CHAPTER XVII. 



MEADOWS AND MAKING HAY. 



The hay crop in the United States for 1899, as re- 

 ported by the United States Census, taken in 1900, was 

 as follows : 



Tame and Cultivated grasses 30,605,316 tons 



Wild, Salt, Prairie grasses 13,904,206 " 



Alfalfa 6,222,568 ' 



Millet and Hungarian grasses 4,223,500 



Clover 4,133,409 vl 



Grains cut green for hay 3,262,957 " 



The above enumeration does not include what is 

 designated as forage crops sown for forage and corn 

 stalks, and is submitted to indicate the relative eco- 

 nomic importance of the different classes of plants, as 

 grouped for the production of hay, at the time when 

 the census was taken. From this table, the great rela- 

 tive importance of the tame and cultivated grasses, as 

 factors in producing hay, will be at once apparent ; 

 and it may be expected to increase relatively rather than 

 decrease, since the source of supply for wild hay will 

 gradually decrease until it will ultimately almost dis- 

 appear. The grains cut green for hay and the mil- 

 lets which are annuals, also furnish a relatively large 

 amount of the hay used, the sum total being 7,396,366 

 tons. In 1899, each of the following states produced 

 more hay from grains cut green than they produced of 



