. Since 1896, 71 packages of the seed of side oats grama have been 

 distributed and 19 reports have been received from the experimenters. 

 This large diflerence between the number of packages distributed is 

 due to the fact that 60 of these were sent out in 1896, when no report 

 blanks were sent out and no requests made for a report on the trials. 

 Out of the 19 reports received 3 were failures, 7 unsatisfactory, and 9 

 good. The following are the most favorable reports that have been 

 received: 



