1 62 FAKM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



ington, and northwestern California. Along the 

 Pacific Coast west of the Cascade Mountains orchard- 

 grass thrives remarkably well, and this is one section 

 in which it vies with timothy in a timothy region. 

 The worst disadvantage which it possesses in this sec- 

 tion is its earliness. In all the region west of the 

 Rocky Mountains the rains fall mostly in winter, 

 while the summers are dry. West of the Cascades in 

 Oregon, and more particularly in Washington, orchard- 

 grass is frequently ready to cut before the spring rains 

 are over, and it is therefore not always possible to cure 

 the hay. Timothy comes on about ten days later, and 

 thus stands a better chance of finding favorable haying 

 weather. This objection does not hold east of the 

 Cascades and in the Rocky Mountain region. In the 

 Mountain States orchard- grass is much prized as a 

 companion to alfalfa. It matures with the first cut- 

 ting of alfalfa, and improves the quality of the hay. 

 It is also a valuable grass to mix with alfalfa for pas- 

 tures, greatly reducing the risk from bloat, and it has 

 no tendency to spread and choke out the alfalfa. 



Orchard-grass occurs sparingly throughout the 

 timothy region, but is nowhere an important grass in 

 that area, except in a few small sections previously 

 mentioned. It is used considerably in New England 

 and adjoining States as a constituent of meadow and 

 pasture mixtures, and probably deserves to be much 

 more generally used- for pasture purposes all over the 

 Northern States. 



Orchard-grass seed, as found on the markets, is 

 usually of good quality. It weighs about 14 Ibs. per 

 bushel. When grown for seed, it yields ordinarily 15 



