THE EXTERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN BISON. 427 



Bouteloua oligostacliya (buffalo, grama, or mesquite grass). — This re- 

 markable g»rass formed the piece de rSsistance of the bison's bill of fare 

 in the days when he flourished, and it now comes to us daily in the form 

 of beef produced of primest quality and in greatest quantity on what was 

 until recently the great buffalo range. This grass is the most abundant 

 and widely distributed species to be found in the great pasture region 

 between the eastern slope of the Eocky Mountains and the nineteenth 

 degree of west longitude. It is the principal grass of the plains from 

 Texas to the British Possessions, and even in the latter territory it is 

 quite conspicuous. To any one but a botanist its first acquaintance 

 means a surprise. Its name and fame lead the unacquainted to expect 

 a grass which is tall, rank, and full of "fodder," like the "blue-joint" 

 (Andropogon provincialis). The grama grass is very short, the leaves 

 being usually not more than 2 or 3 inches in length and crowded to- 

 gether at the base of the stems. The flower stalk is about a foot in 

 height, but on grazed lands are eaten off and but seldom seen. The 

 leaves are narrow and inclined to curl, and lie close to the ground. In- 

 stead of developing a continuous growth, this grass grows iu small, 

 irregular patches, usually about the size of a man's hand, with narrow 

 strips of perfectly bare ground between them. The grass curls closely 

 upon the ground, in a woolly carpet or cushion, greatly resembling a 

 layer of Florida moss. Even in spring-time it never shows more color 

 than a tint of palest green, and the landscape which is dependent upon 

 this grass for color is never more than "a gray and melancholy waste." 

 Unlike the soft, juicy, and succulent grasses of the well- watered por- 

 tions of the United States, the tiny leaves of the grama grass are hard, 

 stiff, and dry. I have often noticed that in grazing neither cattle nor 

 horses are able to bite off the blades, but instead each leaf is pulled 

 out of the tuft, seemingly by its root. 



Notwithstanding its dry and uninviting appearance, this grass is 

 highly nutritious, and its fat-producing qualities are unexcelled. The 

 heat of summer dries it up effectually without destroying its nutritive ele- 

 ments, and it becomes for the remainder of the year excellent hay, cured 

 on its own roots. It affords good grazing all the year round, save in 

 winter, when it is covered with snow, and even then, if the snow is not 

 too deep, the buffaloes, cattle, and horses paw down through it to reach 

 the grass, or else repair to wind-swept ridges and hill-tops, where the 

 snow has been blown off and left the grass partly exposed. Stock pre- 

 fer it to all the other grasses of the plains. 



On bottom-lands, where moisture is abundant, this grass develops 

 much more luxuriantly, growing in a close mass, and often to a height 

 of a foot or more, if not grazed down, when it is cut for hay, and some- 

 times yields 1£ tons to the acre. In Montana and the north it is gen- 

 erally known as " buffalo-grass," a name to which it would seem to be 

 fully entitled, notwithstanding the fact that this name is also applied, 

 and quite generally, to another species, the next to be noticed. 



