NEW OR ASSES FOR OLD STATIONS. 80a 



Tho sedges {C^jwrdrcw) uro mostly found on imirsnes, hiu u 

 few grow oil rather dry ground. Altliougli extensively past- 

 ured, cut and cured for hay in new eountries, they have been 

 quite uniformly condemned as utterly unworthy of cultivation. 

 They are nearly always much past their prime when cut for hay. 

 They are better when cured early. The writer thinks it not un- 

 likely that some of these sedges may prove valuable in certain 

 localities. Tho majority of sedges appear in limited quantity 

 often mixed with others which grow al)undantly. Some experi- 

 ments might very profitably bo made on tho sedges with refer- 

 ence to their value for pasture or hay. 



On this topic I glean tho following from the Country GvntU- 

 inaii of January, 188(1, contributed by my colleague. Prof. L. II. 

 Bailey: "At present there aro only three species, so far as 

 known, which possoss any decided merits. One is a native of 

 Thibet, affording fair grazing when grasses fall. Another is the 

 sand carex of Europe {Carcx. arenarui) which is largely groAvn 

 along exposed sea shores to liold the sand. The third species 

 occurs along the Columbia lliver, where it furnishes a valuable 

 hay and pasture, and is known as the hay carex. It has ])een 

 received from several reliable sources. It grows rapidly in the 

 early spring, and matures its fruit or seeds just before the annual 

 rise of the rivers cover it. As soon as the water recedes it springs 

 lip again, but does not fruit, this time yielding an excellent hay. 

 Hundreds of tons are cut from this species alone. 



**' Specialists have studied this j^lant quite carefully, and it has 

 been referred to no less than five distinct species. It is probably 

 the same as a Scandinavian species {Carex acuta var. prolixa) 

 although that plant is not known to possess any economic value." 

 Tho following is from Dr. C. E. Bessey, of Kebraska: ''For 

 many years it has been a !<. vorite subject of investigation with 

 me to attempt to determine whether any of our native grasses 

 "wore worthy of being brought under cultivatioii. In this inves- 



