24 FIELD WORK OF DIVISION OF AGROSTOLOGY. 



{Fhjmus canadnmst), prairie June grass {Kaicrui cristata), and tlie beard grasses 

 (Anilropngon spp.) is recommended, and an instance is cited of an excellent pasture 

 of western wheat grass having been secured in this manner. 



Small portions of Bulletin No. 12, by the same author, relate to this 

 region, extracts from a report on work by Dr. Griffiths in western 

 South Dakota, in 1897, ))eing given. 



Mr. .Tared G. Smith, during his connection with the Division, did 

 field work in Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota, besides having 

 made a special study of the forage pro])lems of the region during a 

 long residence in Nebraska, a portion of which time he was connected 

 with the agricultural experiment station of that State. The results 

 of his work were embodied in an article published in the Year Book 

 of the Department of Agriculture for 1895, entitled "Forage condi- 

 tions of the prairie region.'' After a general consideration of the 

 subject, in which the vast area of the region is referred to and the pre- 

 vailing physical conditions and agricultural products mentioned, a 

 discussion of the most prolita])le crops to be grown is considered. 



The necessity for a more di\'ersified S3^stem of agriculture is pointed 

 out, and the greater profit to ))e derived by growing less corn and wheat 

 and more grass and cattle is clearly shown. In this connection he saj^s: 



It has been demonstrated, ]>oth by experiment and practice, that the farmer who 

 sells beef, pork, and mutton, that he has ijroduced from corn and grass raised and 

 fed on the farm, makes more money per acre of his land and per dollar of his capital 

 than the one who grows only wheat or corn or cotton. 



The following quotation, which gives a comparison between the 

 present and past condition of the prairies, is of interest: 



The prairies in their wild state were (-overed with the richest possible grass flora. 

 There was no similar region that had so many useful species and so few poisonous or 

 injurious ones. Almost any square mile of the whole extent of territory could fur- 

 nish in one season 50 kinds of grasses and native forage plants, grasses that would 

 make from 1^ to 2 tons of hay per acre as rich as that from an Old World meadow. 

 It was a magnificent legacy to the rancher and the farmer. To the one it promised 

 food for a million cattle; to the other it proved the golden possibilities of a soil that 

 would bring forth bountiful harvests. But within the last thirty years all this has 

 changed. We can no longer point to our broad prairies and say that the natural 

 forage conditions here are the best in the world. Hardly an acre remains anywhere 

 east of the ninety-seventh meridian that will still yield its ton and a half of i)rairie 

 hay. There is hardly a square mile of prairie sod that will produce 30 kinds of 

 native wild grasses and clovers ])er annum. 



The superior qualities of the more important wild species is pointed 

 out, especially their ability to endure drought, freezing, and flood. 

 The futility of attempting to replace the native species by introduced 

 ones is also clearly demonstrated. The beard grasses {A?idroj:)ogon 

 fiircatns (PI. V) and A. nutans) are dcscri))ed, their great value for hay 

 and their nutritive qualities given. Other important species discussed 

 arc switch grass {Panivuni virgatuw)^ western wheat grass {A</r<>2>yi'on 



