340 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



areas of the range in the absence of cnltivation. It 

 may yet 2>rove, however, that Russian brome and bhie 

 grama may be found able to supplant the grasses 

 growing in certain areas of the prairie where the for- 

 mer have in part succumbed to close pasturing. This 

 question is further discussed in Chapter XVIII. (See 

 p. 452.) 



For Wet Soils. — Soils, that are saturated with water 

 during any considerable portion of the year, are ill 

 adapted to the growth of grasses that are valuable, 

 when viewed from the standpoint of food j^roducing 

 properties. Those that are covered with water an- 

 nually for any considerable time have still lower adap- 

 tation for such production. The deeper the water that 

 covers, and the longer the period of such covering, 

 the less valuable is the gTass production that follows. 

 If better gTasses are to be grown, the lowering of the 

 water should first engage the attention of the grower. 

 Where this cannot be done, the work of improvement 

 is well nigh hopeless. Grasses and sedges that grow 

 under these conditions are usually coarse, low in nu- 

 tritive qualities and still lower relatively in palatabil- 

 ity. Some grasses, however, gTow in such situations 

 that may possess considerable feeding value. Such 

 is what is popularly termed blue joint (Calamagrostis 

 canadensis) which grows in certain of the swamps of 

 Minnesota, saturated in winter and ordinarily dry in 

 summer. Others are valuable for manufacturing. Such 

 is wire grass (Ca7^ex vulpenloidea) which grows in peat 

 swamps and others again are valuable only for litter. 



It is interesting to note the improvement that takes 



