PRAIRIE GRASS. 85 



way transit. Before railways were introduced into Illinois the 

 expense of transport was so great, that no farmer, unless he 

 lived near a large town, could cultivate any kind of corn prof- 

 itably. Stock farming was then the most remunerative kind 

 of husbandry, and the men who have become wealthiest in the 

 State have made their money by stock farming. We shall 

 now therefore devote a few sentences to the value of the differ- 

 ent kinds of grass and provender produced in Illinois. 



The prairie grass shoots up fresh in the month of May, and 

 continues green and succulent till August. All kinds of stock 

 thrive on it during this period. Cattle, which have been care- 

 fully wintered, and are turned out upon it in good condition, 

 will become quite fat. Milch cows yield well upon it, and Me- 

 rino sheep also thrive. After August it shoots up, and becomes 

 comparatively hard and wiry. The most forward stock should 

 then be placed on " tame " grass, but growing cattle of all 

 kinds may be kept on the prairie till November. In August 

 and September it is usual to cut as much prairie hay as may be 

 requisite for winter provender. This is got very cheaply. I was 

 told by a large stock-master that three teams a day, one cut- 

 ting with a machine, one raking, and one stacking, might in 

 these two months save as much hay as would winter 1000 head 

 of cattle. I do not think that the natural prairie grass is 

 nearly thick enough on the ground to maintain so much stock 

 on a given extent of land, as our good pasture land in Eng- 

 land. But at present that is not a question of much importance, 

 inasmuch as unenclosed prairie can be had in most parts of the 

 country for nothing, and when the population becomes dense 

 enough to occupy all the prairie lands, these natural grasses will 

 have disappeared and have given place to corn and cultivated 

 grass. 



The grass most generally preferred is the blue grass (Poa 

 pratensis), which is indigenous on the limestone lands of 



