IMPORTANT RANGE PLANTS. 17 



September 1. By about the middle of September the crop is usually- 

 well ripened, and, for the most part, disseminated. 



The germination per cent is about the average for an upland 

 plant, the average for all tests conducted during the three years of study 

 showing 26.4 per cent for the seed crop from the Hudsonian zone, 

 where the revegetation studies were made. Seed collected in the 

 Canadian zone germinated as high as 50 per cent. Some seed compa- 

 nies handle seed of this species grown in Europe, which as a rule has 

 a fair germinative strength. It is sold for about $22 per 100 pounds. 



This species is an important forage plant because it occurs fre- 

 quently throughout the Hudsonian zone, is often met in the Canadian 

 zone, occurs in sufficiently dense stands to make it an appreciable 

 factor in meadow crops, and is eaten with relish. So far as texture 

 is concerned, it is always desirable for cattle and horses, but is often 

 too rank and coarse to be of the highest value for sheep. Neverthe- 

 less, as a rule, sheep graze it closely. Densely vegetated meadows of 

 this species grazed by sheep comparatively early in the summer when 

 the root leaves are tender may have the appearance of a newly-mown 

 lawn of bluegrass, so closely is the forage removed. Up to about 

 August 15 tufted hair-grass is highly relished, but after that date the 

 leaf blades take on a fibrous or somewhat woody texture which 

 greatly lessens their palatability. In the latter part of the grazing 

 season it is not usually grazed closely unless it has been cropped 

 earlier in the season, a condition which results in prolonging the 

 growth of the vegetative parts. The aftermath is eagerly consumed 

 by all classes of stock, and especially by sheep. Observations indi- 

 cate that this species withstands trampling and close grazing better 

 than any other valuable forage grass in the region studied. This fact 

 is due both to the habit of growth of the plant and to the nature of 

 the situations in which it grows. 



Slender Hair-Grass. 



(Deschampsia elongata.) 



Slender hair-grass, though closely related botanically to tufted 

 hair-grass, differs widely from it in general appearance (Plate XIII). 

 Like tufted hair-grass it is a perennial and grows in tussocks, though 

 the latter seldom attain a diameter exceeding 4 inches, and more 

 often are only one-half that size. 



Slender hair-grass bears the appearance of an annual grass in that 

 it is very shallow rooted and sends up a preponderance of slender 

 naked seed stalks. The latter are erect and from 8 to 16 inches tall. 

 At the base a prodigious number of narrow, rather smooth but very 

 short root leaves are produced. The panicle is long, often fully 

 one-third the length of the culm, and usually not widely branched. 

 85154°— Bull. 545—17 3 



