LOCATION OF THE GEASS LANDS. 11 



THE LOCATION OF THE GRASS LANDS, 



The accompanying map (PI. I) indicates the general location of 

 the southern Alaska areas which are covered with grasses. These 

 areas diUer considerably in detail and are here discussed separately. 



KADIAK ISLAND. 



Kadiak Island, which lies off the mouth of Cook Inlet, is about 100 

 miles long by 50 miles wide. It is mountainous in character, the hills 

 rising more or less gently from near the seashore to heights of 1,000 

 to 3,000 feet. At the end of July, 1901, there was still considerable 

 snow at 2,000 feet (PI. IV) , but this is said to be quite unusual. This 

 island, like most of the Alaska coast, is much cut into by long, narrow 

 bays, into most of which flow streams. The flat lands lying at the 

 deltas of these streams are, as a rule, very heavily covered with 

 grasses (PI. II). The slopes also, up to an altitude of 1,500 feet, 

 are Avell grassed, except where there are thickets of alder or willow ; 

 but these slopes are usually too steep to utilize otherwise than by 

 grazing. The total area of these hillside lands is much greater than 

 that of the approximately level stretches, in the proportion of at least 

 20 to 1. 



On the hillsides the principal grass is bluetop {Calamagrostis 

 langsdorfii), which often covers large areas in a pure growth. This 

 Avas exceedingly fine on hillsides burned over in March, l)y which 

 means the old straw and moss were destroyed, thus permitting bet- 

 ter drainage and making the soil warmer. In such places this grass 

 is often 6 feet high. On the contrary, if the hills are burned over 

 in June the fire is likely to kill the grass roots as well as the moss, 

 with the result that fireweed usually takes possession of the ground. 



Other grasses than Ijluetop on the hillsides are relatively unimpor- 

 tant, though sometimes considerable areas of Siberian fescue occur, 

 and on the higher slopes are a number of low grasses of forage value. 



On the flat lands before mentioned the tall beach sedge {Carex 

 eryptocarpd) forms a broad fringe along the shores of the bays and 

 sloughs, especially on lands which are occasionally covered by tide 

 water. Back of this sedge, beach rye {Ehjmus mollis) forms a more 

 or less broad zone, often mixed Avith patches of a coarse bluegrass 

 {Poa glumark). In the still drier portions bluetop occupies the 

 ground almost exclusively. The three plants mentioned furnish the 

 great bulk of forage on Kadiak Island, and indeed on most parts of 

 the Alaskan coast, but the bluetop is more abundant than all of the 

 other grasses combined. 



Bluetop has slender stems and thin leaves, thus curing very readily 

 and making a sweet and palatable hay. Beach rye, on the contrary, 



