GRASS AND HAY 153 



maritimum) . A marsh plant common along the Atlantic coast and 

 westward across the continent in saline, marshy, and boggy places. 

 It is eaten by cattle and adds value to the native herbage of wet pas- 

 tures. Sedge (Fimbristylis laza). Leafy perennials growing in 

 low wet meadows in the South. Cattle do not fatten on lowland pas- 

 tures, but make good "feeders" and "stackers" for topping off with 

 corn or cotton-seed meal. Sheep-lick (Guillemina illecebroides) . 

 A prostrate, matted annual with minute leaves which are bright 

 green above and cottony beneath. Very common on the ranges in 

 New Mexico and Chihuahua. It is related to the tumbleweeds. 

 Sheep lick it up like salt. Shepherd's Purslane (Androsace occiden- 

 talis) . This low annual, only 1 or 2 inches high, grows abundantly 

 on the ranges in the southwest. At the base there is a thick rosette 

 of short leaves that lie flat on the ground. Each root sends up 10 to 

 20 short flower stalks bearing umbrels of small flowers. Shepherd's 

 purslane comes up through the snow early in March. Sheep eat it as 

 eagerly as they would salt, and fatten where it is at all abundant. 

 The ground is often covered with a close mat of the green leaves. 

 Although the quantity of forage is comparatively insignificant, this 

 plant is highly prized by sheepmen on account of its earliness and 

 abundance. Shoe-string (Psoralea melilotoides) . This and other 

 species occur on dry pasture lands in the Soutnern States, and are 

 said to be eaten by all kinds of stock. There are about a dozen 

 species native to the prairie region, which add value to both pasturage 

 and hay. Because of their tough, slender roots they are commonly 

 known as "shoe-strings." Silvery Sage (Artemisia cana). A small 

 shrub, 2 to 3 feet high, with slender branches and long, entire leaves, 

 grayish-white in color. Of the sagebrushes this is the best forage 

 plant. In quality it probably does not differ materially from com- 

 mon sagebrush, but in proportion to area occupied it produces much 

 more forage. It is found chiefly in the alluvial soil on the banks 

 of streams on the foothills and high plains of the West. Its forage 

 value is due to the production each year of a vejy large number of 

 long, slender, tender shoots, which are browsed in winter. Smooth 

 Milk Pea (Galactia regularis). A low, prostrate or twining, peren- 

 nial bean with nearly smooth stems, trifoliate leaves, and purple 

 flowers in interrupted or nodding racemes. Common in sandy 

 woods from New York to Florida and Mississippi. It makes an excel- 

 lent summer forage for milch cows, and adds value to woodland pas- 

 tures. 



Southern Clover (Trifolium amphianthum) . A low, slender 

 stolpniferous clover, occurring in Louisiana and Texas upon the most 

 sterile soils. It spreads rapidly and reseeds .itself .freely, producing 

 a large amount of early pasturage. It begins to blossom about the 

 middle of May. It is one of our most promising native clovers. 



Sotol (Dasylirion texanum). A rich fodder plant of the lily 

 family, which occurs throughout western Texas and northern Mexico. 

 It grows abundantly in the great bend of the Rio Grande and west 

 of the Pecos and is highly esteemed, producing fodder for sheep in 

 the winter season and during periods of extreme drought. The 



