116 Onk Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



at all. On the upper coast Hungarian brome has been favorably 

 reported as an early-winter growing grass with comparatively low 

 nutritive value, but is especially valuable because it will grow in poor 

 soil, it is especially suited to sandy pasture and meadow lands and is 

 quite resistant to drought. It is a perennial grass, reproducing by a 

 stout rootstock, which makes it somewhat difficult to eradicate when it 

 is not desired. It is desiralile to keep stock off the fields during the 

 first year to get a good stand. 



Black Medic. 



Jl'ill you kindly name the enclosed: also explain its 7'ahte as foraged 



The plant is black medic. It has been very widely distributed 

 over the State during the last few years. It is sometimes called a 

 new burr clover, wdiich it somewhat resembles. It is not very freely 

 eaten by stock and is apparently inferior to burr clover for forage 

 purposes. It is a good plant to plow under for green manure. 



Crimson Clover. 



About crimson clover in California. Has it proved satisfactory? If 

 so, can you give me data lioiv to plant, etc.? 



Crimson clover must be sown after frost, for it is tender. It 



will give a great show in June and July on low moist land. It is 



not good against either frost or drought. It has been amply tried in 

 California and proved on the whole of little account. 



California Winter Pastures. 



We have a great deal of pasture land on ivhich the native grasses 

 yield less feed each year. A great part of this land can be cleared of 

 brush and stone, ready for the plozv, but ivhat can zve sozv to take the 

 place of the native pasture? The ground in many places is not level 

 enough for alfalfa and in some places water is not available. Can zve 

 break up the land and sozi' pasture grasses as the farmers are exhorted 

 to do at the East? The annual rainfall is from 12 to 15 inches. 



The perennial grasses which they rely upon for pasturage in 

 the East and which will maintain themselves from year to year, will 

 not live at all on the dry lands of California, nor has investigation 

 of the last twenty-five or thirty years found anything better for 

 these California uplands than the winter growth of plants which 

 are native to them. Such lands should be better treated, first by not 

 being overstocked; second, by taking ofif cattle at the time the native 

 plant needs to make seed, because, as they are not perennial, they 

 are dependent upon each year's seed. After the plants have seeded, 

 the land can be pastured for dry feed without losing the seed. 



Of course, if one has land capable of irrigation he can grow 

 forage plants, even the grasses which grow in moist climates, like 

 the rye grasses, the brome grasses and the oat grasses, etc., which 

 will do well if given a little moisture, but it will be a loss of money 



