334 FIELD CROPS 



Agropyron diver gens, or bunch grass, is also worthy of 

 cultivation on the dry lands. Farther east, in the Rocky 

 Mountain region, western wheat grass, Agropyron occi- 

 dentale, is grown to some extent for hay production. Quack 

 grass, Agropyron repens, is sometimes recommended for hay 

 or pasture, but its numerous running rootstocks make it 

 so difficult to eradicate that it should not be sown where any 

 other grass will grow. None of the other wheat grasses have 

 this characteristic, and they may be sown without fear that 

 they will become pests. 



424. The Fescues. Meadow fescue, Festuca pratensis, 

 and tall fescue, Festuca pratensis elatior, are grown in 

 certain limited areas as hay grasses. In the timothy region, 

 they can not compete with that grass, for they do not yield 

 as well and the seed is more expensive. Meadow fescue is 

 grown quite commonly in northeastern Kansas, while both 

 tall and meadow fescue are grown in eastern Washington and 

 northern Idaho. These grasses are often recommended for 

 sowing in meadow and pasture mixtures, but they do not 

 seem to have any definite place in this country. In England 

 and quite generally throughout Europe, they are among 

 the most valuable grasses. 



425. The Rye Grasses. English rye grass, Lolium 

 perenne, and its near relative, Italian rye grass, Lolium 

 italicum, are among the most popular and important grasses 

 in Europe, but they have never come into favor in the 

 United States. They are grown to some extent on the 

 Pacific Coast, but elsewhere they are little known. They 

 do not yield heavily, but the herbage they produce is so 

 palatable and nutritious that they appear to be worthy of 

 more extended trial as meadow grasses where there is an 

 abundant rainfall. 



