NATIVE FODDER PLANTS. 17 



times this strip is only a few feet wide, but on the low level lands 

 near the heads of fiords there are often large areas of it :3 to 5 feet 

 high (PL II, fig. 2). One patch of it examined had been cut the 

 year previous, and on this the stand was scarcely half as dense as on 

 neighboring pieces Avhich had not been cut. This observation ac- 

 cords with the experience of others. 



Where sand dunes occur on the coast, as at Kenai and near Yakutat, 

 beach rye is an important sand binder. In such locations it is often 

 very dilferent in appearance from that found in other situations, 

 the heads being short and thick. This is the result of infestation by 

 a parasitic worm. 



BJuegrass. — The true Kentucky- bluegrass {Poa pratensis) is com- 

 mon all along the Alaska coast, where it thrives to perfection. It 

 shows a tendency to occupy the ground where closely grazed, and 

 cattle exhibit a marked preference for it. Several closely allied 

 species also occur, and it is an important fact that they persist and 

 increase where other grasses disappear, which seems to insure the 

 permanence of pasturage of a high quality. 



Silver-top. — The very nutritious grasses known as silver-top 

 {Deschampsia cwspitosa and D. hottnica) occur in some abundance, 

 especially in gravelly soils, whether on the hillsides or near the sea- 

 shore. Owing to their stems being nearly leafless they yield but 

 little hay, but the numerous fine basal leaves furnish most excellent 

 forage. 



Siberian fescue. — Siberian fescue {Festuca altaiea) makes Large 

 tussocks, especially in gravelly soil and in open timber up to 1,000 

 feet elevation. In such locations it often makes a nearly pure growtli 

 It seems to be fully as nutritious as the well-known sheep fescue, 

 but is a much larger grass. 



Sedges.— Two tall species of sedge, Carex enjptocarpa and C. 

 sitchensis, in places make dense stands 3 feet high or more, especially 

 in wet soil; in the case of the former, more especially in tidal 

 marshes. Considerable quantities of this sedge were cut for hay 

 near Kadiak, and it is said to furnish excellent feed. These sedges 

 are both quite smooth and soft, unlike most others. 



Alaska lupine. — The blue-flowered plant known as Alaska lupine 

 (Lupimis unalaschensis) is quite tall, often 3 feet high, and some- 

 times occupies large areas almost to the exclusion of other plants. 

 It is thick leaved and rather fleshy, and is the only leguminous plant 

 that is really abundant in Alaska. Sheep eat it readily. Should 

 it prove palatable as well as nutritious to cattle the problem of a good 

 wniter ration for milch cows would be considerably simplified. Ex- 

 periments with it as silage, both pure and mixed with grass, are much 

 to be desired. 



29975— No. 82—0.5 m 3 



