220 FARM GRASSES OF THK UNITED STATES 



that the hay which ranks highest on the Denver mar- 

 kets, and known locally as South Park Hay, is neither 

 a grass nor a legume, but a sedge {Juncus balticus). 

 It grows on over-irrigated meadows in South Park, 

 Colorado, and in similar situations in other parts of 

 that State and Wyoming. Horses prefer it to any 

 other hay, and feeders consider it the acme of fine hay 

 for driving-horses. It is strictly a wild hay, cut from 

 volunteer growth on meadows that are irrigated too 

 heavily to permit tame grasses to grow. 



The amount of low-grade hay that reaches the mar- 

 kets is surprising to those not familiar with market 

 conditions. Leaving meadows down till they become 

 weed-infested accounts largely for this cheap hay. 

 The importance of renewing meadows before they be- 

 come weedy has already been dwelt on at some length. 

 An incident on one of the large hay markets, recently 

 witnessed by the writer, enforces this point. A com- 

 mission merchant had that morning received two car- 

 loads of hay, one of first-class quality, and one badly 

 mixed with weeds and volunteer grasses. The car of 

 good hay sold immediately at a good price. The other 

 car was passed by a dozen buyers, and finally sold for 

 just two-thirds the price of the other. There were 

 some fifty cars of low-grade hay on the same market 

 and no one wanted them, but there was a string of buy- 

 ers hunting for hay of good quality. 



MEASURING HAY IN THE STACK 



I^ack of facilities for weighing hay on many farms 

 renders it necessary frequently to resort to measure- 

 ments of the stack as the only means of getting the 



