l66 FARM GRASSES OP THE UNITED STATES 



Mountains) it furnishes more green feed than anj- 

 other of the true grasses. Noted for its abiUty to with- 

 stand drouth, it 3-et does well on good moist soils. It 

 will not thrive, however, on soils that are distinctlj- 

 wet. It is particularly at home in the Red River ^'al- 

 ley of Xorth Dakota and on the peculiar basaltic soils 

 of eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and northern 

 Idaho. Its distribution is shown in Fig. 35, each dot 

 representing a locality from which correspondents re- 

 port it important. It is generally supposed that brome- 

 grass is not adapted to the more humid climate of the 

 timoth}- region, but the fa<5t is it is nearh- or quite as 

 valuable over much of this region as it is farther west. 

 In the West it had no competitors as a pasture-grasSj 

 while in the East it had to compete with several long- 

 estabhshed and highly satisfadlory grasses, particularly 

 timothy and blue-grass. It has already been stated 

 that nearh- all the grass literature issued by the State 

 experiment stations comes from those stations outside 

 of the region of timothy, blue-grass, and red clover. 

 Having verj- satisfa<Son,- meadow and pasture crops, 

 the farmers of the timothy region have not given 

 brome-grass a thorough trial. As an illustration of 

 the attitude of these fanners toward new candidates for 

 their favor, we may quote the remark of an Ohio farmer 

 when asked, in a circular letter, what were the hay 

 and pasture problems of his sedlion. "We have no 

 problems of this kind," was his reply. " What we 

 need is to know how to build barns more cheaply and 

 how to handle our livestock better. Our meadows and 

 pastures already produce as much feed of the best 

 quality as land can be made to produce. ' ' This may 



