82 A TEXT-BOOK OF GRASSES 



water of the comparatively few streams is supplemented 

 by wells, many of which are over 100 feet deep, and by 

 dams in the ravines or "draws" that catch and hold the 

 run-off from the storm water. The rainfall may come in 

 torrential storms and much of the water, instead of being 

 absorbed by the soil, runs off in the watercourses and is 

 lost to the area. The native vegetation has already been 

 described (Par. 23). 



113. Forage crops for the Great Plains. — Within 

 recent years a large part of the eastern half of this belt 

 has been converted into farms, and much of the native 

 sod has been placed under cultivation. As modern methods 

 for dry-farming come into more general use, and crops 

 especially adapted to dry regions are more widely grown, 

 more and more of the Great Plains will be utilized for the 

 growing of crops. In the western part of the belt irriga- 

 tion is practised in many places either by ditches from the 

 larger rivers, as the Platte and Arkansas, or from deep 

 wells by means of windmills or gasoline engines, or from 

 ponds that catch the storm water. The forage crops 

 adapted to this region are millet ( Par. 56 ) for the eastern 

 half of the belt; brome-grass (Par 31) for the region from 

 Nebraska to Montana and Minnesota; and the sorghums 

 for the region from Kansas to Texas. Kafir is grown for 

 grain and forage. It is usually planted in rows and culti- 

 vated. Saccharine sorghums, such as the Amber and 

 Orange varieties, are much grown for hay. For this purpose 

 they are sown thickly and mowed with a machine. 



The grains grown for the seed over the eastern and 

 central portion of the belt furnish also no inconsiderable 

 amount of forage. It is a common practice in the winter 

 wheat region to pasture the wheat fields in the fall and 

 early winter. The most important forage crop is alfalfa. 



