108 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



grown, groves of hickory will also supply an almost unfailing har- 

 vest of nuts. 



The Hazel Nut ( Corylus Americanus), is widely distributed over 

 the State. It grows here from four to seven feet high. The nuts 

 have been as much of a favorite with the Indians as they are now 

 with the children of the white settlers. 



CHAPTER X. 



WILD GRASSES.* 



The Most Valuable ones of Nebraska, with Notes on Their Perpetua- 

 tion, and the Disappearance of the Buffalo Grass. Origin of our Flora. 



VTEBRASKA is remarkable, among other things, for its wild 

 1M grasses. They constitute everywhere the covering of the 

 prairies. Even where old breaking is left untilled, the grasses vie 

 with the weeds for possession, and often in a few years are victori- 

 ous. Every close observer, passing through the State, in summer, 

 must notice the great number of species, and their vigorous growth. 

 I have in my collection 149 species of grasses that are 'native to the 

 State. Of the sedges so closely related to them, there are also at 

 least 150 species. Of course there is a great difference in the value 

 of these grasses. Some of them are seldom or never touched by 

 cattle, while others are sought out by them at all seasons. The fol- 

 lowing, so far as I have observed, are the most valuable: 



Sorgum nutans, Bouteloua hirsuta, 



Andropogon furcatus, Bouteloua curtipenclula, 



Andropogon scoparius, Bouteloua oligostaclmi, 



Andropogon Virginicus, Festuca ovina, 



Buchloe Dactyloides, Poa serotina, 



Sporobolus heterolepis, Stipa viridula. 



It is impossible to give a correct estimate of the proportions in 

 which these grasses are found in Nebraska, as they vary a great 



* First published in the New York Tribune, with the following note: " We take pleasure 

 in introducing to the readers of the Tribune Prof. Samuel Auyhey, of the University of Ne- 

 braska, an earnest, enthusiastic and thoughtful student, who is most esteemed where best 

 known. In this, his initial article, he does not write from compilation or hearsay. He has 

 been over nearly every square mile of the territory in question, some portions of it many 

 . \Ed. Tribune.'" 



