NATIVE PASTURE GRASSES OP THE UNITED STATES. 



11 



A VENA FATUA L. 



Avenafalua, commonly known as wild oats, is a weedy grass introduced from Euro- 

 pean countries. It is rather common in cultivated fields in all of the small-grain 

 regions of the West. In California it is especially abundant, having found conditions 

 favorable for its spread and development upon uncultivated lands, where it often 

 forms an almost pure stand. There it is made into hay, often yielding 1 to 1£ tons to 

 the acre of excellent forage, if cut in season. It is an annual, reproducing from seed 

 each season. This limits its value as a range plant to the regions which are turfless, 

 for the seed could not become sufficiently covered or, if covered, could not gain a 

 foothold and thrive in competition with perennial grasses which form a turf. In 

 California, where it attains its best growth, it is a winter annual, maturing its seed 

 about May. Without doubt it should be classed as one of the most important wild 

 forage plants of California from both a grazing and a hay standpoint. The curing of 

 the hay to produce the best quality is considered to be more difficult than with many 

 crops. However, in a region like the one in which it grows this is not a serious matter, 

 for the atmosphere is dry and rains have usually ceased before the crop is ready to cut. 



The plant is found rather frequently in the mountains of southern Arizona, especially 

 in the Huachucas, where it was doubtless introduced by the military operations con- 

 ducted there, but it does not find conditions suitable to its becoming sufficiently 

 abundant to produce any appreciable quantity of feed. The mountains receive only 

 sufficient rainfall for it to grow at all, and they are too cold for its winter development; 

 consequently, only a few plants in favored localities are able to thrive. Upon the open 

 lands of the foothills and deserts the rainfall is insufficient and occurs in too hot a 

 season for it to thrive. Experiments conducted in the Santa Rita Mountains in the 

 introduction of this grass upon native pastures have yielded only negative results. 

 In occasional seasons a few stray plants mature in favored situations, but around cabins 

 and in small irrigated gardens plants are frequently seen. It is also abundant in the 

 Pacific Northwest. 



No. 8301 was collected near Banning, Cal., May 15, 1906; in early maturity, but 

 straw still green; cut about 3 inches above ground. 





Percent- 

 age of 

 moisture. 



Water-free basis (per cent). 



Material analyzed. 



Ash. 



Ether 

 extract. 



Crude 

 fiber. 



Nitrogen- 

 free 

 extract. 



Protein. 



Pento- 

 sans. 



Our sample No. 8301 



8.79 



11.23 

 7.98 



3.60 

 3.14 



29.86 

 30.61 



47.42 

 51.28 



7.89 

 6.99 



25.09 

















8.25 



3.18 



30.55 



50.95 



7.07 











i California Bui. 132, p. 5. Oregon Report, 1904-5, p. 70. Washington: Bui. 72, p. 17; Bui. 82, p. 10. 

 BOUTELOUA ARISTIDOIDES (H. B. K.) Thurber. 



Bouteloua aristidoides is one of the "six weeks' grasses 7 ' of the Southwest and has a 

 wide distribution from Texas to California and south to South America. It is an annual 

 with seed habits perfectly adapted to make it an aggressive plant in an unsodded region. 

 Being an annual, its forage is of low value, but its seed production is large. It occupies 

 the lower foothills and mesas in the southwestern United States, and when the season 

 is favorable it makes nearly a ground cover over extensive areas and reaches the higher 

 altitudes of 6,000 feet or more. Like many annuals, it pulls up readily; con- 

 sequently, it is not relished by stock even in the green stage, although extensively 

 grazed then and in the dry condition when other feed is scarce. During its maturity 

 it is especially annoying to sheep on account of the spikes, which fall readily and pene- 

 trate the fleece and feet of the animals, sometimes disabling them. In spite of these 

 drawbacks, however, it is extensively grazed, and in many situations, where the more 



