134 THE PLANT LIFE OF MARYLAND 



Reclamation. — In many places where the marshes arc of consid- 

 erable extent, all or part of the plant-covering' is mowed off yearly, 

 constituting the so-called marsh hay. That this crop varies greatly 

 in value is sufficiently evident when the variety of plants enumerated 

 in the foregoing pages is considered. Some of the species are use- 

 ful only for bedding, as Scirpus olneyi, others are useful for thatch- 

 ing, as Spartina polystachya, wbile a few, namely, the finer textured 

 grasses such as Distichlis and Spartina patens are fed to cattle. 

 The coarser grasses and sedges are quite inferior for this purpose, 

 though cattle will eat Spartina polystachya while it is young, and 

 in fact wander of their own accord down into the marshes to graze, 

 probably in order to satisfy their need for sodium salts. The value 

 of marsh hay for feeding purposes is questioned by many residents; 

 Mr. J. Key of Leonardtown showed the writer some cattle which 

 had grazed partly on the uplands and partly in the marsh, and they 

 were in excellent condition. It is a common practice in Southern 

 Maryland to burn off the surface of the marshes in the autumn; 

 it is claimed that this treatment improves the quality of the marsh 

 hay. The improvement seems to result from the replacing of a 

 growth of Scirpus olneyi by Spartina polystachya in the succeeding 

 year. This practice is not to be commended, for it destroys the 

 organic matter which has heen built up by the plants. 



From what has been said as to the superior value of Distichlis over 

 Spartina and Scirpus as a fodder plant, it appears that any method 

 whereby the first grass may be made to replace the others will increase 

 the value of the marsh land. It has been mentioned earlier that 

 Distichlis forms a zone behind Spartina, that is, in a drier situation. 

 This fact suggests that Distichlis may be made to grow on a tract of 

 marsh if this is drained. Experience proves the truth of this as- 

 sumption; Mr. Key has extended simple ditches through one of his 

 marshes and has in a few years seen the disappearance of the coarse 

 grasses and the coming in of the finer textured ones ; in other words 

 the marsh is fast being reclaimed. Some tracts of marsh undoubt- 

 edly lie too low for drainage by this simple means, being submerged 

 much of the time, but there are large tracts in the region which 

 might easily be turned into good hay-producing land, and this is 

 a matter of some importance in a section where hay is so scarce. 



