10 BULLETIN 617, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



HARVESTING FOR SOILING. 



The Australian saltbusli makes a fair soiling crop, and for this 

 purpose it can be cut at any time after the plants have made suffi- 

 cient growth to warrant handling. The plants remain green and 

 hold their leaves late in the season, and consequently it can be used 

 in the fall as well as early. The saltbush handled in this way is 

 eaten quite readily by stock, but for the best results it should be fed 

 with other forage and, if possible, supplemented with grain feed. 



On account of the plants being very prostrate they can not be 

 cut with an ordinary mowing machine unless some device is attached 

 for lifting the stems. However, it is probable that one would want 

 to feed saltbush in this way only in very limited quantities or for 

 very short periods, and under such conditions it could be cut with 

 an ordinary scythe. 



HARVESTING FOR SEED. 



The seed of the Australian saltbush drops from the plant very 

 readily as soon as it is ripe, and for this reason it can not be cut 

 and handled for seed like most other crops. The best method of 

 procedure in harvesting the seed is to place a piece of canvas about 

 6 by 3 feet in dimensions under the plants and then knock the seed 

 off with a stick or flail. This method is somewhat slow, but there 

 seems to be no easier way of harvesting this seed. After the seed 

 has been knocked from the plants it should be spread on a large 

 canvas to dry. On account of the moisture contained in the pulpy 

 bracts inclosing the seed it can not be put immediately in sacks 

 or in large piles without heating. After it has been dried it can 

 be sacked and stored like any other seed. The seed of this saltbush 

 ripens in the latter part of August and through September. It does 

 not ripen all at once, so that one must determine when a maximum 

 of seed is ready to harvest. Under favorable conditions about 300 

 pounds of seed can be secured from an acre. 



VALUE FOR HAY. 



The Australian saltbush possesses but little value for hay. The 

 stems are too woody for this purpose, and on account of the plants 

 being very prostrate the handling at best would be quite expensive. 



DISEASES. 



A diseased condition of plants of Atriplex semihaccata was noted 

 as occurring quite commonly in the Los Angeles and San Diego 

 region. These diseased plants presented a blackened or sooty 

 appearance, with the tops or upper stems and leaves most severely 

 affected. Specimens collected at Chula Vista, Calif., on September 

 4, 1918, were presented to Miss Vera K. Charles, who has identified 



