Timely Hints for Farmers. 291 



THE AUSTRALIAN SALTBUSH IN ARIZONA. 

 No. 33, June i. 



The saltbushes of Australia are very numerous as would be 

 expected from the alkaline and arid conditions which prevail 

 over large areas of that island continent. Many of them have 

 been introduced into this country, and have been received with 

 varying degrees of favor in the several arid sections of the west- 

 ern United States. However, only one (Atrip/ex semibaccata) 

 has been universally appreciated. For this reason one is allowed 

 to speak of this plant as the Australian saltbush. 



Although spoken of as a "bush," it forms under favorable 

 conditions for its development, large quantities of quite succulent 

 forage which is readily eaten by either horses, cattle or sheep. 

 It is much less woody than the common "sages " of Southern 

 Arizona, to which it is closely related ; and furnishes a much 

 larger as well as a much more succulent growth. Like them it 

 is a perennial and therefore does not require reseeding except at 

 long intervals, unless it be pastured too closely. At the same 

 time, it produces an abundant supply of seed that germinates 

 readily in this region at any time of the year when there is suffi- 

 cient moisture and in any but our coldest weather. One plant has 

 been known to produce a "bush " one to two feet high and three 

 to five feet in diameter in a single year. When it first appears 

 above ground, it has two small elongated leaves at the extremity 

 of a short stem which is often tinged with red. In this stage it 

 closely resembles the troublesome pigweeds to which it is not dis- 

 tantly related. But it may soon be distinguished from these by 

 the subsequent leaves, which are somewhat oval in outline and 

 have sparsely toothed margins, as well as by the red pulpy truit 

 which is abundantly produced from August to December. The 

 accompanying illustration will give an excellent idea of the habit 

 of the plant. 



The experiments which have been conducted with this plant 

 in this Territory are quite encouraging, and at least warrant fur- 

 ther investigations. On the University campus at Tucson, where 

 the caliche comes within 12 to 18 inches of the surface of the 

 ground, it has made quite a respectable growth during the past 

 year without artificial watering. The conditions here give it 



