M. OLOMERATA, TRIN., MUlILENBEKdS C;RAS.S. is:j 



West for many yours as a valuublo wild oms tlieru aro to !>«• fouinl 

 Hcari'dy any reforences to its value in i)ul)li8ho(l hooks or reports 

 to which I liave access. Flint, iii his great and valuuhh^ work. 

 * Ctrasses and Forage Plants,' describes it and then remarks, 

 ' Of no agricultural value.' Dr. Dairlington. in his hook, •Amer- 

 ican Weeds and Useful IMunts,' <loea not even mention it ; hut 

 in reference to u eh^sely-allied species he says: *It aifords an 

 indilfcrent pasture in the hitter part <tf summer; hut it is not of 

 much worth.' Dr. Killel)rew does not nuMition it in his hook, 

 MJrasses, Meadows and Pastures.' Dr. V'asey. in * The Agri- 

 cultural fJrasses of the T^'nited States,' says, 'Specimens have 

 l)eon sent from Colorado and Kansas aiul recommended as an e\- 

 cellenc grass for hay.' 



'* ?row, chemical analyses show that Muhlenberg grass is liighly 

 nutritious. In the years 18T8 and 18T9, at my suggestion, ^[r. 

 W. K. Robbing, a graduate of the Iowa Agricultural College, 

 made analyses of this grass, with results which showed that in 

 Jiutritiousness it ranked with red toj) and blue grass, aiul, in 

 some instances, Timothy. More recent analyses by the govern- 

 ment chemist at Washington nnikc* a still better showing. Tak- 

 ing an average of the analyses I find the following results: 



** Timotiiy contains 4^ per cent of albuminoids. 



** Orchard grass contains 04 per cent of albuminoids. 



** lied top contains G| per cent of albuminoids. 



** Blue grass contains 8 per cent of albuminoids. 



"Muhlenberg grass contains IT 2-5 per cent of albuminoids. 



"That is, Muhlenberg grass is more than twice as nutritious, 

 weight tor weight, as blue grass. It is nearly three times as nu- 

 tritious as red top and orchard grass, aiul about four times as 

 nutritious as Timothy. Now I would not for a moment be un- 

 derstood as considering these analyses as settling the relative 

 merits of these grasses. It is well known, however, that the 

 analysis of a grass is one of the important factors in determining 



