114 RURAL CALIFORNIA 



its running out, which always attends a dependence 

 on annuals. It must be frankly admitted, how- 

 ever, that though good grasses which will withstand 

 protracted drought in some situations have been 

 found, they will not survive the summer in all loca- 

 tions. There are large areas of dry hills with shallow 

 soils which rapidly lose their moisture, either by 

 drainage or evaporation or both; and there are arid 

 plains with loose soils which cannot retain moisture 

 near enough to the surface to serve the purposes of 

 shallow-rooting plants. In such trying situations 

 even the hardiest perennial grasses thus far secured 

 will not live through the dry season and do not give 

 assurance of summer growth on dry hill and plain 

 area without irrigation. 



On the other hand, there are large areas of valley 

 and uplands in the northwest coast region and in 

 the mountain valleys in the northern part of the 

 State (see frontispiece and Chapter I) where rainfall 

 is abundant and the dry season relatively short; also 

 in the lowlands along the rivers of the interior val- 

 leys, where the soil-moisture is maintained by summer 

 overflow or by seepage, perennial grasses in consider- 

 able variety have established themselves. The grasses 

 which years of trial have shown to be best for mod- 

 erately dry lands in such situations are English and 

 Italian rye-grasses (Lolium perenne), orchard-grass 

 (Dactylis glomerata) , red- top (Agrostis), and 

 meadow soft grass locally called mesquite (Notholcus 

 lanatus), tall oat-grass (Arrhenatherum elatius). 



Mention of early introductions should include also 



