4 
12 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 
The wild hay crop is much more important than is 
generally believed. No less than 15,417,000 acres of 
wild grasses were cut for hay during the census year, 
though the area is rapidly diminishing. The average 
yield is 1.1 tons per acre, or the same as that given for 
“ other tame’ grasses.’’ The distribution of the wild 
hay crop is shown in Fig. 3. The chief acreage is 
shown to be in the States bordering the western edge 
of the timothy region. In Iowa, Wisconsin, and part 
of Minnesota, wild hay is cut chiefly on wet lands ; 
farther west, mostly on upland prairies ; still farther 
west, in swales and draws in the arid region. The 
principal grasses constituting this wild hay, and the 
possibility of domesticating some of them, are men- 
tioned later in this volume. 
RECAPITULATION 
The following table presents the statistics for hay 
and forage crops in more compact form. The figures 
are from the Census of 1900: 
ACREAGE OF HAY AND FORAGE 
Average yield 
Acres in tons per 
acre 
Wild, salt, and prarie grasses... . 15,457,000 II 
Millet and Hungarian grasses . es 1,744,000 1.6 
Alfalfa, or lucern.  . is 2,094,000 2.5 
Clover... Mid) ah oa i 2 te AND . 4,104,000 1.3 
Other tame and cultivated grasses . 2 31,302,000 ie 
Grains cut green for hay. . : 3,884,000 1.3 
Total. . é 58,585,000 Le 
Forage crops . Z 3,107,000 2.6 
Grand total 3 61,692,000 1.3 
