﻿32 BULLETIN 4, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



mountain meadows, moist parks meadowlike in character, and moist 

 alluvial bottoms along streams. Soils of coarse physical structure 

 so readily lose their water content through percolation and evapora- 

 tion that in normal years the introduced seedling plants are almost 

 invariably killed before the end of the first growing season. 



In addition to the fertility of the soil the character and density 

 of the native vegetation will help to determine what lands may 

 profitably be seeded. Ordinarily seeding should not be attempted 

 where the perennial native vegetation, such as a grass association, for 

 example, covers about 60 per cent of the surface, for not only is the 

 soil in poor condition to receive the seed, but the introduced species 

 can rarely replace or compete with the more hardy established vege- 

 tation. Most of the moister and poorly drained mountain meadows 

 are well vegetated with marsh grasses and succulent sedges, rushes, 

 and weeds. It is often highly desirable to replace this type of vege- 

 tation with cultivated forage plants, owing to the low palatability 

 and nutritiousness of the native species. But because of the dense 

 and matted soil surface, a condition often coupled with sour or acid 

 soil, few cultivated species have chances of becoming established in 

 such habitats. 



SPECIES RECOMMENDED. 



On lands of medium moisture conditions and of average soil fer- 

 tility no other species has given as uniformly good results as timothy. 

 This plant can be introduced at the lowest cost of any of the highly 

 desirable species; it gives a better yield under a diversity of range 

 conditions than any species experimented with, and when once estab- 

 lished it will withstand moderately heavy grazing relatively well. 



In habitats of average moisture conditions where timothy flourishes, 

 smooth brome grass, perennial and Italian rye grasses, and Kentucky 

 blue grass, in the order named, are found to give good results. In 

 the moister situations, especially on the poorly drained lands where 

 the soil is inclined to be acid, redtop is far superior to any species so 

 far tried. It will also do well in many situations where timothy 

 thrives, but being less deeply rooted it requires, to attain its highest 

 development, more moisture in the surface layer of soil. Redtop is 

 notably less aggressive than timothy and many other species, but, 

 reproducing as it does, mainly by root stocks, its establishment, while 

 slow, is permanent. It is little liable to injury from trampling, even 

 in wet situations, because of the dense entanglement of roots which 

 bind the soil firmly. 



Of the nongrasses, only alsike and white clovers can Be recom- 

 mended. The lands to be seeded to these species should be carefully 

 selected, as neither very dry nor unusually wet soils are adapted to 

 their growth. Saturated and poorly drained soils, which. are in con- 



