18 AURICULTUKAL (iKASSt^S OF 3I0NTANA. 



slu'lter. Til tho vullovs the standing grass curi's, with nil tho 

 nutritive ijrojx'rties liold within the tissues, atT<trtling excellent 

 liay for winter gnizing. 



The region abounds in a great variety of species, the wliolo 

 number (liscovere(l l)eing one hundred and twelve. Some are 

 rare; numy Inive little value, while one or two cnn only be 

 treated as troublesome weeds. 



I?room-sedge, lirooni-grass, or lieard-grass {Aii(lr<>piiii<iii xnt- 

 p(triifs), is widely dispersed froju Maim* to Texas, ami west to tho 

 Ikockv ^Mountains. Tt grows in drv, tliin, or sandv soil, und 

 tlins serves a good purpose in furnishing fair forage where little 

 else will grow. In some i)arts of the ^lissouri river and Kocky 

 Mountain regions this grass is very a])undant, and is highly 

 prized, both for hay and for grazing. Tn the Kast it is looked 

 upon as comj)aratively worthless. 



Ifeed ("anary-grass [Phahtris (trumUnacca) grows naturally 

 in Montana in wet i)laces, along streams, etc., and ad<ls a little 

 to the grazing. 



Mountain Timothy {AJopecurns pratcnna, rat', alpcstris). 

 This grass is <piite common at elevations of from five to seven 

 thousand feet above the sea, growing in rich soil along mountain 

 streams, and frequenting the so-called 'mountain meadows.' 

 In the large, open park, a few miles west of Xeihardt, there are 

 many acres covered with this grass, and when I passed through 

 the place, Angust 14th, it was being harvested for hay. It 

 yields a large bulk of fine, long, bright-colored hay, and is highly 

 valued. It has tall, slender, leafy cnlms, three feet high, with 

 ail oblong head, similar to that of Timothy, whence its local 

 name, but the heads are shorter, thicker, and conspicuously 

 hairy. For tho more elevated meadows of the Rocky Mountain 

 region and for northern latitudes, there is no grass which so 

 highly commends itself as this, both for hay and for summer 

 grazing. It is closely allied to the European !>[eadow Foxtail. 



