2O4 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



this continent, has the merit of growing quickly and vigor- 

 ously into hay. Its palatability is not so high relatively as 

 that of timothy, owing to a somewhat bitter principle found 

 in the hay, and to a greater extent in the pasture and to the 

 coarseness of stem and leaf. Nor is it so easily cured as 

 timothy, while it takes greater injury from rain. In feed- 

 ing value it is scarcely equal to timothy, especially for 

 horses, but like timothy it should be fed in conjunction with 

 leguminous foods. 



Western rye grass, frequently called slender wheat 

 grass, has special adaptation for the prairies of the West 

 and the Northwest, and more particularly for areas too dry 

 for growing other grasses at their best. It is native to 

 much of the prairie region, and under cultivation will pro- 

 duce large yields of hay. The hay is very easily cured, but 

 it is not so much relished as timothy or' Russian brome, ow- 

 ing in part at least to its woody character, but it will furnish 

 hay under cultivation on soils too dry for the growth of 

 other cultivated grasses. Its uses are almost identical with 

 those of timothy (see p. 200). 



Kentucky blue grass is not a good grass to furnish fod- 

 der. Because of the fine and dwarfish habit of growth, the 

 yields are relatively small and unless cut with much prompt- 

 ness at the proper stage of growth, it becomes so dry and 

 woody as to be little relished. Its habitat will ultimately 

 embrace nearly all the tillable areas of the United States. 

 It is very easily cured and may be fed in about the same 

 way as timothy (see p. 200). It is seldom cut for hay ex- 

 cept when it forms a part of another hay crop. 



Canadian blue grass, like the Kentucky variety, does 

 not give large yields, but it produces more valuable hay, es- 

 pecially for horses. It has so much of body to it, as it were, 

 that it weighs heavily. When the conditions for growth 

 are not really favorable, this grass may frequently be grown 

 with profit for hay. Like all the grasses, when cured it has 

 highest adaptation for feeding horses, especially when at 

 work. 



