118 Nebraska State Horticultural Society. 



WILD BARLEY. 



Here we have a cereal of which we have not only several wild 

 species of the genus to which it belongs (Hordeum), but we have also 

 a closely allied genus (Elyimis), containing a number of species, sev- 

 eral of which are likely to repay efforts to improve them. It is un- 

 fortunate that the English name, which is usually applied to the 

 grasses of this genus is "Wild Rye," for instead of being closely related 

 to the rye (Secale) it is indeed referred, not to the sub-tribe Triticeae, 

 but to the Elymeae, which contains the Barley grasses, including the 

 cultivated species (Hordeum sativum).. In this related genus Elyiiius 

 there is a common, tall-growing perennial wild grass, Elymus canaden- 

 sis, to which we ought to apply the name "Wild Barley," and which 

 will certainly repay cultivation. In its wild state it is from two to five 

 feet in height, and it produces barley-like heads four to twelve inches 

 in length, filled with a great number of cylindrical grains, which, as 

 in cultivated barley, are adherent to the chaff. The probable advantages 

 of introducing this barley are the perennial habit of the plant, the 

 stouter stems, and the much larger and more productive heads. 



Among the wild species of American plants there are many which 

 have a considerable forage value. Thus in a recent paper on "The 

 Grasses of Nebraska," published in the Annual Report of the Nebraska 

 State Board of Agriculture for 1904, I said, "it is interesting to note 

 that of the one hundred and fifty indigenous species listed above, fully 

 one hundred and thirty have more or less value for forage." In this 

 great number, which would be greatly increased by taking the whole 

 country, there must be many which will repay cultivation. I will at 

 this time call attention to but two out of all this number, both belong- 

 ing to the tribe of Grama Grasses (Chlorideae), characterized by having 

 their heads one-sided, that is, with the two rows of spikelets arranged 

 on one side of the axis. Here is where we find the true Buffalo Grass, 

 as well as most of the other grasses to which this name has also been 

 applied upon the Great Plains. 



BLUE GRAMA. 



This slender, fine-stemmed grass (Bouteloua oligostachya) varies 

 in height from six to twenty inches in its wild state, but under slight 

 cultivation it has been increased to two feet or more. It is palatable 

 and nutritious, and constitutes a considerable proportion of the "v/ild 

 hay" obtained from certain localities in the West. Experiments made 

 upon it at the Nebraska Experiment Station show that it is a promising 

 grass lor introduction in the drier regions of the Great Plains. 



