THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



177 



starts slowly and requires considerable time to form 

 a sod, but when formed the sod is compact and 

 tough. It is not a deep-rooting grass and hence re- 

 quires frequent irrigation. It grows best on well- 

 drained soils. During the early and late parts of 

 the season it is a good producer but does not grow 

 vigorously during the hottest weather. 



Bromus Inermis or Smooth Bronte Grass is not 

 as well known as some other varieties but is very 

 valuable. It starts growth early in the spring and 

 grows late, forming a tough sod. It is one of the 

 deepest rooting grasses and hence a good resister of 

 drouth. It produces a great amount of very palat- 

 able feed. 



Orchard Grass. This well-known grass has 

 proved to be one of the very best. It starts early 

 and grows vigorously through the hot weather. It 

 does not form a close, compact sod, but grows in 

 bunches. It is comparatively deep rooted. 



Timothy is usually grown for hay but is a fairly 

 good pasture grass. It is a medium and late grower, 

 forming a sod that 

 is not as close as 

 blue grass nor as 

 open as orchard 

 grass. In pastures 

 it is not quite so 

 permanent as some 

 other varieties. 



Meadow Fescue 

 is sometimes called 

 English Blue 

 Grass. It forms a 

 sod much like tim- 

 othy. It is a fairly 

 good producer and 

 is well liked by 

 the animals. 



Red Top is shal- 

 low rooted a n d 

 forms a very 

 t o u g h, compact 

 sod. Because of a 

 smaller production 

 it is not as valu- 

 able on good irri- 

 gated land as the grasses previously mentioned. It 

 is particularly adapted to low, wet, poorly-drained 

 soils and for such conditions is the best grass we 

 have. 



Tall Meadow Oat Grass starts readily, early and 

 late, and produces a great amount of feed. It is 

 comparatively coarse and not as readily eaten as 

 most other grasses. 



English or Perennial Rye Grass forms a medium 

 sod and is a fairly good producer during the first 

 season. It is easily choked out by other grasses and 

 after the second or third season is of no value. 



Italian Rye Grass forms the same sort of sod as 

 the English but is not as hardy nor as permanent 

 and hfc'nce is of little value. 



Canada Blue Grass has proved the least valuable 

 of all grasses tested. It produces only a scant, in- 

 different growth and furnishes very little feed. 



Because of the fact that alfalfa often causes 

 bloat in sheep and cattle it is not advisable to sow 



Just a corner of one of the pear orchards in the Grand River valley oi Colorado. 



any at all in the pasture. The following clovers 

 have been tested separately in pasture mixtures : 

 White Clover. This variety has given very good 

 results. It fills in between the grasses, grows vigor- 

 ously, and adds to the palatability of the pasture. 

 Through its power to store up atmospheric nitro- 

 gen by means of the bacteria on its roots it helps 

 to feed the grasses and increases the fertility of the 

 soil. If the proportion of clover is large it may 

 cause bloat but with only a small amount we have 

 had no trouble. 



Alsike Clover. Under ordinary conditions this 

 variety has given much the same results as white 

 clover. It will grow on much wetter land, however, 

 and is admirably adapted to the low, poorly-drained 

 soils. 



Red Clover has been the least desirable of the 

 three. It does not fill in among the grasses as well 

 or start as quickly when eaten off as the others, and 

 it is more apt to cause bloat. 



As will be noted in the foregoing discussion, 



the various grasses 

 have different char- 

 acteristics. There 

 is no single one, 

 however, that fur- 

 nishes all of the 

 conditions that are 

 desirable in an ir- 

 rigated pasture. 

 For a number of 

 reasons a mixture 

 of grasses will be 

 found more satis- 

 factory than any 

 one kind seeded 

 alone. 



Cultivated 

 grasses may be di- 

 vided roughly into 

 two classes ac- 

 cording to their 

 habits of growth ; 

 first, those grasses 

 which spread out 

 by means of creep- 

 ing root stalks and form a close, compact sod, of 

 which Kentucky Blue Grass and Smooth Brome 

 Grass are good examples ; second, those which tend 

 to grow in clumps or tufts as Orchard Grass. 



If a pasture is seeded to the first kind alone the 

 sod will soon become so filled with the creeping 

 root stalks that it will be too tough and compact 

 and will fail to produce as much feed as it should. 

 On the other hand, it is apparent that if composed 

 of only the tuft-forming grasses the sod will be 

 rough and uneven. The soil between the bunches 

 of such a sod would not be used but would be 

 tramped by the animals and washed by irrigation 

 water. 



If a mixture of the two types be used a sod can 

 be secured that will cover the ground completely 

 but still not be so tight and compact as to become 

 sod-bound. 



The various grasses show considerable differ- 

 ence in time of growth. Since with the aid of irri- 



