CHAPTER XVII. 



MEADOWS AXD MAKIXG HAY. 



The liav crop in the United States for 1S99, as re- 

 ported by the United States Census, taken in 1900, was 

 as follows : 



Tame and Cultivated grasses 30,605,316 tons 



Wild, Salt, Prairie grasses 13,904,206 " 



Alfalfa 6,222,568 " 



Millet and Hungarian grasses 4,223,500 " 



Clover 4,133,409 " 



Grains cut green for hay 3,262,957 " 



The above enumeration does not include w^hat is 

 designated as forage crops sown for forage and corn 

 stalks, and is submitted to indicate the relative eco- 

 nomic importance of the different classes of plants, as 

 grouped for the production of hay, at the time when 

 the census" was taken. From this table, the great rela- 

 tive importance of the tame and cultivated grasses, as 

 factors in producing hay, will be at once apparent ; 

 and it may be expected to increase relatively rather than 

 decrease, since the source of supply for wild hay will 

 gradually decrease until it will ultimately almost dis- 

 appear. The grains cut green for hay and the mil- 

 lets which are annuals, also furnish a relatively lara^e 

 amount of the hay used, the sum total being 7,396,366 

 tons. In 1S99, each of the following states produced 

 more hay from grains cut green than they produced of 



