GRASSES OF IOWA. 367 



inches. It is a valuable grass on the loess in western Iowa, 

 occurring abundantly on rather dry soils. The hay made from 

 it is of the very best quality. It cures readily, and even when 

 cut late in the season the leaves retain their freshness longer 

 than any other wild grasses. This is one of our best species 

 in the state. It is found quite widely distributed on sterile 

 hills, especially in the drift area. It is a rather stout, tufted 

 grass, from one to three feet high, and grows in bunches. The 

 leaves are flattened and long and the spikes are arranged 

 along the upper portion of the stem in a one-sided fashion. 

 This grass has been cultivated on the college grounds and has 

 made an excellent stand in a single season, producing a fine, 

 even turf from six inches to two feet high, and in the autumn 

 it had developed sufiiciently to produce from a ton to a ton and 

 a half of hay to the acre. It is certainly worthy of cultivation 

 in dry soils. Along the loess it aifords considerable pasturage. 



The Blue Grama {Bouteloua oligosfachya, Torr.) is more valu- 

 able than the former. It grows from eight to eighteen inches 

 high, varying somewhat wiih the seasons. It was much taller 

 on the average in 1896 than in 1895. As a rule, this grass sel- 

 dom exceeds a foot in height. It is endowed by nature with 

 great drouth-resisting qualities. It has been cultivated on the 

 college grounds, and when sown in early April or late March 

 had attained a height of eighteen inches before September 1st. 

 Its firm leaves are highly nutritious. 



Prof. Lamson-Scribner says: 



"This is one of the most abundant and most valued of the 

 Grama grasses, and extends from Wisconsin westward to Cali- 

 fornia, and southward into Texas and northern Mexico. It is 

 a perennial, six to eighteen inches high, its strong rhizomes 

 and numerous root leaves forming dense and more or less 

 extensive patches of excellent turf. In Montana it is known 

 as buffalo grass. It frequents the bench lands of that state, 

 growing at elevations from 3,000 to 4.000 or 5,000 feet, and not 

 infrequently covers wide areas. ' No other grass better with- 

 stands the tramping of stock, and it is unsurpassed for grazing 

 purposes. In the southwest it forms a large proportion of the 

 hay delivered at the various military posts and stage stations, 

 and is considered the best obtainable there. Like the true 

 buffalo grass, it cures during the dry season in the turf into 

 perfect hay, losing none of its nutritious properties. " 



*BuU. Div. Agros. 3:29. 



