TEMPORARY PASTURES. 341 



place in the grasses that grow on soils that were marshy 

 as drainage progresses. The impassable muskeg, for 

 instance, in the northern states will sustain only the 

 Labrador Tea shrub. Lower the waters of the mus- 

 keg, and wire grass dies to make way for some 

 better grass — how much better will be determined 

 by the character of the underlying peat. The evolu- 

 tion that may be accomplished by the drainage of 

 some marshes is very great. But this does not apply 

 to all marshes, as in some the peat is of such a char- 

 acter that it cannot be speedily made to sustain a vig- 

 orous vegetation for a prolonged period, after the re- 

 moval of the water. 



Some grasses will grow well in lands so low as to be 

 saturated for several days and even weeks, when the 

 weather is cool, providing the water does not rise above 

 the surface or does not cover it more than two or three 

 inches. The four valuable grasses best adapted to 

 such situations are Russian brome, redtop, fowl meadow, , 

 timothy ; alsike clover is also possessed of such adap- ' 

 tation. During warm weather, such saturation is usual- 

 ly injurious. 



For Growing in Shade. — Grasses differ much in their 

 adaptation for growing in shade. As the country grows 

 older, it is legitimate to expect that park-like pastures 

 for live stock will more and more abound. If this ex- 

 pectation is realized, the question of adaptation in 

 grasses to such conditions will become increasingly 

 important. Orchard grass, heretofore, has stood high- 

 est in the popular estimate for being grown under 

 such conditions; meadow fescue can also endure con- 



