32 



BULLETIN 201, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ornamental. The first number listed below is considered to be typical of the species, 

 However, the group has not been carefully worked out. Segregations in the future 

 may separate the second number as a distinct species from the first. (PI. VI, fig. 1.) 



No. 8952 was collected in the upper foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains, Ariz., 

 September 25, 1907. The sample was in late blossom and was cut 3 inches high; 

 hence it included all of the material that could possibly be eaten by stock. Indeed, 

 the stubble of the sample collected would represent conditions under very close 

 grazing. No. 9600 was collected in the northern foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains, 

 September 18, 1908. The sample was in early blossom and prepared about the same 

 as the previous number. 





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. 8952 



Our sample No. 9600 



5.72 

 3.01 



7.19 

 9.05 



1.79 

 1.05 



30.72 

 41.34 



55.46 

 43.56 



4.84 

 5.00 



25.95 

 24.92 





4.37 



8.12 



1.42 



36.03 



49.51 



4.92 



25.43 







MUHLENBERGIA GRACILIMA Torr. 



Muhlenbergia gracilima is a dry-land species extending from western Texas to Cali- 

 fornia and northward to Colorado and Nevada. It is a conspicuous plant upon the 

 semisodded mesas and foothills of the region. It occupies neither the moister nor the 

 drier situations, but rather the medium lands on the dividing line between sodded 

 and unsodded conditions. Where it occurs it usually forms a mat of tangled stems 

 and leaves upon the surface of the ground, thus producing a semblance at least of a 

 turf. While of a great deal of importance on account of its wide distribution and 

 abundance, it is not a first-quality grass. It seldom gets over 3 inches high before 

 the bare culms stretch up a foot or less beyond this. The culms invariably break off 

 easily and are seldom grazed by live stock. Associated with the species are usually 

 found buffalo grass, the gramas, and the bluestems, all of which are more palatable 

 to stock. In spite of this, however, the species is grazed to extermination in many 

 situations and is more or less relished by stock when other feeds become scarce. 



No. 9515 was collected near Prescott, Ariz., August 30, 1908. The sample was in 

 early fruit and was cut close to the ground, some old dry leaves being unavoidably 

 included. Its percentage of moisture was 8.57. Other constituents (on a water-free 

 basis) were as follows: Ash, 12.36; ether extract, 2.53; crude fiber, 31.03; nitrogen- 

 free extract, 46.31; protein, 7.77; pentosans, 18.41. 



MUHLENBERGIA NEOMEXICANA Vasey. 



Muhlenbergia neomexicana is a low, tufted, hard, wiry perennial, at times of consid- 

 erable value on account of its abundance, but it is a filler only. In limited localities 

 in the Southwest, however, it is abundant enough to give character to the pasturage. 

 It usually occurs on rocky exposed ridges in the mountains of southern Arizona, New 

 Mexico, and western Texas in the woodlands or open coniferous forests up to about 

 7,000 feet elevation. 



No. 7094 (E. O. W.) was collected in the San Andreas Mountains near Las Graces, 

 N. Mex., October 6, 1912. Its percentage of moisture was 5.61. Other constituents 

 (on a water-free basis) were as follows: Ash, 5.65; ether extract, 2.39; crude fiber, 

 37.55; nitrogen-free extract, 48.28; protein, 6.13; pentosans, 26.90. 



MUHLENBERGIA PORTERI Scribn. 



Muhlenbergia porteri (black grama) although of less importance by far than many 

 other southwestern grasses, is in many ways most interesting. At the same time it is 

 so important that it never should be omitted from a list of forage grasses of the region 

 from western Texas to California and northward to Colorado and Utah. In the Santa 

 Rita Mountains of southern Arizona it always grows in tangled masses in bunches of 



