220 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



that the hay which ranks highest on the Denver mar- 

 kets, and known locallj- as South Park Hay, is neither 

 a grass nor a legume, but a sedge {^Jiaicus baltiais). 

 It grows on over-irrigated meadows in South Park, 

 Colorado, and in similar situations in other parts of 

 that State and Wyoming. Horses prefer it to an}- 

 other hay, and feeders consider it the acme of fine hay 

 for driving-horses. It is strictlj- a wild haj', cut from 

 volunteer growth on meadows that are irrigated too 

 heavily to permit tame grasses to grow. 



The amount of low-grade haj" that reaches the mar- 

 kets is surprising to those not famUiar with market 

 conditions. Leaving meadows down till they become 

 weed-iafested accounts largely for this cheap haj-. 

 The importance of renewing meadows before they be- 

 come weedy has already been dwelt on at some length. 

 An incident on one of the large hay markets, recentl}' 

 ^dtnessed by the writer, enforces this point. A com- 

 mission merchant had that morning received two car- 

 loads of hay, one of first-class quality, and one badly 

 mixed with weeds and volimteer grasses. The car of 

 good haj- sold immediately at a good price. The other 

 car was passed by a dozen buyers, and finally sold for 

 just two-thirds the price of the other. There were 

 some fifty cars of low-grade hay on the same market 

 and no one wanted them, but there was a string of buy- 

 ers hunting for haj- of good quality. 



MEASURING H.\Y IN THE STACK 



I^ack of facilities for weighing hay on manj- farms 

 renders it necessary frequently to resort to measure- 

 ments of the stack as the only means of getting the 



